(Last updated 19 April 2021)
John Williams (1811-1888) has been difficult to research because he traveled
far from his birthplace. His birthplace was either Tennessee or Kentucky
or possibly even both because of the changing of the border between Tennessee
and Kentucky. See "Walker
Line".
Neither John's possible parents or possible siblings have
been identified despite the multiple erroneous leads repeated on Ancestry.
On the 1880 Texas Census (Collin County) the question of parent's birthplace is asked
and John Williams' father is listed as being from Kentucky and his mother from
Tennessee but it's not know if he gave that information himself or even if his
own knowledge remembered many years after the fact would be accurate.
His own birthplace varies between Kentucky and Tennessee on several census records. This maybe a clue though that he was born and lived in an area very close to the border of Kentucky and Tennessee.
The only known information about John Williams before Missouri is that he appears to have come from Tennessee. This is ascertained by the fact that the birth ages and birth places of his known children indicate he was residing in Tennessee from at least 1836 to 1839. A search of the 1840 Tennessee census reveals only ONE John Williams household in all of Tennessee where the ages groups of the children match the known ages of his children up to that point. The other census entries are nowhere near correct. See below:
| 1840 Tennessee, Overton County, page 44,
line 22 John Williams, head of household |
||
| Age groups: | Matches with known children: | |
| 2 males aged 0-4 | Allen Williams age 1, George Williams age 4. | ✔ |
| 2 males aged 5-9 | John H Williams age 6, Joseph Williams age 7. | ✔ |
| 1 male aged 30-39 | John Williams age 29. | ✔ |
| 1 female aged 0-4 | Martha Williams age 3. | ✔ |
| 1 female aged 20-29 | Rebecca Williams age ??. | ✔ |
There are no obvious other Williams families living near him on 1840. The early marriage records for Overton County were destroyed.
There is a possible clue to relatives by looking at his neighbors in 1840 and finding that same block of neighbors in 1850. The following extract shows that in 1840 John Williams was living near the Armes/Ames and Colston families. While John Williams had moved to Jasper County, Missouri by 1850 he appears to have been replaced by another Williams family surrounded by the exact same Armes/Ames and Colston families.
| Page | Line | 1840 Census, TN, Overton County |
| (46) | 5 | John W Thurman |
| (46) | 15 | Robert Aimes |
| (46) | 16 | Wilson T Harvey |
| (46) | 17 | Henry Martin |
| (46) | 18 | Archibald Amies [Arms] |
| (46) | 19 | James Colston |
| (46) | 20 | Susannah Coltson |
| (46) | 21 | Alfred Johnson |
| (46) | 22 | John Williams |
| (46) | 23 | John Aimes [Arms] |
| (46) | 24 | William Aimes [Arms] |
| (46) | 25 | Hannah Jennings |
| (46) | 26 | Rachel Dale |
| (46) | 27 | Elijah Ruschet |
| (46) | 28 | Jestin Holoman [Holman] |
| (46) | 29 | Sarah Barksdale |
| (46) | 30 | Hugh Kile |
| (47) | 2 | Perleton Watson |
| (47) | 3 | Robert Clary |
| (47) | 4 | John Rutledge |
| (47) | 7 | Ezekiel Jennings |
| (47) | 8 | Francis Jennings |
| (47) | 10 | Thomas Kilman |
| (47) | 13 | Joshua Watson |
| (47) | 14 | Henry Kilman |
| (47) | 16 | Martin Kilman |
| Page | No. | 1850 Census, TN, Overton County |
| (96b) | 391 | Thomas Ashlock, 60, VA |
| (96b) | 392 | Robert Clary, 40, KY |
| (96b) | 393 | Abram Sevier, 43, TN |
| (96b) | 394 | Jessie Ashlock, 30, TN |
| (96b) | 395 | Perlexton Watson, 39, VA |
| (96b) | 396 | Francis Jennings, 37, N.C. |
| (97a) | 397 | Archibald Armes, 64, N.C. |
| (97a) | 398 | Martin Armes, 34, TN |
| (97a) | 399 | Thomas Williams,
44 KY + John Williams, 82 VA |
| (97a) | 400 | John Armes, 39, TN |
| (97a) | 401 | Milton Colston, 19 , TN |
| (97a) | 402 | James Colston, 39, TN + also Susan Colston, 67, N.C. |
| (97b) | 403 | William Armes, 36, TN |
| (97b) | 404 | Allen Thurman, 29, TN |
| (97b) | 405 | Joseph Thompson, 36, VA |
| (97b) | 407 | James Killman, 32, TN |
| (99a) | 425 | Perrin Watson, 41, S.C. |
| (99b) | 434 | Ezekiel Jennings, 61, MD |
| (99b) | 435 | Wesley Killman, 29, TN |
| (99b) | 436 | Levin Killman, 55, N.C. |