Williams' Family in USA
In 1878 John and Ann Williams decided to emigrate to the USA. Many miners and their families were encouraged to make the journey across the Atlantic to work in the coal pits of the mining industry along the Eastern Seaboard. John and Ann made the journey to the USA along their two eldest children, Mary Ann and Rachel. John's sister, Rachel, and his brother, Isaac had emigrated to the USA a little time previously. Rachel was married to William J Davies.
John and Ann landed in Pennsylvania and then went to live in Ohio. Sister Rachel and her family along with Isaac remained in Ohio but John and Ann moved on. Four children were born in the USA, Sarah, Maggie, Edith and Benjamin. I was told that each of these children was born in a different US State. Records show that Margaret Mary Williams was born in Byesville, Ohio in 1883. It is thought that they dwelt for a time in Kentucky before settling in Tennessee. We know that they lived at Kelly's Ferry and this is where their youngest child, and only son, Benjamin Harrison Williams was born.
One family source thinks that by this time coal mining may no longer have been John's occupation, or certainly that he had another string to his bow. He possible kept some sort of store or trading post as the story goes that his daughter Rachel used to row a boat across the river to deliver tobacco to an old timer who lived on the other side. I was also given to believe that John was a lot wealthier by now than he had ever been before in his life, apparently throwing a sum of money into the air in joy at having so much.
So why didn't they remain in America? Again facts in the story differ, but either after 18 years - or when daughter Rachel was eighteen - the family came back to Wales. One version of the story thinks that all the family came back at the same time for a visit but missed the boat back to USA so just decided to stay. The other story is that Ann Williams came back home to visit the family, bringing the children with her, Rachel was included in the trip although she was older, as her help was needed for the journey. When Ann got back to Wales and re-united with her family she got homesick and refused to go back to the USA so John had to give up what they had worked for out there and return too.
I have been told that John had property in the USA which he asked an agent to dispose of for him and was diddled out of the proceeds but another version is that because John and Ann or the children never became citizens of the USA and they were not entitled to any monies from the land or that it all went to pay taxes.
By 1897 there were definitely back Wales. Rachel had met and married Hubert Embry by August 1897. In the 1901 census for Wales John and Ann are living at 2 Penline Street, Cardiff with their children Sarah, Maggie, Edith and Bennie and their granddaughter Olive Embry. Incidentally Rachel and William Davies and IsaaC Williams remained in the USA, some of their descendants still live in Akron, Ohio.
In 2003 Roger and I were fortunate enough to be able to take our first trip to the USA. We flew into Nashville and after taking a tour around 8 of the other southern States returned to Tennessee to try to find out a bit more about the William’s and where they had lived. We were told that records for Marion County were kept at the library in Whitwell. We visited there and were made very welcome and given as much assistance as possible but to no avail. We didn't have any luck with finding any records of the William’s having lived there apart from one reference to a John Williams concerning property changing hands but the dates didn't seem to correspond with their return to Wales - unless of course they came back a lot earlier than is thought.
Although we couldn't find exactly where the Williams family lived we did visit Kelly's Ferry and it is absolutely beautiful around there. Very densely wooded and on a sweeping bend of the Tennessee River at the foot of Racoon Mountain. This part of the Tennessee River between Chickamauga Dam and Nickajack Dam is known as Nickajack Lake and lies in "The Grand Canyon of the Tennessee". The road from Chattanooga to Kelly's Ferry was like a country lane and we had to slow down to let turtles cross the road.
Laying as it did along "The Cracker Line", Kelly's Ferry played a significant part as a supply route for troops during the American Civil War. Previous to this around 1838 Kelly's Ferry must have witnessed many other pitiful sights as the Cherokee Indians were pushed along the "Trail of Tears". Another point of interest - to us anyway - was the Nickajack Cave. It takes its name from the Nickajack tribe. During the American Civil War the cave served as a place of refuge for Confederate soldiers. It is also the cave where Johnny Cash took himself to die but instead emerged a changed man.
Gallery
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Rachel Williams Davies taken on her 85th birthday May 1st 1928 |
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The church at Eglwysilan where many of the Williams family were baptised, married and buried. |
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The Davies Family. Back: George, Edmund (Isaac), John Front Rachel, Elizabeth, Mary, William |
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Lucille and Glen on their wedding day with bridesmaid Thelma, and Glen's brother John |
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Isaac and Minnie Davies with grandson Robert January 1945 |
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Isaac (Ed) and Minnie Davies |
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Pamela, Marc, Karen and John Davies |
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Lucille and brother Bob Davies |
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Peggy, Robert, Glen, Lucille and Jim |
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Lucille, Glen and Robert at Long Beach California |
 | Lucille and Winnifred Williams (wife of Bemjamin Harrison Williams) August 1970 |
 | Lucille April 1996 |
