MARGARET WILLIAMS ( c.1799 - 1870)

Margaret Williams was probably the widow of John E. Williams and is listed in Racine city directories from 1858 through 1868 as living on the east side of Villa Street between Eighth and Ninth Streets. John may have been a carpenter or a mason. It is, however, the willow tree on her gravestone (in Mound Cemetery) that singles out this site. Willow trees were Victorian emblems of death and sorrow; they were often carved on grave markers and planted in Victorian cemeteries as well.

Submitted by Deborah Crowell