William Williams
and
Ann Price Williams
Proverbs
17:6
Roderick
Williams and Elizabeth Evans were married on February 28, 1778 in the parish of
Llandeilo’r-fân, Breconshire, Wales. They had two sons, William and Daniel.
Daniel Williams, my great-great-great-grandfather, left Wales in 1853; most of
his numerous descendants live in the United States of America. William
Williams, on the other hand, remained in Wales, where most of his descendants
live today.
In his
eighty-two years of life, William Williams never moved out of Llandeilo’r-fân.
He was christened there on March 21, 1779. He was a laborer, a farmer, and a
shoemaker.
William
remained single until he was twenty-eight years old. On April 10, 1807, he married
Ann Price. She was christened in Llandeilo’r-fân on October 15, 1779, the
daughter of Rees Price and Elizabeth Jones.
The Parish
Registers and Bishop's Transcripts of Llandeilo’r-fân show that William and Ann
Williams had six children:
Elizabeth Williams christened 20 Sep 1807 married 23 Nov 1843 Rees Price
Margaret Williams christened 2 Apr 1809 buried 14 Apr 1809
Roderick Williams christened 10 Feb 1811 married 14 Mar 1856 Margaret Williams
Margaret Williams christened 13 Mar 1814 married 17 Jun 1851 Thomas Prosser
William Williams christened 26 Jan 1817 buried 28 Dec 1817
Mary Williams christened 18 Jul 1819 married 19 May 1843 Evan Evans
Two of the children died as infants. Margaret Williams was
buried only twelve days after her christening. William Williams was buried
eleven months and two days after his christening. Four survived into adulthood,
got married, and produced a total of fifteen grandchildren for William and Ann
Williams.
The christening and burial records between 1814 and 1819 show
that the family lived at a house called Penyca, possibly in Llandeilo’r-fân
Village. Rees Price, Ann's father, was living at Penyca before his death at age
76. He was buried on December 11, 1818.
Between 1837 and 1841, the family moved to a farm called
Drain-duon (Blackthorn). Relatives had lived at Drain-duon for some time. Two
Davies families, probably cousins of William Williams, lived there in 1824 and
1834. William's mother, Elizabeth Evans Williams, died there, and was buried on
August 28, 1832. Census records show that William and Ann Williams lived there
in the home of their son Roderick in 1841 and 1851. By 1861 Drain-duon was
occupied by the family of Morgan Price, whose wife might have been Margaret
Davies, a cousin who was born at Drain-duon in 1824.
William's brother, Daniel Williams, lived at Bryn-melyn Farm,
which is translated Yellow Hill. However, when Daniel and his wife moved to
America in 1853, and several of their children followed in the 1850s and 1860s,
they seem to have considered Blackthorn Farm as their home in Wales. Therefore,
family historians have consistently, but erroneously, claimed that the children
of Daniel Williams were born at Blackthorn Farm. I can think of two reasons
that the Daniel Williams family claimed to be from Blackthorn Farm. First,
Drain-duon (Blackthorn) might have been the primary seat of the Williams
family, as suggested by the fact that the matriarch, Elizabeth Evans Williams,
died there in 1832. Second, Daniel Williams left Bryn-melyn when he moved to
America; any communication between Daniel Williams in America and his family in
Wales might have been forwarded through his brother at Drain-duon.
When the 1841 census was taken, the inhabitants of
"Draindion" were:
Roderick Wms. 25 Farmer Y [born in Breconshire]
William do. 60 Y [born in Breconshire]
Anne do. 60 Y
[born in Breconshire]
Margaret Price 15 F.S. Y [born in Breconshire]
Rees do. 13 M.S. Y [born in Breconshire]
Ann Powel 5 Months Nursing Child Y [born in Breconshire]
William and Ann lived in the home of their son Roderick
Williams. None of the four surviving children were married, but all were
apparently on their own. In the household were Margaret Price, a female
servant, and Rees Price, a male servant. Family historians have claimed that
these were children of Elizabeth Williams. Their claim is not credible unless
they produce some evidence beyond this census record.
Ann Powel, a five-month-old nursing child, also lived in the
Williams household. Although I have no evidence (beyond this census record,
which is insufficient), it’s possible that she was related, somehow, to the
Williams family. She was christened in Llandeilo’r-fân on January 31, 1841, the
daughter of Thomas Powell and Jane Williams, who were not married. Thomas
Powell lived at Coed-ca-du, Llanfihangel Nant Bran, Breconshire. Jane Williams
might have been the daughter of Thomas Williams and Jane Davies Williams of
Cefn-bryn-isaf, who was baptized in Llandeilo’r-fân on May 18, 1823.
In 1843, two daughters of William Williams and Ann Williams got
married in Llandeilo’r-fân. The last to be born was the first to get married.
On May 19, 1843, Mary Williams, age 23, married Evan Evans. Six months later,
the firstborn was married. On November 23, 1843, Elizabeth Williams, age 36,
married Rees Price. To my knowledge, Mary Evans had nine children, and
Elizabeth Price had one.
In 1851 the inhabitants of "Draindion" were:
Roderick Williams Head U 40 Farmer
of 90 Acres [born in Llandeilo’r-fân]
William Williams Father Mar 72 Retired
Cobler [born in Llandeilo’r-fân]
Ann Williams Mother Mar 73 Cobler's Wife [born in Llandeilo’r-fân]
Elizabeth Price Sister Mar 44 Labr's Wife [born
in Llandeilo’r-fân]
Ann Powel Serv. 10 House
Serv. [born in Llandeilo’r-fân]
William Williams was living with his wife, Ann Price Williams,
in the household of their son Roderick Williams. Their daughter Elizabeth
Williams Price was there, too, but without her husband and child. Ann Powel
seems to have lived there during the entire first decade of her life. Too much
weight should not be placed on the fact that she was listed as a servant rather
than a relative. If she was both a relative and a servant, the census taker could
have listed her either way. She may or may not have been related.
On June 17, 1851, Margaret Williams, age 37, married Thomas
Prosser in Llandeilo’r-fân. They moved to Talgarth Parish, Breconshire, where,
to my knowledge, they had one child.
Between 1851 and 1856, Roderick Williams moved to Maes-y-bwlch,
on the western border of Llandeilo’r-fân Parish. He may have moved there in
preparation for his marriage to Margaret Williams on March 14, 1856. Roderick
and Margaret had four children. Their descendants lived in Llandeilo’r-fân for
many years, and they might still live there today.
It was probably in conjunction with Roderick's move from
Drain-duon that William and Ann Williams moved into Llandeilo’r-fân Village.
They died there, about two and a half weeks apart. Both were about 82 years
old. William Williams was buried on February 20, 1861. Ann Price Williams was
buried on March 9, 1861. They were buried at the Parish Church of
Llandeilo’r-fân, but no marker survives. I like to imagine that they were
buried next to the marker of their daughter Mary Williams Evans.
William and Ann Williams were predeceased by three children and
two grandchildren. They were survived by three children and twelve
grandchildren. One more grandchild was born the year after their death. The
joys and sorrows of the William Williams family might be summarized
chronologically:
1779 Mar 21 Christening of William Williams
1779 Oct 15 Christening of Ann Price
1783 Aug 23 Birth of brother, Daniel Williams
1805 Jan 11 Burial of father, Roderick Williams
1805 Apr 16 Wedding of brother, Daniel Williams to Ruth
Jones
1807 Apr 10 Wedding of William Williams & Ann Price
1807 Sep 20 Christening of daughter Elizabeth Williams
1809 Apr 2 Christening of daughter Margaret Williams
1809 Apr 14 Burial of daughter Margaret Williams
1811 Feb 1 Birth of son Roderick Williams
1811 Feb 11 Christening of son Roderick Williams
1814 Mar 13 Christening of daughter Margaret Williams
1817 Jan 26 Christening of son William Williams
1817 Dec 28 Burial of son William Williams
1818 Dec 11 Burial of father-in-law, Rees Price
1819 Jul 18 Christening of daughter Mary Williams
1832 Aug 28 Burial of mother, Elizabeth Evans Williams
1841 Jan 31 Christening of servant, Ann Powel
1842 Birth of granddaughter Margaret Evans
1843 May 19 Wedding of daughter Mary Williams to Evan Evans
1843 Nov 19 Christening of grandson William Price
1843 Nov 23 Wedding of daughter Elizabeth Williams to Rees Price
1844 Birth of granddaughter Ann Evans
1846 Birth of granddaughter Mary Evans
1847 Birth of granddaughter Elizabeth Evans
1849 Birth of grandson William Evans
1851 Birth of granddaughter Sara Evans
1851 Jun 17 Wedding of daughter Margaret Williams to
Thomas Prosser
1852 Birth of grandson David Evans
1853 Feb 5 Emigration of brother, Daniel Williams
1853 Mar 12 Burial of grandson David Evans
1854 Birth of grandson David Evans
1854 Dec 22 Burial of grandson William Price
1855 Birth of granddaughter Margaret Prosser
1856 Birth of grandson Evan Evans
1856 Mar 14 Wedding of son Roderick Williams to Margaret Williams
1857 Birth of grandson Thomas Williams
1858 Jun 18 Burial of daughter Mary Williams Evans
1859 Birth of grandson William Williams
1860 Birth of granddaughter Margaret Williams
1860 Mar 24 Burial of son-in-law Evan Evans
1861 Feb 20 Burial of William Williams
1861 Mar 9 Burial of Ann Price Williams
1862 Birth of
granddaughter Anne Williams
The American family of Daniel Williams remembered the relatives
they left behind in Wales. As Latter-day Saints, they believed in baptisms for
the dead. On April 13, 1886, Daniel’s son John Jones Williams, and John’s
daughter Elvira Ann Williams Harrison, went to the Logan Temple in Utah. There
they were baptized in proxy for William Williams, Mrs. Ann Williams, and three
of their children: Roderick Williams, Mary Williams and Elizabeth Williams. According
to Latter-day Saint theology, the two children who died under the age of eight
did not require baptism. They were not baptized for Margaret Williams, either,
because she was still alive; the 1891 census shows that she was still living
with her husband, Thomas Prosser, in Talgarth, Breconshire, Wales. She died
between 1891 and 1901, the last surviving child of William Williams and Ann
Price Williams.
NOTES
The
sources for the life of William Williams and Ann Price Williams are:
·
Parish Registers of Llandeilo’r-fân,
Breconshire, Wales.
·
Bishop's Transcripts of Llandeilo’r-fân,
Breconshire, Wales.
·
1841 Census, Llandeilo’r-fân, Breconshire,
Wales.
·
1851 Census, Llandeilo’r-fân, Breconshire,
Wales.
·
Logan Temple Records (FHL 177843, page 430
#15548, and page 438 #15863).
Sources for the parents, sibling(s), children and
grandchildren of William Williams are given in the notes of prior and future
reports.
This report was compiled on February 16, 2009 by Kyle
D Williams, 215 W. High St., Woodbury, Tennessee 37190, USA; (615) 464-7558; liberty@hotcom.net.
