Jeremiah Williams - 1824 - 1892

Our family seems to have liked the name Jeremiah. This is the third in my direct line. At least the name skipped generations!

JEREMIAH WILLIAMS (17 MAR 1824 – 25 DEC 1892)

Jeremiah Williams was the second of four sons for Isaac and Martha Williams. Jeremiah most commonly went by the name Jere, or Jerry. He was born in Bucks County, PA, and traveled across the entire country in his lifetime. At the age of 15, Jeremiah and family had moved to Coshocton County, Ohio, where they remained for around 15 years. While in Ohio, Jeremiah worked on his father’s farm. Jeremiah became a doctor while he was living in Ohio, and was known by his nieces and nephews as “Uncle Doc”. He married Rebecca L. Lindsay on 22 Apr 1847 in Miami County, OH. Rebecca was the daughter of Dr. William R. Lindsay and Rhoda Allison Smith of Preble County, OH. Jerry and Rebecca had their first child, William Lindsay on 03 Nov 1849.

Around 1854, they moved to the northern part of Jay County, Indiana, in Jackson Township. In May of 1854 Jerry and Rebecca lost their son, William, to consumption. Two more children were born to Jerry and Rebecca while living in Indiana. Melville was born on 4 Mar 1856 and his sister, Lucy Aldine, was born there in Sept 1857. Their three children were:

William Lindsay Williams (03 Nov 1849 – 26 May 1854), Jefferson, Coshocton, OH
Melville Williams (1 Mar 1856 – 4 Mar 1920), Westchester, Jay, IN
Lucy Aldine Williams (Sep 1857 – 1907), Westchester, Jay, IN

Sometime between 1858 and 1860, Jeremiah and family moved to Blythe Township, Caldwell County, Missouri. Jeremiah and his family lived in the Kingston, MO area until 1875. In 1862, Jeremiah was the Postmaster for Kingston. Jeremiah also had the privilege of being one of 66 delegates elected to the 1865 Missouri Constitutional Convention.

Sometime prior to March of 1875, Jeremiah and Rebecca divorced, though no records of this divorce can be found in Caldwell County, MO. Rebecca subsequently married Nathan Cope on 11 Apr 1875. After Nathan’s death in 1888, Rebecca married Joseph M. Knott on 11 Jan 1891. No death date is known for Rebecca. She appears in Kingston in the 1900 census. The land she owned near Kingston belonged to a Mr. Switzer in the 1907 Caldwell County Atlas. Lucy Aldine Williams married Wilken R. Parmenter on 24 Dec 1875. Lucy and Wilken moved to Houston, Texas County, MO, where he died and 1892. Lucy died around 1907.

In March of 1875 Jeremiah and Melville moved to Grand Island, Colusa County, California, along with his niece, Ella Jane Green, and her family. There they boarded with Ella, and her husband John F. Green. John Green was a farmer and Jerry and Melville helped John work the land.

In 1885, Jeremiah and Melville moved to Lookout, Modoc County, California. Jeremiah staked out a claim for 160 acres, which was next to his nephew Oliver G. Williams and Melville’s future father-in-law, Moses Allen Carmichael. Jeremiah built a house and a barn and farmed 12 acres. In his homestead application, the land and buildings were considered to be worth $300. In May of 1892, Jeremiah was granted the deed to the 160 acres in Modoc County by the US Federal Government by the Homestead Act.

Jeremiah died on Christmas day, 1892. Local cemeteries have no record of his interment and it is theorized that he was buried on his land.