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Colleton County SC Churches & Cemeteries

 
J. B. Williams Cemetery
Off of Hwy 61 near Springtown
Colleton County, South Carolina
Inventoried by
Kim & Dana Grissom and Rachael Brower
January 12, 2003
(Presented in Alphabetical Order)

Pictures of these tombstones 
may be found at 
WWW.FINDAGRAVE.COM
 
 


Infant child of
W. B. & E. L. Williams
Born April 7, 1901
Died April 16, 1901
Sleep on sweet babe
and take thy rest
God called thee home
he thought it best
 

Mrs. E. A. Williams
Born April 10, 1849
Died Feb. 19, 1903
 

J. B. Williams
Apr. 2,1849
Feb. 10, 1919
Gone but not forgotten
 

W. B. Williams
Born Jan. 8th 1879
Died Dec. 20th 1900




Additional Comments on this cemetery from Robert Williams
April 2005

        I am a direct descendant of James E. Williams and his wife Catherine Hamilton who were probably the first owners of the land the
cemetery is located.  Their oldest son Henry M. Williams is my 2X great grandfather; their middle son Abraham T. Williams is my 3 X great grandfather.  A number of Williams descendants have been trying to figure out where James E. Williams and Catherine Hamilton are buried. Also, the gravesites of  Abraham T. Williams and his  wife Harriett Risher are also unknown.   Something that I finally realized during the past year is the fact that there are not just four Williams graves unaccounted for, there are over twenty unknown Williams' graves.  People who passed away in upper Colleton County.

        Others had mentioned to me that there are depressions in the J. B. Williams Cemetery, an indication of other graves beside the four
marked ones..  Since January of this year (2005), I have been going to the cemetery, cutting vines and brush back.  Yes, there are depression which may be signs of other graves, some of them may have been marked at one time.  Also,  there is evidence of a fence that once enclosed the cemetery.    Most of the wooden posts have rotted and fallen on the
ground,  sections of wire that the posts once supported are also visible..

     In order to understand the cemetery better, one has to understand J. B. Williams and his family better.  Larry Ulmer and the outstanding
job he has done in making it easier to find obituaries in the Watlerboro newspaper has made the task in learning about J. B. Williams much
easier.

     J. B. Williams was John Butcher Williams.  From what can be figured out,. John was a great grandson of James E. Williams, a grandson
of Henry M. Williams, and a son of Alfred Williams.

    On page 45 of their book, the Bryans indicate that John's first wife was a  Miss Pinckney.  From the obituary of a son, we learn she was Emma Farrell.  His second wife was Lillian Spell who is buried the the Spell Cemetery (called the Rice/Risher Cemetery  by the Bryans.)  The Byans indicate John had four sons, actually there were five sons and a daughter.  Two sons preceded Butcher in death.

          William B. Williams  rests in the J. B. Cemetery in one of the four marked graves.  Thomas Fletcher Williams passed away 24 March 1918 and was 27 years, 6 months, and 13 days old at the time of death.   His obituary indciates Fletcher was buried in the family cemetery.  His grave is unmarked.

          John Butcher Williams passed away 10 Feb. 1919.  His obituary indciates he was survived by his widow, three sons James, Frank and Pink.  Also, a daughter Mrs. Pooser Gaskins of Gadsen. (The sons' full names were James D.. Williams, Henry Pinckney Williams, and Peter Franklin Williams.)  John's obituary indicates, "..internment took place in the family burial ground."

       James D. Williams passed away on 13 May 1941.  He was 70 years old and his obituary indicates his mother was Emma Farrell.  He was survived by a brother, 4 nieces, and 3 nephews. (with the exception of one nephew they all would have been children of his sister.)  Services were held at Green Pond Methodist Church and internment took place there.  (When the Bryans did their survey, the grave was probably unmarked.  It does have a headstone and footstone at the present.)

        Frank, Peter Franklin, Williams passed away 8 Dec 1948.  he had been preceded  in death by his wife Nellie Gaskins.  Both are buried at Green Pond Methodist Church. Surviors include a son Fletcher Williams and a number of nephews and nieces.

          Thomas Fletcher Williams, passed away 6 Sept 1999, he was 81 years old at the time of death. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II, never married and was survived by a number of cousins.  He is buried at Green Pond Methodist Church next to his parents and uncles.

         There apparently was no obituary  for John's son Henry Pinckney Williams. However,  a recent visit to Green Pond Methodist Church confirmed   that there is a headstone and footstone for him there. The headstone simply shows him as H. P. Williams.   He passed away in 1926.

     Confriming where Butcher's sons were buried verifies the unmarked depressions in the Butcher Williams Cemetery are the collapsed graves of someone else, possibly some of the unaccounted for Williams graves.

    On page 48 of their book, in the closing paragraph about the J. B. Williams Cemetery, the Bryans stated, "Butch raised.  Jake and his sister Ida, after their parents James and Mollie May Williams died."   Jake was Henry Jake Williams who passed away in 1934 and is
buried in the Joseph Koger Risher Cemetery  at Williams, SC  His obituary indicates, "... an only sister Ida passed away 36 years ago."  Unfortunately, Jake's obituary did not state where Ida was buried. More than likely in 1898, Ida was buried in the J. B. Williams Cemetery.

        Henry Jake Williams' father was James E. Williams who was born about 1825.  James was my great grandfather's, Henry Allen Williams, brother.  James' wife Mary "Mollie" May was a widow, she had first been married to a Conner.  Mary and James probably married about 1865.

        The 1870 census shows James Williams head of household.   The household includes his wife Mary,  son Henry and daughter Barbara (who for whatever reason became known as Ida.)  Two young ladies are also shown, Mary's daughters from her first marriage: Louellen and Henrietta.

           The 1880 census shows widow Mary Williams as head of a household that included four others.  Jake was shown as H. J. Williams, and Ida/Barbara was shown as B. S. Williams. Mary's daughter from her first marriage is shown as Henrietta Waters; the fourth person in the household was Henrietta's husband, 21 year old James Waters.   Jake was 14 years old in 1880 and more than likely was not raised by Butch. (John Butcher Williams was Jake's first cousin.)  Unfortunately, the 1890 census does not exist and we don't know if Mary was still living then or if the Waters had taken over the household.

       The 1870 and 1880 censuses indicate James' and Mary's family were living in Warren Township.  From the names if their neighbors it seems that they lived near the site of the J. B. Williams Cemetery.   James E. Williams,  Mary May Williams, and their daughter Ida more
than likely rest in unmarked graves in the J. B. Williams Cemetery.   (James had a younger sister named Martha.  The 1850 census shows James, Martha, and my great grandfather Henry Allen Williams , in a household headed by 50 year old Barbara Williams.  The 1880 census shows Martha living in her brother Henry's household.  Martha's resting place is currently unknown.)

         The J. B. Williams Cemetery is in what was known as Warren Township.  From looking at various census, we learn John Butcher Williams lived in Bell Township which shared a common border with Warren Township.  That border is about two point five miles from the cemetery.


Bob Williams

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This file was contributed for use by the Colleton County SCGenWeb Project  by:

Kim Grissom
<kimegri1@aol.com>

Additional Williams family information contributed by
Robert J. Williams <robjnil@hargray.com>

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