Ehrrr@aol.com poses these questions and makes a comment in the first paragraph which applies to much of our genealogy. The eternal search for the correct documentation keeps us bleary-eyed and down with the bookworms, microfilm readers, microfiche readers, and now the internet!! This subscriber asks: I am going to post my line again. I would appreciate any info anyone has on this lineage. We dig and dig and still get some wrong info. E. W., I would like your opinion if you think this line could connect to the Williams that married Rebecca Lanier. He seems to have most of the same given names. I had thought my gg grandfather was born in NC but he says on the 1850 Knox Co., TN census he was born in TN. There is also in Knoxville a Joseph L. Williams, age 44 and b. in TN, married to Melinda age 28, b. NC. Children: Charles. 6; Joseph L., 3; another son age 1 and a daughter that looks like Medora age 3/12, all born in TN. I am womdering if my James R. and Joseph L. connect in some way. James Williams; age 21; laborer, born in TN Nancy, his wife; age 24; born in SC E.W.'s long-winded answer about Joseph Williams of Surry Co., NC and his wife Rebecca Lanier. The original documents should be searched to make sure these secondary sources are correct. But they will provide guidelines for you to determine whether your Williamses are of the same family. I write biographies for most of the people in my database so that I can keep track of what resources I have used. Also, these bios help me analyze what errors I may have made and what else I need to do. Sometimes when I go over the biographies, I discover a fact or a person which or whom I had insufficient knowledge at the time I wrote the bio. Here goes some info which I gathered in several libraries over several years: In a book published by NSDAR, James Hunter Chapter, Madison, NC in 1977, EARLY FAMILIES OF THE NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES OF ROCKINGHAM AND STOKES WITH REVOLUTIONARY SERVICE, the children of Joseph and Rebecca Williams are listed along with some information about Joseph Williams and some brief notes about his wife: "Joseph Williams--Born 27 Mar 1748 Hanover Co., VA, died 11 May 1827 Stokes Co., NC; married 11 Sept 1772 Surry Co., NC, Rebecca Lanier, born 27 Jan 1757, died 1832." [The place of marriage should be Granville Co., NC, assuming this marriage took place at the place where the bond was issued. The death date is in conflict with the death date given in the obituary.] "Joseph Williams represented Surry Co. at the NC Provincial Congress at Hillsborough Aug 1775; also at the Provincial Congress of 1776. During this time he was serving as Clerk of Court in Surry Co. when he wasn't actively serving as lieut colonel of the Surry Co. Militia. He was one of the leaders in expeditions to quell Indian uprisings and participated in the Battle of Moore's Creek. Later in the war, he served as adjutant to Gen Nathanael Greene's Army. .... "Joseph Williams lived at Pantha Creek, near Shallow Ford of the Yadkin River. He and his wife are buried on his plantation; his grave has been marked as a Revolutionary Soldier by DAR; and descendants see that the graves are well kept. This area is now in Forsyth Co., NC. "... information seemed to be mixed with that of the children of Nathaniel Williams of Rockingham Co., older brother of Col. Joseph Williams. Hence most dates are omitted, hoping that later a complete family Bible record can be found on the Williams family. "The will of Joseph Williams is recorded in Surry Co., NC Will Book 4, page 1, dated 28 Jan 1812, with codicils on 7 Aug 1813 and 1819, and probated in 1827. It named his wife Rebecca/Rebekah and the following children in this order..." Nathaniel "Nathy" - an afflicted child Joseph, Jr. m. Susan Taylor [Aforementioned Nelson in Tyler's Quarterly calls him Major and states he is of Surry Co., NC.] Alexander Williams m. Catherine Dixon [Nelson states he was of Greenville, TN] Nicholas Lanier m. Mary G. Kerr John Williams (b. 29 Jan 1778), b. Surry Co., NC, m. Melinda White. He died 1837 in Tennessee. (She reportedly was daughter of Gov. White [of what state?]) [Nelson states he was a colonel in the battle of the Horsehoe against Creek Indians.] William m. Sarah King Robert m. Rebecca Jane Smith [Nelson says he was a member of Congress from 1797 to 1803] Thomas Lanier (1782-ca. 1813) m. Mary Lawson McClung [Nelson states he was chancellor of Tennessee.] Lewis, a twin of Thomas Lanier, n.m. (1782-ca. 1813) [Nelson states he was a member of Congress in 1815 and died Feb. 22, 1842.] Frances (Fanny) m. Col. John P. Erwin [John Hill Wheeler says of Nashville, TN] Rebecca Lanier (22 Mar 1788, Surry Co., NC, m. John Hunt Wm. Bush [Is this the groom's full name?] [Nelson states she married John Wimbish of Halifax, VA.] (end of quotation) Jo White Linn, abstractor of many records of western North Carolina counties, writes that Joseph Williams married Rebecca Lanier. (Jo White Linn, SURRY CO NC WILLS 1771-1827 [Baltimore, 1992]) A more expanded version of Joseph's will appears in a later publication: Surry Co. NC Will Abstracts - Book 4:1. 28 Jan 1812. Will of Joseph Williams. (This will is 13 pages long with 3 codicils.) Wife Rebekah. Sons: Nathaniel (Natty) afflicted; Joseph; Alexander of Tenn.; Nicholas Lanier, youngest son; John at the bar; William decd by 1819; Robert at the bar; Lewis and Thomas Lanier. Daus: Rebekah and Fanny, wife of John P. Erwin of Nashville. Granddaughter: Sally only child of decd son William. Negroes named: Cary, Sam, Tabb, Daniel, Nancy, Squire, Jack, Ned, Isbell, Lidia, Sally, Cynthia, Will (bought of Henry Speer), Caesor, Little Will, Jenny, Pulvey (?), Bartlett, Peter, Jude, Little Peter, Don (?), Ceasor, Aber, Lou, Soloman, Charott(?), Squire, Pillar (?), Violet, Dorcas, Lou, Matt, Rachel, Horace, Booker, Betty. Lands bought of: Lewis & Reuben Whealess, Col. Mosby, Sper, Mark Hollimon's Sewats (?) River Tracts, Ruby's tract, Broughs or Goughs place. Deeded land on both eastern and western waters. Mentions lime kiln & quarry, fishery & fish trap. Mentions Charles Bagge (below Salem), William Thornton, Thomas S. Williams of Knoxville. Exrs: wife Rebekah, sons Robert, Joseph, John, William, Lewis, Thomas Lanier, Alexander and Nicholas Lanier Williams. Wit: George Kembrough, Robert R. Freeman and Jo Williams, Jr. /s/ Jo Williams Wit to codicil 27 June 1825: John Kerr, Thomas Thornton. Probate Nov. ct. 1827. Proven by Henry P. Poindexter, Elias Turner, Samuel Sper, John Kerr, Thomas Thornton. (Hester Jackson, SURRY COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA WILL ABSTRACTS BOOK 4 1827-1853 [Toast, NC: C. L. Snow, ca 1991) Background Information Granville Co. Will Bk 1-225: Dec. 18, 1777 - Thomas Lanier gave to his son-in-law Joseph Williams, who married his daughter Rebeckah Lanier, a negro named Nelsy. Wits: William Bullock, Pleasant Henderson, Susanna Lanier. (Zae Hargett Gwynn, ABSTRACTS OF THE WILLS AND ESTATE RECORDS OF GRANVILLE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA 1746-1808 [Rocky Mount, NC: Joseph W. Watson, 1973]) One of of the executors of Robert Lanier, Surry Co., NC, was one Joseph Williams. Linn, cited previously, adds these notes to the abstract of the will of Robert Lanier, 28 Feb 1789, Surry Co., NC: "Robert Lanier was a brother-in-law of Joseph Williams, the latter appointed the guardian of Thomas Lanier, 17 Aug 1786. Joseph Williams married Rebecca Lanier, b. 27 Jan 1757, d. 1832." (Linn, ibid.) Surry Co. tax list, 1769, shows Joseph Williams with 8 whites, 9 blacks. Court minutes of Surry Co., NC 14 Aug 1800: "Ordered by the court that Calvin Wheaton, William Thornton, Henry Speer, Henry Young, John Williams, Jon Haines, and Thomas Hadley, Esquires or any three of them be app't a committee to settle with Joseph Williams as guardian of Thomas Lanier and also with the executors of Robert Lanier dec'd and make their return into the Clerks office or to the next court." The fact that Lanier and Williams were merchants of Rowan Co., from which Surry Co. was formed in 1771 is shown in abstracts of Surry County Will Book A 1771-1787: Page 8 - B of S (Bill of Sale) - Joseph Spairpoint to Robert Lanier and Joseph Williams, 1772. Page 8a - D of T (Deed of Trust) - Wm Ross to Lanier & Williams Page 9a - 1772 - B of S - James Jones to Lanier & Williams, Merchants of Rowan County. Page 53a - 1775 - B of S - Joshua Frost to John Armstrong, Robert Lanier, and Joseph Williams Page 54 - 1775 - Mortgage - Samuel Smith to Lanier and Williams Page 54a - 1775 - B of S - Wm Davis to Lanier and Williams Page 55a - 1775 - B of S - Peter Meiar or Myars & Mary Meiar, to Lanier and Williams 55a - 1775 - B of S - Wm Frazer of Rowan Co., to Lanier and Williams 61 - 1775 - B of S - Thomas Church to Lanier and Williams ("Surry County Will Book A, 1771-1787," JOURNAL OF NORTH CAROLINA GENEALOGY, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1963, pages 1109-1113) Other entries in Surry Co. NC will book 2 show some activities of Joseph Williams (who may have signed himself as "Jo. Williams") in 1783 and also of Robert Lanier, his business partner. A transcript of a Williams Bible record, in VA State Archives, says Joseph was born 1748 and died 1827. Virginia State Archives holds a document "cc 28892" - "Williams Family Bible, Hanover Co. and North Carolina 1748-1800." The following notes accompany the record, which is not a true Bible record but merely a transcription: "Family Register Joseph Williams and his wife (From the McClung Collection, Knoxville, TN)." "Copied from family Bible in possession of Nicholas Williams at Panther Creek ... Co., NC by Rev. James King Stringfield while visiting grandfather Wm. Williams." The date of the visit, as indicated below, was 1914. The following was copied from the VA State Archives Holdings: "Joseph Williams was born 27 Mar 1748 and departed this life 11 Aug 1827." "Rebecca [too faint to read] (Lanier) Williams was born 27 Jan 1757 (?) and ... 1832." These are the dates which White ascribes to Joseph Williams, but instead they seem to pertain to Rebecca. "Joseph and Rebecca Williams were m. 16 Sept 1772." "Children: Robert 1773 Joseph 1775 John 1778 Nathaniel 1780 William 1783 Lewis ) twin 1786 Thomas Lanier ) twin 1786 Rebekah 1788 Sterling 1791 dec'd as infant Alexander 1793 Jannie (?) 1796 Nicholas 1800 "Copy by James King Stringfield, Nashville, TN, 1914." (Note: This John Williams, wife Malinda White, is reportedly the ancestor of Thomas Lanier "Tennesse" Williams [26 Mar 1911, Canton, Madison Co., MS-25 Feb 1983, NYC.] From "The Ancestry of Thomas Lanier "Tennesse" Williams" in NEHGS NEXUS, Vol. VIII, Nos. 3 & 4.) Regarding Joseph Williams born in 1775, the following death notice appeared in a contemporary newspaper: "WILLIAMS, Maj. Joseph, aged 65, Oct. 5, 1840, at his residence in Surry Co. (Oct. 23, 1840)" (Robert M. Topkins, MARRIAGE AND DEATH NOTICES FROM THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN (Salisbury, North Carolina) 1820-1842 [Spartanburg SC: The Reprint Co. Publishers, 1975], page 251) (Submitted by E.W.Wallace)