Hiram's Photo
This email exchange was based on someone (who wants to remain anonymous) seeing this picture of Hiram Williams in the gallery: I saw the picture of your Hiram Williams on this web site. This Hiram was probably named after my great great grandfather Hiram Williams (his uncle). My Hiram was born around Orangeburg, SC in 1815. He moved here to the Cordele, Ga area in the 1840's. My great grandfather Isaiah Williams (born 1842) fought in the Civil War. In an article he wrote late in life......he claimed to have walked home from a Maryland prison camp after the war with a cousin from SC. I assume you guys are cousins of mine. [name withheld by request] The family history notes I have are more extensive on my Grandmother's side than my Grandfather's. And I have to admit to not being too much into genealogy; but I am curious about my family and extended cousins. -David Who is Loren? The name Loren is also in this line of Williams........assuming we are kin. Loren is my father, named after his father Wyman Loren Williams. I imagine both Loren and Wyman are family names on the Williams side, but I don't know any more about them. OK. Are they from the Orangeburg area in SC ? My grandfather was born in Norway, SC; by the time I came along he and my grandmother were living in Columbia. I don't have a map handy but I want to say that's in the neighborhood of Orangeburg; is it? My mother was a Williams. Her great grandfather was Hiram Williams born in 1815. This Hiram has many brothers and sisters including his elder brother Isaiah Williams who is probably your Hiram's father. These older Hiram and Isaiah's father was Theophilus Williams born in 1777. Isaiah is a family name here too. My great grandfather was Isaiah Williams. My grandfather was Isaiah Williams. And my mother had a brother named Isaiah (Ike) Williams.He lives in Atlanta. There are many Hirams too. Leland got a copy of the first note and responed with this: Hello [anonymous]. Yes, we are cousins. From "The Williams and Tyler Families" by Wyman L. Williams (my father), 1980:
So, you see, our Hiram (born 1842) was named for his Uncle Hiram (1815) and his father was Isaiah (born 1813). About the birthplace of our 1815 Hiram, my father's book says: "Sometime between 1810 and 1820 (census data), Theophilus and Lydia moved from Richland County to Lexington County, SC ... not later than 1813 because Isaiah was born in Lexington County. In 1830 they were living in Orangeburg County." Is it possible that your family data is not precise? If our 1815 Hirams are the same, he would have been born in Lexington County and moved to Orangeburg County a few years later. The connection gets stronger. My father's book reports that the 1815 Hiram married Sara Jane Warren on Jan 28, 1841. Sara Jane was born March 24, 1825 in Lexington County. They settled, early after marriage, in Cordele, GA, where they spent the rest of their lives. They had 11 children, all named and dated; the first being: Isaiah (April 7, 1842 I wonder if your Isaiah was in the same Civil War unit with our Hiram, who is buried in Stonewall Cemetary, Waynesboro, VA, near where he fell in the Battle of Cedar Creek? Hiram's unit was Company I20 SC. There were a lot of Williamses in that unit -- and a lot of Gunters (my wife's family), including one of hers. You could look for your great grandfather Isaiah in the Company roster, which is published in: History of Kershaw's Brigade, with Complete Roll of Companies, Biographical Sketches, Incidents, and Anecdotes, Etc. by Augustus Dickert. Originally published by Elbert H. Aull Co. in 1899. Republished in 1988 by Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, OH. FYI [anonymous], I am copying this message to my nephew, David (whose website you found) and his father (my brother, Loren) plus:
[anonymous], If you will send your USMail address to Jimmy (jwiljrj@netscape.net), he could put you on the family mailing list for the annual reunion at Willow Swamp Baptist Church, near Norway SC (first Saturday in May).
In a message this morning copied to me by David, you added the following info: My mother was a Williams. Her great grandfather was Hiram Williams born in 1815. This Hiram has many brothers and sisters including his elder brother Isaiah Williams who is probably your Hiram's father. These older Hiram and Isaiah's father was Theophilus Williams born in 1777. Isaiah is a family name here too. My great grandfather was Isaiah Williams. My grandfather was Isaiah Williams. And my mother had a brother named Isaiah (Ike) Williams.He lives in Atlanta. There are many Hirams too. And, there was dialogue between you and David about location of Norway and the names, Loren and Wyman. Let me clarify a bit: Norway is in Orangeburg County. Our Hiram's son (only child) was Braxton Bragg Williams and he built a farming and mercantile business there to support a large family, last of which was my father, Wyman Loren Williams. David's father, my brother, is Wyman Loren, Jr. and he will have the definitive word on these names. I can recall no information about "Loren," but I recall hearing that Dad was named "Wyman" in honor of a medical person -- my mind is torn between his being the local Norway area doctor or a state health official. I will try to scan and email the most relevant pages of Dad's book to you. If Judge Jimmy still has photo copies left from last May, you could get one of those from him for a few bucks. Cousin Leland [1/24/03] And Leland added this to the discussion on the 29th: Hiram's brother, Roland (Rollin) saw his brother fall at Cedar Creek, tried to go to him, but was prevented by Union soldiers. He waved to Hiram and was taken away. That was Oct 19, 1864. Another brother, John W. Williams was in the same company. I don't know anything about Roland after that day until the day in about 1930 (?), when he gave an interview to my first cousin, C. B. Williams for a story in the Charleston News and Courier, which preserved the story of Hiram's demise. I suppose he could have gone to a POW camp in Maryland and walked home with your Isaiah. Leland And [anonymous] sent Leland this photo of Hiram Sr.:
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