Skip to main content

Priscilla Howard Williams (Thompson)

PRISCILLA HOWARD WILLIAMS (THOMPSON) (1834-1916)

 

The first thing family historians often talk about when discussing their female ancestors is who they married, and the second is usually how many children they had. While resisting doing such a thing, discussing these facts actually explains a lot.

 

Priscilla Howard Williams, named after her paternal grandmother Priscilla Howard (Chism), married her first cousin John Thompson. While thought to be a common practice “back in the day” and among royalty, this, I believe, is the only instance of first cousins marrying in our direct lines that I have uncovered so far. John Thompson in his own right (mentioned before as Missouri Price Thompson Warford’s father) is worth discussing more than a paragraph. That will come later.

Priscilla Williams and her husband John Thompson shared a common ancestor—Colden Williams. This man became very important to many descendants because of his service to the American Revolution as a Patriot. Many essays by the good ladies of the Fayette chapter of the DAR focused upon him. These ladies saw to it that Colden had a monument erected to him near the courthouse; they preserved his burial place and did what they were permitted to do to preserve his log house. This house was eventually renovated, and it was removed to another location.

When I visited Fayette on a genealogy trek for which both Mom Eleanor and Aunt Lois joined me, two lovely elderly ladies told me what they knew and then pointed me to an attorney whose office served as a repository for many documents the courthouse did not have room for, among them deeds and the will of Priscilla and others in the family. These lovely ladies, authors of historical books, strongly urged me to join the Fayette chapter of the DAR. They had most of my application already filled out. I needed only to provide information on my genealogical connection to Missouri Price Thompson. As much as I wished to please these ladies and be on the good side of county historians, I never completed that application.

Twelve known children were born to Priscilla and John, eight of them being girls. Of those, seven lived to adulthood, but of the eight, Priscilla outlived six. The four boys all lived to an advanced age. One daughter was Missouri Price Thompson, previously written about, the mother of Thomas Lafayette Warford.

Of the many facts I eventually uncovered about this lady, the one that touched me the most was that she left her grandson Thomas Lafayette Warford an inheritance, probably in sufficient amount for him to start his pharmaceutical career and/or buy his house. Prior to learning that, Mom and I have assumed that his benefactor, Dr. Burkhalter, was the person who financed Thomas’ endeavors. Mary Louis Farris (Warford, our grandmother) may have also helped through her farmer father.

Priscilla left a good estate to her living children and grandchildren whose parent predeceased her. While this could be attributed to John Thompson’s ability as a farmer—which indeed is born out—I like to think of her as a tough survivor who wished to ensure her family legacy. She outlived her husband, and she did well in managing everything until her death.

In pursuing her goal, Priscilla gave up her farm in favor of a small house in Moberly, close to where Hubert and Viola Warford eventually lived. I can just see this feisty, yet sweet woman living life on her own terms.

Priscilla Howard Williams and John Thompson

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Gardner (1840-1909), Emeline Denning (1848-1925)

  Thomas Gardner, b. 1840 in Wales, came to the United States with his parents, Francis Gardner of South Wales and Hester (Esther) Hoppes Gardner of England in 1843, sailing into the port of New York. As would be a common theme among our ancestors who mined coal, Tom’s father Francis tried to make a living by farming, but had to fall back at times to mining. The family first settled in Strabane, Pennsylvania where Tom’s father is listed as a collier (coal mine) in the 1850 census. Though I could not find them in the 1860 census, from other census records, the family likely moved to Iowa in 1860 or 1861 where it appears Francis succeeded in farming. This family has ties, including many burials, to Black Hawk Township, near Fairfield, Iowa. Tom enlisted as a soldier in the Civil War in Company D, 19 th Iowa Infantry in August, 1862, until July, 1865. I have not yet researched this company’s record to know where he might have gone or fought. In 1866, Tom married 18-year-old Miss Emaline
Post a Comment
Read more

John DuBois (16??-abt. 1723) and Subsequent Generations

  The presumed progenitor of the “South Carolina DuBois” family is John DuBois who, at the time of his death around 1723, left a widow named Jane. Our connection is: John>Jasper>Peter>Peter>John>Rufus>Rev. HHS DuBois>Martha K., Bill, and Hugh Who was this man? How/why/when did he go to South Carolina? Was he the father of Jasper DuBois from whom we can definitely trace our DuBois lineage? John’s presence in the colony of Carolina is noted in 1696 where he is paying Quit Rents on a lot in Charles Town (Charleston). He likely had some connection to the lot sometime prior, as it was common for many to occupy the land before recording the patent and then paying quit rents (taxes). It is possible he was there by 1670 when Barbadian settlers arrived. There was a strong connection between Barbados and Charleston for decades, including the arrival of land speculators. Also permeating Charles Town was the slave trade. After 1696 are John DuBois’ land transactions further ou
Post a Comment
Read more

Martha Jane (Slaton) DuBois

Martha Jane (“Mattie”) Slaton (12/27/1838-7/20/1907) was born on a plantation in Autauga County, Alabama, not far from present-day Prattville. She was the youngest of seven children born to John Slaton and Nancy Harris. She was well-educated, attending a “Female Academy” and she was a staunch Methodist. From an early age, Mattie owned property, including enslaved people, in her own right. After her marriage to Dr. Rufus DuBois (a dentist), she provided funds for the family homestead and surrounding acreage in Greensboro, AL. In the years just before her death, the homestead was divided and parcels of land sold off. The house itself stood over 150 years before being torn down and replaced with affordable housing. According to the 1860 census, their real estate was worth $3500 ($111,695 today) and their personal property was $13,000 ($414,868 today). Of that, a substantial amount could be attributed to the eleven enslaved people on their property. I am attempting to trace their families.
Post a Comment
Read more