Before 1900
 |
|
Andrew
Williams |
|
|
 |
|
Amelia
Williams |
|
|
This is before Walter and
Marie. Walter’s parents Andrew and Amelia start raising a large
family in this period but Walter doesn’t come along until 1908.
The children are all girls before 1900 and that makes it tough
on father Andrew Jackson Williams as a farmer. The family farm
is in Posey County at the very south-west corner of Indiana. The
nearest town is West Franklin—a port of call on the Ohio River
for steamboats needing wood for fuel. West Franklin is a few
miles to the east of the family farm. The farmers are constantly
clearing the land of trees to make way for crop planting. The
Diegs saw mill operated there for many years. Andrew’s father
left there to fight in the Civil War for General Sherman and was
wounded at Atlanta. His great grandfather Elkanah Williams was
born about the time of the Constitution being drafted and was a
pioneer in about 1810 into the area that became Evansville and
West Franklin. He died in 1816, the year before Abe Lincoln
moved into the area which Abe described as wild and dangerous
with bears and Indian attacks.
In this period, Marie’s mother, Lula Barth, is likely still
living in the small town of Tennyson just 15 miles east of
Evansville in Warrick Co. and just 5 miles east of Boonville.
Living on the farm of her parents Jacob and Katherine Barth who,
like Andrew and Amelia, also had a rather large family of ten or
so. Jacob was from Birkenfehl, Germany and Catherine, called
Kate, from Chicago with the maiden name Bickel. Marie remembers
Grandma Kate as loving to return to her native Chicago often for
vacations by train and would take her featherbed mattress with
her. The Tennyson homestead is just 8 miles from Lincoln City
Indiana where in 1817 Abraham Lincoln’s family started over with
an 8 year old Abe. Although Lula grew up there and she helped
briefly home teach Howard Williams in 1948, she never mentioned
this to him.
|
|
Walter
Williams' birthplace |
|
|
Henry’s mother Rosena was
first married to a Mr. Ellis before marrying John Bollinger who
had immigrated from Switzerland in 1872. She had Henry, Lydia
and Alfred by 1883. By 1900, Rosena and John were also divorced
and John was working on a farm for a family in Germantown
Township about 5 miles north by northwest of Evansville’s city
hall. Marie remembers her dad taking the family in a Model T on
5 mile “loop” drive up Stringtown Hill and visiting Rosena at
her log cabin where Henry was born. It is very likely that the
“loop” is the same one on which Marie took her children for
Sunday drives. Howard believes, from memories and questioning
Marie, that the loop drive went west on Campground Road to
Kratzville Road and back around to Eichel. The cabin was likely
either on Campground or Kratzville roads and likely near the
Salem cemetery (formerly Campground Cemetery) on Campground Road
(straight west of Dress Airport). Marie would visit Grandma Rose
on weekends and stay overnight to go to church.
Copyright 2001 Williams Family from Evansville, Indiana |