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