In a Jackson Purchase Journal [number and date not noted} I located these two abstracted deeds, the first of which is of great interest to me: I am particularly interested in the Williams couple--and their descendants. Samuel S. Williams died ca 1838, and Jesse H. Williams, probably his eldest son, became administrator. J. H. Williams is found later in the censuses of Ballard Co. As I remember, J. H. Williams married Rebecca Cook in Hickman Co. [Deed Bk not noted] p. 332 Deed 12/13/1831 Wm. Hunt Jr. and Samuel J. [probably should be S.] Williams and Catharine Williams, wife of said Samuel, of Hickman county, KY, to Baker Woodruff of same, for consideration of $90 one tract of land being the N.E.Q. of Section 3 Township 4 Range 4 West containing 160 acres. Wit. Robert Walker William Hunt, Jr. Harrison A. Philips Samuel J. ? [prob. should be S.] Williams Catharine Williams Page 333 Deed 5-23-1831 Joseph Elliott and Mary his wife of Hickman county, KY, sells to Baker Woodruff of same for consideration of $200 one tract of land being the N.W.Q. of Section 3 Township 4 Range 4 West containing 160 acres. J.W.Elliott Mary Elliott There is another deed involving Samuel S. Williams, purchaser [grantee], and David N. Dodson, in which Williams bought 20 acres of land on the Mississippi River [DB B-199, 23 April 1833]. This will not be repeated here. Questions and comments: 1. If anyone can identify any of these persons, will you please reply. The two parcels of land being purchased by Baker Woodruff seemed to adjoin. Genealogists have to study associates and watercourses in order to sort out persons with common surnames. 2. Comment: Samuel S. Williams and perhaps Catharine were the parents of J. H. Williams, later of Ballard Co. which was formed from the northern part of Hickman Co. Jesse or J.H. Williams appears in the 1850, 1860 censuses of Ballard Co. 3. Comment: At one time, Samuel S. Williams owned Island No. 2, Hickman Co. (was taxed for it) in the Mississippi River [Hickman Co. tax lists]. My checking the older KY maps sometime ago in the Kentucky Historical Society revealed that such an island did indeed exist but no longer exists. (It probably floated down the Mississippi.) 4. Comment: Samuel S. Williams died intestate ca 1838, and J. H. Williams, later of Ballard Co., was administrator and held an estate sale (Court Order book) 5. Comment: Samuel S. Williams and Catherine Stephens married in Henderson Co., KY ca 1817. Since Jesse H. seems to have been born prior to that date, according to 1850, 1860 censuses, he may not have been the son of Catherine Stephens Williams. Or possibly he was born before the couple married. 6. Comment: Samuel S. Williams, according to research by another person, had a bond [for debt] posted by Samuel Farrar Williams in Henderson Co., KY in the early 1820s. He and the elder Samuel are both listed in the 1820 census of Henderson Co., KY. 7, Comment: The elder Samuel F. Williams (said to be born 1759 in Granville Co., NC, according to his rejected Rev. War pension claim) was married ca 1813 in Henderson Co., KY to a widow and a neighbor--one Elizabeth Stephens, widow of David Stephens. David Stephens and his sister Catherine Stephens [later Mrs. George Sprinkle] as co-tenants had purchased Lot 23, Henderson Co. grant, in 1799. It seems likely that his son Samuel S. Williams married his stepsister, Catherine Stephens. About 1823, they removed to Hickman Co., KY. Samuel S. Williams was soon appointed gaoler [jailer] in Hickman Co., KY. If you have any comments, additions, or corrections, I would be most receptive to your e-mails. E.W.Wallace