James Trager Williams (1785 - 1876)

Born 5 Aug 1785 in Harford County, Maryland

Husband of Hannah (Scoggin) Williams — married 22 Feb 1806 in Carter Co., Tennessee

Descendants

Died 1 Mar 1876 at age 90 in Hickory Valley, White, Tennessee

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Biography

James Trager Williams Birth 5 Aug 1785 in Harford County, Maryland Death 1 March 1876 in Hickory Valley, White, Tennessee

parents Francis Williams 1751 – 1833

Rebecca Trager Williams 1761 – 1840 wife Hannah SCOGGIN 1791 – 1848

children Amarilla Williams Arnold 1807 –

David D Williams, 1816 – 1844

Jesse Scoggin Williams 1821 – 1883

Benjamin Williams 1823 – 1835

Madison "Mathias" Frank Williams 1825 – 1860

Minerva Williams Arnold 1827 –

Rev Francis Anderson "Frank" Williams 1829 – 1905

Old Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church Members James T. (Trager?) Williams, Sr. Joined: November 15, 1864 by experience Born: 1785 in Harford County, MD Son of Francis & Rebecca Trager Williams Arrived in White County in 1807 Married Hannah Scoggin in Carter County, TN on January 22, 1805 Father of Jesse Scoggin Williams; grandfather of Rev. James Tate Williams Moved to Fannin County, TX in mid 1800s (where some of the children remained) but returned to Hickory Valley in White County, TN Died: March 1, 1876 Buried (as is his father) in a family cemetery at White Seminary in White County, TN (about 200 feet from where the building was located) See Chapter II of Part I, James Williams (1785-1876) in James Tate Williams: His Family and Recollections by his son, Joseph Vincent Williams (1938)

James Trager Williams story

There is no hard evidence that James' middle initial is from his mother's maiden name, but some family members report the "T" to be Trager. Also it could stand for Theodore as one of his grandsons was named James Theodore Fisk Williams. James was a Whig in politics. He was six feet tall, weighed 170 pounds, had light hair and blue eyes. James and Hannah Scoggin were married in Carter County, Tennessee, in 1806, presumably where his father, Francis lived and later (1807) moved to White County, Tennessee. James began purchasing tracts of land in 1818 which constituted his Parker Cove farm at White Seminary. James died, at age 91, on March 1, 1876 at the home of Jesse Scoggin Williams, his son, in Hickory Valley. James is buried at "White Seminary" in a private burial lot which was reserved for the Williams family on his farm at White Seminary, and his father, Francis, is also buried there. James Williams' farm originally consisted of 1400 acres. At the time James failed financially (1850), the farm consisted of only 420 acres. He had signed a large amount of security debts which he had to pay and was forced to sell his farm to Samuel Parker. Samuel Parker told his grandson that James was deeply worried about selling the land on which his ancestors and family members were buried. A new deed was prepared in which the burial ground consisting of one acre was excluded therefrom and dedicated to the Williams forever. This burial lot is about two hundred f eet from where the White Seminary building was located. Cemetery records in White County, TN show gravesites of the following in White Seminary Cemetery as Benjamin Williams, 1810-1835, Francis Williams, 1833, and M.J. Williams 1861-62. It is not known why other family members' graves are not noted, however, there are undoubtedly others* such as James, himself, and his wife, Hannah Scoggin Williams. There may be unmarked Williams' graves or stones that once stood that may have been destroyed due to time and the elements. *In locating this cemetery in April of 2001, sixteen graves were found to be in the Williams portion of the cemetery. Only those graves of Francis Williams, Ben Williams, and the infant M.J. Williams were marked. James' family convinced him to go to Texas when he sold his farm. This perhaps explains the migration of James' sons, Jesse and Elizabeth, and Madison (Mathias) and Louisa Williams to Honey Grove, Fannin County, Texas. It is reported that they returned to Hickory Valley, Tennessee but that Madison and Louisa remained in Fannin County with their two older sons, James Thomas and William D., and Fannin County was the birthplace of their other children: Abraham Lansden, (an Ordained Cumberland Presbyterian Minister), Milton, and Mary Elizabeth.

brief bio as a member of old Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church there is a portrait of James T Williams at this site http://www.danielhaston.com/places/churches/oldunion/people/members.htm

James T. (Trager?) Williams, Sr.

Joined: November 15, 1864 by experience Born: 1785 in Harford County, MD Son of Francis & Rebecca Trager Williams Arrived in White County in 1807 Married Hannah Scoggin in Carter County, TN on January 22, 1805 Father of Jesse Scoggin Williams; grandfather of Rev. James Tate Williams Moved to Fannin County, TX in mid 1800s (where some of the children remained) but returned to Hickory Valley in White County, TN Died: March 1, 1876 Buried (as is his father) in a family cemetery at White Seminary in White County, TN (about 200 feet from where the building was located)