MELVILLE WILLIAMS (1 MAR 1856 – 4 MAR 1920)
Melville Williams was the son of Jeremiah Williams of Pennsylvania and Rebecca L. Lindsay of Ohio. Melville was born in Indiana on 1 Mar 1856. By the time Melville was four years old, he moved with his family to Blythe Township, Caldwell County, Missouri. Blythe is located just outside of Kingston, Missouri in the northwest portion of Missouri. When Melville was 19 years old, he moved to California with his father, boarding with his cousin Ella J Williams Green.
In 1885, Melville and his father had moved to Lookout, Modoc County, California, where he was a stockraiser. On 3 Aug 1890, Melville married Martha Ellen Carmichael, daughter of Modoc pioneer Moses Allen Carmichael, at the Carmichael homestead west of Lookout. (Moses had been granted 160 acres by the US government in 1875 for his homestead, which was adjacent to Jeremiah Williams’ homestead). Melville and Martha’s first child, Chauncey Albert, was born on 8 Dec 1891. They had a second child, a daughter, in 1894. This daughter died within a year. In 1895, Melville moved his family from Modoc County to Texas County, Missouri. There they had the following children:
Rebecca May (4 May 1896), Houston, Texas, MO
James (15 Feb 1901), Houston, Texas, MO
Eusebia Jane (23 July 1903), Houston, Texas, MO
While in Missouri, Melville and family lived in Bartlett Township, Shannon County, where they farmed, and Houston, Texas County. Melville’s sister, Lucy Parmenter, was a resident of Houston, MO. She lived there with her children: Alfred Melville (1880-1966), Byron, John (1889-1928), and Effie (1892-1974).
On April 13, 1906, Melville and family arrived back in the Big Valley, specifically Bieber, to settle for the rest of his days. Upon their return, Melville and Martha had three more children:
Charles (7 July 1906), Bieber, Lassen, CA
Roy Elsworth (16 Aug 1907), Bieber, Lassen, CA
Elizabeth (13 March 1910), Bieber, Lassen, CA
Archie (3 May 1912), Bieber, Lassen, CA
Melville was a teamster, hauling freight with mule teams throughout the northern California and Nevada areas. At times, Melville hauled freight for Nathan Bieber, a general merchandiser and Wells Fargo Agent, for whom the town of Bieber is named. In July of 1910, Melville and Martha suffered a horrible tragedy with the loss of their firstborn child, Chauncey, who died of an accidental gunshot wound to the abdomen. Melville died three days after his 64th birthday and was buried at the Hillside Cemetery in Nubieber, Lassen, CA. After Melville’s death, his wife Martha moved to Susanville with her sons Roy and Archie. There she worked as a cook at a lumber camp for the Lassen Lumber Company. Martha died in 1950 in Sacramento, Sacramento, CA.
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