Family of Allen Williams,

by circumstantial evidence, brother of Aaron Williams, Sr.

 

Allen Williams, surety on the Aaron and Charity's marriage bond in 1803 Jefferson Co., TN, was born 1771 in Pennsylvania, the son of Amos Williams, a Quaker born 1720 or 1737 in Chester Co., PA, who lived in Montgomery Co., NC, before going to Eastern Tennessee about 1793-95. During the Revolutionary War two of Amos's sons, James and Thomas Williams, participated in fighting, although as a Quaker Amos was opposed.

The marriage bond is somewhat ambiguous, in that on the top line, the name Aaron appears to have been written over to correct it to Allen Williams; yet in the body of the bond, it says this is for Aaron Williams to marry Charity Nation. It is indexed at the Court House under Aaron Williams. A Shelby Co. IN History (which is full of errors on Amos and Allen's ancestry) says Allen's 2nd wife was Charity Nation.

Allen's descendant Nadine Holder has an excellent web site and discusses this ambiguity.

Allen Williams married Joan Woodward in Jefferson Co., TN, 23 Feb 1794, with her brother John Woodward bondsman.

 

Joan was the 7th child and 3rd daughter of Abraham Woodward and wife Hannah Thornburgh of Chester Co., PA. Joan was not a Quaker, for Quaker records from Greene Co., TN, tell us that on 28 Feb 1795 Allen Williams was complained of that he (1) married contrary to discipline and (2) hired a military substitute.

In 1790 these Williams families enumerated in Montgomery County, North Carolina, include an Amos and two Thomases who will be shown to be involved with our family in other areas, as well as a Joseph Vickery (Charity NATION's parents were Jerretta Vickery and Joseph Nation, cousins):

 1790 Montgomery Co. NC

 

 VICKRY, Joseph
WILLIAMS, Amos
WILLIAMS, Thomas
WILLIAMS, Thomas
WILLIAMS, Benjemin
WILLIAMS, Isham
WILLIAMS, James
WILLIAMS, Roger
WILLIAMS, Solomon
WILLIAMS, Stephen

01 02 04 00 00
02 01 02 00 00
01 02 06 00 00
02 01 11 00 00
01 02 02 00 00
03 02 04 00 00
02 02 04 00 00
02 03 03 00 00
01 01 10 00 00
01 02 03 00 00

Tennessee was given as a gift in 1776 to the federal government, which ignored the gift.

Washington Co., NC organized in 1772, contained all of present-day TN. By 1790 TN contained seven counties, and it became a State in 1793. It was still part of NC when Allen Williams received Grant or Patent #445 from the State of North Carolina, registered 25 June 1793, for 100 acres in Hawkins Co., TN. He was grantee on a deed from Adam Meek, 7 Sep 1793, for 17 acres in Jefferson Co., TN. Joseph Thornburgh, the second bondsman on Aaron's marriage, registered a grant in the same area on the same day. Other Allen Williams-Thornburgh transactions were recorded in Jefferson Co. into the early 1800s. Allen gave a deed to Amos Williams 5 Jan 1796, witnessed by Nehemiah Ellis and Henry Thornburgh.

John Woodward, bondsman for Jane and Allen's marriage, married Allen's sister Rachel Williams, a few months later, with Thomas Williams, bondsman. This was probably Rachel's brother Thomas. The Woodward family had lived in Chester Co., PA, Randolph Co., NC, and Jefferson Co., TN.

John and Jane Woodward, children of Abraham Woodward, married brother and sister, Rachel and Allen Williams. John and Rachel Williams Woodward are Nadine Holder's direct ancestors. Allen and Jane Woodward Williams had a daughter Elizabeth who married Barlow, who died, then married Tinkle, who died, and then married Bowman. This is the story of Elizabeth's son (Allen Williams' grandson):

A sad story about Tilman H. Tinkle, courtesy of Nadine D. Holder, Sierra Vista, AZ
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Farm/4038
(Check out her Woodward Family Genealogy Page)

From: The Independent Banner, Shelbyville, Shelby Co., IN, Feburary 2, 1855

Child lost on Sunday morning about 10 A.M., F.H. Tinkle [T.H.], a boy, 11 years of age & stepson of Christopher Bone [Bowman] who resides two miles S.W. of London on Buck Creek in this county, started out with three days rabbit hunting. As he did not soon return his parents went in search of him. They followed his tracks to Boggstown, when it became so dark as to prevent further pursuit. Next morning his track was followed into the woods near Wray's Meeting House, where it was lost by drifting snow. Mrs. Nail (of the neighborhood) says she heard a boy hollow [sic] and then cry, in the woods near her residence about 8:00 o'clock Sunday night. It is supposed that of the lost boy. Four days were spent this week by more than 100 men in searching the county for the lost boy. Yesterday he was found in a field near Fessenbecks, frozen to death and almost entirely destroyed,as it was supposed by the hogs that were in the field. What a horrible scene this must have been. A poor little boy wandering from his parents in good health & after 4 days of anxious suspense, to find a mangled corpse. It is said that one of the dogs was still with him when found.