Henry Williams (abt. 1715 - bef. 1760)

Husband of Priscilla (McLaughlin) Williams — married 22 Jan 1730 in Richmond, Virginia

Descendants

Died before 4 Feb 1760 before about age 45 in Richmond, Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Frena Hokans [send private message]

Biography

Henry Williams' WILL (see sources below) I HENRY WILLIAMS of NORTHFARNHAM PARISH in Richmond County . . . my son JOHN WILLIAMS all my land to him and his heirs forever provided he pays to my estate thirty-five pounds of current money and on his refusal to pay the said thirty five pounds that then in such cases give one hundred acres of the said land to my son DANIEL WILLIAMS . . . I give to my daughter SARAH WOOLLARD . . . all the remainder of my estate I give to my three sons DANIEL, HENRY and PERMANUS WILLIAMS to be equally divided among them after my wife's death or marriage she to have the full use and benfit thereof during her widowhood. My will is that my executors pay one hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco or the value thereof to pay for a years schooling my GODSON ALEXANDER BRYANT son of ALEXANDER BRYANT. My will and desire is that my son JOHN WILLIAMS keep my son PERMENUS WILLIAMS till he shall arise to the age of twenty one years and I do hereby . . . appoint my son JOHN WILLIAMS and my friend CHRISTOPHER LAWSON executors. . . . signed HENRY WILLIAMS. witnesses: John Gibson, Bridget Owens, and Elizabeth E. Merrue.

I found the WILL of Henry Williams' father, John Williams -- located in the Richmond County, Virginia Wills & Inventories, Vol. 5 1725-1753, Image 355 of 687 at FamilySearch.org. Henry's sister, Ann Williams, predeceased both of their parents, but her father's will mentions his "son-in-law Roger Williams." So Henry's sister, Ann Williams, was the wife of ROGER WILLIAMS. The will lists their mother as "Jane." Trees on FamilySearch are divided about whether Ann's maiden name was Jane Harris or Jane Frestoe, but I see that here on WikiTree her mother is listed as Jane Harris -- which I think is most likely correct.

However -- I think that Roger and Ann's son HUKEY WILLIAMS, b. 12 Dec. 1740 per the Northfarnham Parish Registry book (his name was definitely spelled HUKEY at birth) and who later lived in Brunswick County, VA -- may be getting confused with Ann's nephew, HENRY WILLIAMS, the son of Ann's brother, Henry Williams, who also later lived in Brunswick County, VA after the death of his father. Ann Williams (nee Williams) brother HENRY WILLIAMS would have been HUKEY WILLIAMS' UNCLE. On FamilySearch and here on WikiTree, it appears that Henry's son "Henry" and his sister Ann's son "Hukey" have been combined into one person -- but the sources appear to show they were two different people, and HUKEY was referred to as HUKEY and never HENRY in all the original source records I found for him. HENRY was a different person, HUKEY's FIRST COUSIN, who also lived in Brunswick County, VA.

Per Jane and Henry's father's will, he left property that he owned in Brunswick County, VA to his sons LUKE and THOMAS (all my land on the Nottaway River above and below Rockey Run.) (Source: Richmond County, VA Wills & Inventories,Vol. 5 1725-1753 Image 355 of 687 at FamilySearch) John originally purchased this property on 5 Nov 1747 (Brunswick County, VA Deed Records, Vol. 3 1744-1749, Image 500 of 638) with his son, HUGH WILLIAMS, and they divided the property up equally between them.

In 1753 Luke Williams "of Northfarnham Parish and County of Richmond" sold his inheritance of this property to HENRY WILLIAMS "of the Parish and County aforesaid" being in the County of Brunswick and Parish of Saint Andrews lying on the Nottaway River which "John Williams the father of HENRY WILLIAMS and LUKE WILLIAMS purchased of John Davis." The witness to this deed was their brother HUGH WILLIAMS. On the same day, their brother, Thomas, also sold his inheritence in Brunswick County -- again witnessed by their brother, Hugh Williams. Images 492 - 494 are several more sales of property between LUKE and HIS BROTHER HENRY. So Henry purchased property in Brunswick at that time, and appears to have lived there afterwards, as did his brother Hugh, who was also living there.

According to a source at FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/LC7P-6DL) -- Hukey Williams, the son of Roger Williams and Ann Williams (nee Williams) m. Miss Sarah Jones, whose family lived in Granville, NC -- they married in the year 1762 or 1763. They only had one son, John Wililams, before Hukey was murdered in the early 1760s. I don't know how reliable a source this is.

But Roger Williams' will clearly indicated that his son's name was HUKEY, the Northfarnham Parish Records also clearly state his name was "Hukey" and I also found a deed of sale of property in Brunswick County by Hukey Williams to a Lewelling Jones (Brunswick County Deed Records Vol. 8 1765-1767, Image 102 of 607 at FamilySearch.org) and again his name was spelled HUKEY.

So it appears that researchers may have been confusing the source records they have found in Brunswick for HENRY WILLIAMS and HUKEY WILLIAMS, and combing them into one person "Henry Hukey Williams."

And in looking at the sources, It seems possible that it was HENRY WILLIAMS who married Ann Lightfoot -- and he was the FIRST COUSIN of HUKEY WILLIAMS who married Sarah Jones, and they were not the same person. (See also Pittsylvania County sale of property by HENRY WILLIAMS and ANN, his wife, in sources below.)

UPDATE 11/27/2021: I have been exhaustively researching all the records for Richmond County, VA and I have learned that HENRY WILLIAMS, the brother of ANN WILLIAMS who was the mother of HUKEY WILLIAMS, wrote his WILL on 20 Apr 1759 in Richmond County, VA -- he died some time before 4 Feb 1760 when his will was filed in Court by his son JOHN WILLIAMS, and CHRISTOPHER LAWSON -- who was married to HENRY'S SISTER, SARAH.

The reason why I'm so interested in this family is because MY RESEARCH into my Williams family's history led me to BRUNSWICK COUNTY, VA (based on sources, etc. that I have found) so I am intensively researching all available documents in the FAMILYSEARCH CATALOGS, manually searching them when necessary -- for all records of the Williamses there in Brunswick -- and, in addition, someone has attached GEORGE WILLIAMS, the son ROGER WILLIAMS and ANN WILLIAMS, as the father of my 4th great-grandfather, JOHN WILLIAMS, in the FAMILYSEARCH world tree. His wife was SYLVIA BROWN.

So I began researching the family of Roger Williams and Ann Williams (nee Williams) and I was amazed when I found that some of those Williamses I had been researching in Brunswick were actually Ann Williams' family! I have Timelines for both Brunswick and Richmond County, for all the Williamses I am finding there, trying to find connections to my 4th great-grandfather, John Wiliams (Williams-102491) In addition -- many of the people I am researching were also later living in Pittsylvania County, where I discovered HENRY WILLIAMS and ANN, his wife, living Through 16 Dec 1776 (see sources below), when Henry Williams gave power of Attorney to RICHARD BROWN (see sources below for associations with the Browns in Brunswick County). I can find NO MORE RECORDS FOR HENRY WILLIAMS after December of 1776, either in Brunswick or Pittsylvania Countiees -- so it appears that he left the area in about 1776. In addition, Henry's Uncle Hugh Williams (brother of his father Henry and his Aunt Ann Williams) died in about May 1781 in Brunswick County, Virginia and HUGH'S widow, ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, married JOHN BROWN. (see sources in his WikiTree profile). It also appears that Hugh's nephew, HUKEY WILLIAMS, predeceased his UNCLE HUGH, as Hugh leaves a bequest in his will to "John, son of Hukey." As Hukey was definitely the son of ROGER and ANN WILLIAMS (nee Williams) and HUGH is definitely proven as the BROTHER OF ANN WILLIAMS, it is apparent this bequest is to the son of Hugh's nephew, Hukey Williams.

Sources

• Will of John Williams, Senior - Richmond County, Virginia Wills & Inventories, Vol. 5 1725-1753, Image 355 of 687 (FamilySearch.org)

• Richmond County, VA Deed Records Vol. 10 1741-1750, Image 620 of 651 (FamilySearch.org) -- 21 Jul 1749: Sale of property by HENRY WILLIAMS and PRISCILLA his wife, of the Parish of Northfarnham in the County of Richmond to EDWARD MORRIS of th same place . . . standing near the line of MR. JOHN WILLIAMS. witnesses: CHRISTOPHER LAWSON, WILLIAM OLDHAM and Alexander Bryan. (Henry's father's WILL mentions "land HENRY WILLIAMS sold to EDWARD MORRIS.") Christopher Lawson is Henry's brother in law, married to his sister Sarah. William Oldham is Henry's STEP-SON.

• Brunswick County, VA Deed Records Vol. 5 1751-1755, Image 491 of 631 (FamilySearch.org) -- 20 Oct. 1753: Sale of Property to Henry Williams by Luke Williams of the Parish of Northfarnham and County of Richmond, lying on the Nottaway River (in Brunswick), which John Williams the father of Henry Williams and Luke Williams purchased. Witness: Hugh Williams

• Richmond County, VA Wills & Inventories, Vol. 6 1753-1767, Image 334 of 792 (FamilySearch.org) 20 Apr 1759: HENRY WILLIAMS WILL