Lisa Williams, Author at Honeysuckle Farm, LLC

John C. and Sarah L. Williams family

Last week we considered some school census data. In the days following that data post, we considered two separate family groups. Today, I want to consider another family group that was included in the school census data from the post made last Wednesday.
John C. and Sarah L. Williams were included on the school census list and their minor children Mack, Salina, Dan and Virgil were attending school at the time of the census. With additional research, I learned that John and Sarah also had adult children and grandchildren listed on the school census. Abe G. Williams, Ike T. Williams, and Oliver T. Williams were all children of John C. and Sarah L. Williams. Initially, the information I had about Abe indicated he was born in New York and so he was briefly covered in the post on Thursday. However, further research revealed him to be the son of John and Sarah and he was most likely not born in New York. John and Sarah did send many of their children back East (New York) to be educated or to live with someone else as did their sons, Isaac (Ike) and Oliver. This likely caused the confusion in regard to Abe’s birthplace. One federal census entry indicates that John C. was born in New York and so his children and grandchildren may have lived with family in New York. This family is part of the Ottawa Tribe. John C.’s wife, Sarah L. was Ottawa.
The family stayed in the Tri-State area of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas with the exception of sending their children back East, presumably to be educated. Information about this family was abundant which helped in determining family relationships. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any interesting stories, photographs, etc. with the limited research time I had for this Williams family.
There are some interesting stories on the internet about the family of Grace Merris who was Abe G. Williams’ wife. I would recommend them to anyone interested either in Native American tribal history or in this particular family. Particularly interesting was a biography of Grace’s father William W. Merriss entitled, “History of Indian Territory” which can be found at http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=53&p=localities.northam.usa.states.oklahoma.prestatehood.itgideon1901.

“I seemed to have to learn everything the hard way…”

Two days ago, I posted a list of WILLIAMS families with children enrolled in public schools in Ottawa County, Oklahoma between 1912 and 1915. Yesterday I reviewed some information about the three men known to have been born in Kansas. Today, I am reviewing information found about the four men born in Kentucky. Those men are John A. WILLIAMS (aka J. A.), Green WILLIAMS (aka Greenville Vogel WILLIAMS), and Sebastian Cabot WILLIAMS ( aka S. C.). The fourth family was headed by Dora WILLIAMS but since her husband is the WILLIAMS family member, we will discuss him. His name was Charles Wesley WILLIAMS (or C. W. or Charlie/Charley).
After doing some basic research about the families, I discovered that Greenville WILLIAMS was the father of Sebastian Cabot WILLIAMS. I suspect there are other familial relationships among the men but none that I have been able to prove so far.
Greenville and Sebastian came from Breathitt County, Kentucky, to Ottawa County, Oklahoma, between 1900 and 1910. Both men came to Oklahoma with at least one school-aged child each.
Charley W. was in Missouri by the late 1800’s where his daughter, Della, was born and in Indian Territory by 1900. He was back in Missouri in 1906 when his daughter, Nettie, was born. However by 1912-1915, his wife and kids were back in Oklahoma with the kids enrolled in school in Ottawa County. In 1920 the entire family was enumerated in Oregon. This was a very mobile family. There are large gaps between the birthdates of the children so there are possibly other children that have not been found on records.
John A. WILLIAMS and his mother Mary were both born in Kentucky. They were living in Missouri by 1900 along with John’s wife, Amiasettia (DIXON) WILLIAMS. In 1909, Amiasettia was in Missouri for the birth of the couple’s daughter, Francis. In 1910 they were enumerated in Ottawa County, Oklahoma where they remained through at least 1920. In 1930 they were enumerated in Missouri. Information found online indicates that John died in Nevada and was buried in Missouri.
Yesterday, I started off my blog post by saying that yesterday’s raw data becomes today’s relationships and tomorrow’s family stories. So, I couldn’t end this post without a story of sorts. If you are related to this family, there is a wonderful family history given by Oleta WILLIAMS SKINNER, daughter of Charley W. and Dora WILLIAMS. She narrates her family’s history from her earliest memories to her 83rd year of life which is when she narrated the story. Oleta talked about her family’s molasses business, the different places they moved and how they ended up out West. She talks about her siblings and their families as well. It’s a wonderful story about all aspects of the family’s life. You can find the story on Ancestry.com or you can email me and I will try to send you a copy. My favorite quote from her narrative is, “I seemed to have to learn everything the hard way…” I sure know how she felt!
Enjoy the weekend! I look forward to doing more research and presenting it next week!
Lisa W. ~ Days of Our Lives blog

WILLIAMS siblings in Ottawa County, Oklahoma 1900-1946

Yesterday’s raw data leads to today’s relationships and tomorrow’s family stories. I love genealogy!
After doing some more research on yesterday’s WILLIAMS families residing in Ottawa County, Oklahoma between 1912 and 1915, I found that at least three of the Heads of Household were born in Kansas (according to census records found online). Those three include Abe WILLIAMS (also known as Abraham Garfield WILLIAMS and sometimes listed as Abel), Alonzo E. (also listed as Alozo and Elonzo) WILLIAMS, and C. P. (or Charles P., also listed as Char. P., Chas. P. , or Chas.; I’ve also seen a Charles Parks WILLIAMS that I believe may be this Charles) WILLIAMS.

Alonzo was born in October, 1863 and Charles was born in August, 1858 according to records found on Ancestry.com. Both were listed as being Shawnee on later records, but also as Cherokee on early records. During my research I learned that they were brothers. They came to Indian Territory (later Oklahoma) between 1865 and 1900.

Looking at census records for Charles, the family lived in Shawnee, Johnson, Kansas in 1865 and 1870. Their parents were Richard and Margaret (PARKS) WILLIAMS. Charles and Alonzo’s siblings were Eliza J., Maliey (girl), Parcilla (girl), and Mary. There is also an older man in the home in 1865 with the same last name who, based on age, could possibly be the boys’ grandfather- Arthur WILLIAMS. Additionally, there is a woman living there named Eliza J. ALSOP who could also be related.

In later years, Charles reported his father as having been born in Tennessee. The 1865 Kansas state census reports that his father, Richard, was born in Missouri but in 1870, Richard’s birthplace is listed as Tennessee. Arthur was born in Tennessee. Margaret has two birthplaces listed- Kansas and Missouri. Alonzo, Charles and their siblings are consistently listed as having been born in Kansas.

This is a brief and incomplete account of one extended family living in Ottawa County in the early 1900’s. There are many other resources to follow up on in regard to this family. Continuing research may reveal more relationships between the Ottawa County WILLIAMS families as well.

Days of Our Lives

I’m hijacking my own blog and giving it a new focus. The new name is Days of Our Lives. With this blog, I hope to offer information that is helpful not only to my own family, but to others as well. I hope to pass along specific information about specific people- both related to me and unrelated to me- that I have come across in my 23 years of personal family history research.

The following data comes from a book called Early School Census Records of Ottawa County Oklahoma 1912-1915, Volume 1 which I accessed at Miami Public Library in Miami, Oklahoma while researching Williams families in that area. The parent’s name will appear first, then the children’s names and dates of birth. School district codes were also included unfortunately over the course of time, the code sheet has gotten separated from the rest of the data. Once I locate it again, I will add information to this set of data. If you can add information to the people here, please let me know. I will also be adding information both about these people, as well as others, on this blog over time. Here is what I have:

Williams, Abe G.
Elsie, 2-18-1903
Abe, Jr., 4-8-1904
Mary, 5-27-1907

Williams, A. J.
Grace, 10-9-1902

Williams, Alonzo E.
Roy, 7-19-1894
Girty, 3-31-1897
Ellsie, 4-6-1902

Williams, B. E.
Nellie, 8-13-1895
Elsie, 11-24-1897
Hazel, 6-12-1903
Elmer, 11-5-1905

Williams, C. P.
Roy, 12-25-1893
Myatte W., 1892
Clarence, 3-28-1900

Williams, C. W. & Violet
Clarice, 6-23-1898
Carl, 10-29-1902
Edna Faye, 1-12-1908

Williams, Dora
Edgar, 1-30-1895
Nettie, 5-11-1905
Oleta, 11-23-1907

Williams, Florence
Fern, 9-9-1894
Florence, 8-31-1897

Williams, Green V.
Mason, 9-27-1892
Margaret, 10-18-1901

Williams, H. D.
Evelyn, 1-12-1897
Don, 11-17-1898

Williams, Ike T.
Frank A., 9-23-1894

Williams, J. A.
Francis, 7-9-1908

Williams, J. C. & Sarah
Mack, 4-19-1891
Salina, 1-10-1892
Dan, 12-4-1898
Virgil, 2-26-1907

Williams, John W.
Liddie Ruth, 12-3-1897

William, M. B.
Chlora, 8-20-1897
Mable, 12-1-1901

Williams, Oliver T. & M. Y.
Accy Thomas, 6-25-1900
Roy, 8- -1908

Williams, S. C. & Rosa
Ethel, 9-28-1897
Daniel, 8-26-1902
Derward, 7-26-1904
Lizzie, 5-11-1907

Williams, Warren W. & M. E.
Ethel, 3-25-1900
Harry, 8-5-1902

I am including one additional record as it has the possibility of being a Williams family:
Willim, J. C.
Maud, 12-4-1891
Leota, 10-27-1895
Roy, 3-14-1898
Homer, 1-17-1903

Pepsi goes Native American?

Heritage and archiving- two things I dearly love. I’m getting my Master’s degree from University of Oklahoma in Library and Information Science. Libraries, archives, and museums are so very important. There is currently a project on Pepsi Refresh’s website dedicated to saving a Cherokee cabin and restoring it. You can read a little about the project on the blog “On the Trail of the Trail” at http://tinyurl.com/2au5jc5. You can also read about and vote for the project at http://www.refresheverything.com/savecherokeecabin. Please feel free to refer to either link in your own blog. I’d like to see Pepsi fund this project. So I hope you’ll get to Pepsi’s site and vote, vote, vote! You’ll have 10 votes. Be sure to check out the many other worthy projects to help foster children, the elderly, the homeless, animals, the environment…just about anything you are passionate about is there. Be sure to bookmark the site so you can go back and vote each day this month for your favorite projects.

Fearless Females- 1 March entry for Women’s History Month

I am looking for information about my great-great-great-grandmother, Synthia Arrena FOSTER SEELY. Synthia was born November 1824 in either South Carolina or Tennessee. She and her husband, Reverend Charles Harvey Seely, were married on 15 October 1845 and together they had 8 children. Reverend Seely was a Baptist preacher in Northwest Arkansas. Their children included 6 boys- Elijah, William, James, John, George, and Charles Jr.- and 2 girls- Mary and Elzira. Charles’ and Synthia’s daughter Mary was my great-great-grandmother. Synthia died 23 June 1884 in Benton County, Arkansas. She is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery near Gravette, Arkansas. Reverend Seely was the first preacher of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church which sits next to the cemetery.
This is my “fearless female” for the 1st of March.

Seely’s in BLM records

Regarding “my” Seely’s:

Charles Seely’s land record transcription:

Seely, Charles/MO/Lawrence County/ID: 8-1-1860/LO: Springfield/Doc: 22479/ACC-Serial #: MO5700_.226
40 acres T- 27 N, R – 28 W, S 31 NWSE
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/Image.asp?PatentDocClassCode=STA&Accession=MO5700%5F%5F%2E226&Format=LargeGIF&Page=1&Index=1&QryID=59340%2E98

This appears to be Charles’ father, Elijah Seely rather than his son:
Seely, Elijah/MO/Chariton/ID: 4-30-1819/LO: MO/Doc #: 11236/Acc-Ser. #: MO6200_.236
160 acres SW T-54 N, R-19 W, S-35

Surname Saturday- SEELY

2022 Update:

I made a correction to my 2nd great-grandfather’s name in the original portion of the blog post.
I added images to the original post.
For clarification to my family members who follow the blog, the line goes from Troy Columbus BATES’ dad Albert to Albert’s mom Mary SEELY BATES to Mary’s father, Charles George SEELY who is listed below in the original portion of the blog post.
Since I do have an Ancestry account at this point, I did a quick search for Theodore again. It turns out (if the Ancestry trees I consulted are correct), Theodore Martin SEELY is possibly related to us. It appears we share an English ancestral couple: Sir William SEELEY of Huntingdon and his wife, Lady Grace PRETT SEELEY. William and Grace are my 11th great-grandparents and Theodore Martin’s 10th great-grandparents. I haven’t done the research necessary to solidify this connection but I welcome others to join the search and verify this connection.

Happy searching! Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Original Blog Post:

My connections to SEELY: I can only trace my SEELY line back to my great-great grandfather Charles ~~Harvey~~ George SEELY. He was a Baptist preacher. He married Synthia Arrena FOSTER and together they had 8 known children. I descend through their daughter, Mary Ann, who was the sixth of the eight children. Charles and Synthia were married in Lawrence County, Missouri.

A review of online death records for Lawrence County, Missouri shows that Theodore Martin SEELY died on 17 Dec 1944 in the town of Marionville.

Death Certificate for Theodore Martin Seely. Image located at Ancestry.com.

Theodore lived in that area for 1 year and 2 months prior to his death. Theodore was a white male. He was married to Joyce Opal SEELY at the time of his death. He began his life on 28 Dec 1878 in Indiana. He was a retired oil worker. His cause of death was listed as “appoplexy” due to arteriosclerosis, a condition he had for 5 years prior to his death. Theodore’s wife, who was 20 years his junior, was unable to identify Theodore’s parents. I searched HeritageQuest but was unable to locate any information about Theodore with the information that I have from his death certificate. Ancestry listed Theodore and Joyce as living together in McDonald County, Missouri on the 1930 Federal Census.

Theodore Martin Seely family, 1930 U.S. Federal Census. Image located at Ancestry.com.

Beyond these details, I was not able to find anything else by doing a cursory internet search for Theodore and Joyce. If I had a subscription to Ancestry, I would have been able to find more and to possibly find out whether Theodore was a part of my SEELY family that lived for many years in Lawrence County before moving on to other parts of Missouri and nearby Benton County, Arkansas.

~~For now, Theodore and Joyce will remain a mystery for me.~~ Blessings to all my SEELY’s who are out there. I would love to connect with living relatives.

We Tree’s 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy

Week 5’s genealogy challenge was to search through WorldCat online and see if you find anything that will be helpful to your genealogy.

With just a brief search, I found one book that I will be requesting through Interlibrary Loan through my local public library. The volume is “Our Drake Family History and the Descendants of the Three Drakes Who Married Three Talbots” by Mildred Talbert Petitt. I’m looking forward to receiving the book and will review it on my blog when I’ve had a chance to review it.

Reflecting on previous posts, I have received my copy of “The Imposter” by Kip Krieling which I won from www.goodgollymissblondie.com. I have not had a chance to read it yet, but will review it on this blog when I’ve read it. My ultimate goal is to donate it to my school library.

Author: honeysucklefarm.ok

2022 Update:

Original Blog Post: