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WILLIAMS

John Williams

(ca. 1625/30-1692) married

Anne

, maiden name unknown. She was not AnneWhitley, the wife of John Williams who left his will in 1687. The John Williams of this analysissigned his will in Isle of Wight on 9 March 1691/92; proved 9 August 1692. The witnesses includedAlexander Matthews (probably the stepson of Mrs. Anne Rogers Moore Baron Matthews Davis, # 7 inthe Moore Section) and the same Boaz Gwin who witnessed the will in 1687 of Thomas Parnell, thebrother-in-law of John Williams, Jr. See Chapman,

Isle of Wight Wills

, p. 33. The widow Anne was tohave the dwelling plantation in Isle of Wight, but at her death it was to become the property of theeldest son John. If the son John Williams preferred

to remain in Surry

where he “is now seated,” thenthe son Theophilus was to have brother John’s 150 acres in Surry. The son William Williams was tohave the 200 acres adjacent Mandue from the Williams-Pierce transaction of 1681. The son Nicholaswas to have 150 acres in Surry, as was the son Richard. Personal items were left to the daughters Maryand Jane. The will did not mention the son-in-law John Browne by name or the daughter BridgettBrowne but left bequests to their daughters Anne, Bridget, and Mary Browne. The widow Anne madea deed of gift to her children in April 1694, approved by her second husband Arnold Shoemake whosewill of 9 December 1697 was witnessed by the aforementioned Boaz Gwin and probated on 9 February1698. See Isle of Wight Deed Book # 1, p. 105; Chapman,

Isle of Wight Wills,

p. 38. It will be notedbelow that some of the details in the deed of gift are incorrect. Researchers who have underestimatedthe age of John Williams and wife Anne fail to note that Shoemake had been a resident in the vicinityof the Boddie-Mandue-Matthews-Moore group since before 1668 (Boddie,

Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight,

p. 554) and mentioned a married granddaughter in his will. Issue:a.

John Williams, Jr.

(ca. 1650-1708) married (1) possibly

___?___ Pyland

and (2)

Mary Parnell

.See the Parnell Section, # C.(1)

Sarah Williams

remains an enigma.(2)

John Williams

(ca. 1670/75-1746/58) married

Ann Moore

(ca. 1675/80-after 1746),granddaughter of Mrs. Anne Rogers Moore Baron Matthews Davis and daughter of Anne’sonly Moore offspring, John Moore, who left his will in Isle of Wight in 1688. See the MooreSection, # 7, a, (4). John Williams signed his will in Bertie County, North Carolina on 13March 1746; probated January 1758. The will was witnessed by William Byrd, ThomasCastellaw, and John Moore. The version in Grimes,

Abstract of North Carolina Wills,

pp.410-11, is seriously flawed. Jean Mayo Hirsch found the original in the files of the Secretaryof State and has posted it on the internet, although the compiler believes that she has chosenthe wrong John Williams as his father. Only one of the sons, identified in the will of his sonJohn in 1722 (i. e., James Williams), had predeceased the father, and the children of this sonJames, as noted below, were included as legatees. The will also left bequests to daughtersAnn Herring and Sarah Castellaw. Issue:(a)

John Williams

(ca. 1690/95-1722) died unmarried; his legatees were his brothers (Isaac,James, Arthur, and Theophilus) and “cousins [sic: nephews]” John Williams andAnthony Herring. See Grimes,

Abstract of North Carolina Wills,

p. 410.(b)

Ann Williams

(ca. 1690/95-before 1750) married

Samuel Herring

(ca. 1685/90-1750)who signed his will in Johnston County on 22 October 1750; inventory 14 June 1751.See Deed Book # 5, p. 165. A brief synopsis of Herring family history appears in theLawrence Section, specifically in the material about Barbara Herring Smith, # 2, a, (3),

(a), 5), a).(c)

Mary Williams

(ca. 1690/95-after 1746) married probably her brother-in-law

Abraham Herring

(ca. 1685/90-after 1757). She was mentioned in her father’s will as MaryHerring. See the aforementioned Herring synopsis in the Lawrence Section.(d)

Theophilus Williams

(ca. 1695-ca. 1775) married

Christian

, possibly a

Bryan

Heappeared numerous times in the deed books of Bertie and later moved to Onslow County,North Carolina where his estate records were destroyed during a hurricane. An importantrecord appears in the Bertie County Court Minutes of 1742, p. 181, when, for someunknown reason, he had to prove his rights in North Carolina on behalf of himself, hiswife Christian, and children Joseph, James, Esther, Lewis, and Ferebee. One of thechildren has been traced by the compiler:1)

Joseph Williams

(ca. 1720/25-ca. 1790) married

Mary Hicks

on 8 August 1746 inOnslow County. He executed a deed of gift in Duplin County on 10 May 1763 to hischildren

Daniel

Theophilus

Frances

, and

Easther

[sic: Hester]. However, heprobably died ca. 1790 in Onslow where the records were destroyed. Of hischildren:a)

Hester Williams

(1746-ca. 1790) married

William Whitfield III

(1743-1817) asthe first of his four wives. She was born in Onslow County on 8 August 1746.See the Lawrence Section, # 2, a, (4), (a), 1).(e)

James Williams

(ca. 1695/1700-1736/37) married

Elizabeth Bryan

See the BryanSection, # 1, e, (4). James Williams signed his will on 21 August 1736; probatedFebruary 1737. See Grimes,

Abstract of North Carolina Wills,

p. 409. A copy of hisoriginal will has been posted on RootsWeb by Jean Mayo Hirsh who notes correctly thatElizabeth was pregnant with the fourth child Barbara who was mentioned with the otherthree children in the will of the grandfather John Williams. Issue:

Feraby Williams

remains an enigma.2)

Ezekiel Williams

(ca. 1730/35-1800) married

Zilphia Bush

. See the discussion inthe Bryan Section, # 1, e, (4), (b).3)

Jerusha Williams

(ca. 1735-1795) married

Jesse Jernigan

Barbara Williams

(1737-ca. 1796) married

Constantine Whitfield

. See theLawrence Section, # 2, a (4), (d). Constantine’s progeny were much intermarriedwith the compiler’s Croom, Hare, Haywood, and Moore families; especially note themarriage of his granddaughter Keziah Arabella Whitfield to (1) Henry Moore, son of John Moore the Hatter, and (2) Jesse Hare Croom whose sister Harriet Croom Hoganmarried John Moore the Hatter’s grandson James Albert Hendon, the compiler’sgreat-great-grandfather.(f)

Sarah Williams

(ca. 1695/1700-after 1749) married

James Castellaw

(ca. 1685/90-1749). He served as a justice with Needham Bryan and Thomas Whitmel. He diedintestate before August 1749 when his son

Thomas Castellaw

petitioned foradministration of the estate. See Hathaway,

North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register,

Vol. 2, p. 632. The son

William Castellaw

, who left his will in Bertie in 1749,witnessed by

Hardy Moore

(?), left his plantation to his mother Sarah.(g)

Isaac Williams

(ca. 1700-ca. 1752) married

Martha Hodges

, daughter of RobertHodges, Jr. and Ann Branch.The abstract of the will of Robert Hodges (1740/42) in Grimes, p. 168, is inadequate.It does note that the son-in-law Isaac Williams was an executor but misspelled her name

as “daughter . . . Mathew Williams.” Moreover, the complete text, posted by Dr. GeorgeCassady on the internet, notes the daughter Sarah Hodges who married John Cain

(ca.1690-1757) of Edgecombe. See the Cain Section, # 3. John Cain’s nephew, James Cain(ca. 1720-1761), son of William Cain (ca. 1685-1732), married Rebecca Moore, daughter of Epaphroditus Moore and probably a granddaughter of James Moore of Nansemond [#3, b, (4) in the Moore Section]. Rebecca Moore Cain’s cousin Edward Moore [# 3, b, (2),(a)] married a sister of Rebecca’s husband. John Cain’s purported sister Elizabeth Cainmarried Richard Pace, Jr. whose sister-in-law Tabitha Pace married John Moore, son of Richard Moore [# 3, d, (b)].

Also for the Hodges genealogy, see the Moore Section, asBenjamin Hodges (ca. 1680-1753), brother of Robert Hodges, married ConstanceGoodrich, # 1, a, (3), (e). Moreover, Ann Hodges, another daughter of Robert Hodges,Jr. married Joseph Moore

(ca. 1690-1755); see the Moore Section, # 3, b, (3).Court records of Johnston County indicate that Isaac Williams died intestate ca.1752. However, the will of his son Isaac Williams, Jr. (ca. 1725-1768) provides thenames of two other siblings:1)

Isaac Williams, Jr.

(ca. 1725-1768) died without issue. His will of 25 January 1768(probated February 1769), as posted on the internet by Rosalee Haas, left his estateto his brother Nathan and the four children of his brother Joel.2)

Nathan Williams

(ca. 1725/30-after 1768) remains an enigma.3)

Joel Williams

(ca. 1725/30-1761) married

Jane Smith

daughter of Colonel SamuelSmith (1709-1783) and his first cousin Edith Whitfield. See the Lawrence Section, #2, a, (3), (a), 3); for Edith, see also # 2, a, (4), (c). Colonel Smith was a great-grandson of the compiler’s ancestor John Lawrence, Sr. of Isle of Wight and grandnephew of Sarah Lawrence Moore, purported grandmother of John Moore the Hatter.See the Moore Section, # 7, a, (2), (c), 4). Mrs. Jane Smith Williams married (2)Colonel Theophilus Hunter whose close association with John Moore the Hatter andallied families is discussed in the material about her in the Lawrence Section. JoelWilliams left one of the few early wills of Johnston County to have survived. Hesigned it on 30 December 1760; probated January 1761. The executors were hiswife Jane and her father. See Will Book # 1, p. 754. Issue:a)

Ferabee Williams

(ca. 1757/58-1828) died a spinster in Cumberland County, asreported by the local press. b)

Isaac Williams

(1756-1814/15) married his first cousin

Rachel Smith

(1763-1824), daughter of Alexander Smith (ca. 1730/35-ca. 1780/81) and wifeElizabeth Whitfield, a cousin of both Isaac Williams and Alexander Smith. Seethe Lawrence Section, # 2, a, (3), (d) for Alexander Smith and # 2, a, (4), (a), 2)for Elizabeth Whitfield. Isaac Williams died intestate ca. 1814/15, according tothe

Harnett County

Heritage,

Vol. 1, p. 615.

Isaac Williams had many children,including:(1

Alexander Williams

(1789-1871) married (1) his cousin

Charity Whitfield Smith

(1789-1848) and (2) another cousin

Jemima Haywood Whitfield

. Named for his maternal grandfather, Alexander Williams was born 31January 1789 in Cumberland County, North Carolina. He signed his will inArkadelphia, Clarke County, Arkansas on 26 May 1870; probated 6 July1871. The will has been posted on the internet, along with the identity of his heirs, by Carole Ring. Concerning Charity and Jemima, see theLawrence Section, # 2, a, (3), (a), 5), b); and # 2, a, (4), (d), 1), b).(2

Theophilus Hunter Williams

(1799-1877) married

Elizabeth Jane Lane

.He was named in honor of his stepfather Colonel Theophilus Hunter. He