Jack (John) Peter Williams

• Residence: 1860 - Wayne Township, Jay, Indiana, USA
  • Updated from 1860 United States Federal Census via John J Williams by SmartCopy: Jun 9 2015, 21:17:47 UTC
• Residence: 1850 - Wayne, Jay, Indiana, USA
  • Updated from 1850 United States Federal Census by SmartCopy: Jun 10 2015, 8:26:41 UTC

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Oral History from Jim, Jason or John Williams, Grace Terry, Ellen Hunnicutt and a cousin Doyal Bacon:

"I've always heard it told that our great grandfather whose name was Isaac or John, I'm sure it was one of those biblical names. At least I think it was. Anyway, he and possibly three of his brothers came over from Wales and settled in New Jersey. Well, it wasn't the mainland of Wales but an island off the north coast of Wales but it was still part of Wales. Anyhow, my granfather, whose name was Sollie, was born in New Jersey. Well, they called him Sollie but his true name was Soloman. It could have been John Soloman (or Solomon) and they called him Sollie because his father's name could have been John. I'm not rightly sure just how it was."

"Pa told me when his Pa (Sollie) was a young man, he and two of this brothers left New Jersey and headed west. At that moment, I don't recall his borther's names but I have it here somewhere and 'll get back to you on that if I remember. Anyhow, he and his two brothers took this wilderness trail. This trail had a name but I can't think of the name right now. But it was the trail most people took when going west from New Jersey. They ended up in Illinois and they settled in the southern part of the state. I believe they settled in Lafayette or Livingston County. Anyhow, it was in the south part of the Illinois."

"All the brothers worked at building their houeses and barns and did farming. That is what most folks did back in those days, especially those families who moved as the frontier expanded west."

"Grandpa Sollie married this young girl. Everyone called her Mary Frances. She could have been part Indian because she also had an Indian name. They had a slew of kids (probably 11 or 12), then she died and Grandpa married a young widow woman with three of four kids. Her name was Rachel. Grandpa Sollie left Illinois and moved down into Kansas. I don't know if he moved before or after his wife Mary died. I'm not sure what happened to his brothers. one of the brothers may have moved back to Ohio and the other stayed in Illinois, or he could have come to Kansas with Grandpa. I'm just not sure where they all moved. But some stayed in Kansas and others later moved down in Oklahoma and Texas, while others went out to California and elsewhere."

Notes from Darek DeFreece's Research:

- found in the 1870 Census for Lincoln Township, Crawford County, Kansas

Listed as Solon Williams, age 62, farmer, born in New Jersey