The Williams' of Butler County, Ohio can trace their beginnings to Warren County, Ohio in the early 1800's. There Thomas P Williams married 14 year old Lydia Williams, daughter of Elizabeth Benham and Samuel Eberhart who died in the War of 1812. Elizabeth Benham was the daughter of Richard and Lydia Benham from New Jersey. Strange as it might seem, Sharon (Jones) Williams is also related to Lydia Robins. Richard and his famous brother, Capt. Robert Benham, were among the first settlers in Cincinnati.
After migrating west to Illinois and Missouri, the family moved back to Ohio, first to Warren County, then Butler County. It appeared Thomas returned to Ohio ahead of the family and that he fought in the Civil War. He did not return home.
In 2016, I made a major breakthrough, allowing us to trace the Williams family back to eastern New Jersey and ultimately to Wales. Census records repeated state Thomas P Williams was born in Virginia. Hand-me-down traditions told his parents were William Williams and Nancy Anerton, but the trail always went cold. Tradition also made reference to Williamsburg. The question for me was how did Thomas come to live in Warren County, Ohio. County property records show Thomas owned property in a region known as the Virginia Military District which included Williamsburg, Ohio.
After working on this information for several years, records were found that Thomas was the son of Joel Williams, Sr. He was one the first persons to settle in Cincinnati, was very well known at the time and was close friend to the Benham family. Some of his children later lived in Williamsburg, Ohio. The famous Draper Papers even contains a narrative of the Joel Williams family. Joel's Williams' Will lists Thomas as one of his sons. We even have a solid date of birth. The book "The Williams families of New Jersey: descendants of Matthew Williams of Wethersfield, Connecticut" by Lyle Keith Williams (1998) which traces the Williams family back to Scotland includes the aforementioned Draper Papers. Done!!
While the site emphasizes information on the family of Gomer Thomas Williams (1910), his siblings and their ancestors, it has been expanded to include Isabelle Nickell and also Sharon Jones' family line. - - - Members of the McCray, Schneider, Brunt, Nickell, Dunn and finally Jones & Delbrook families can now be found here.
---- The Nickell family dates back to eastern Kentucky and ultimately to Ireland in the early 1700's. Family members participated in multiple early American Wars including the French & Indian War and the Battle of Point Pleasant.
---- The Jones line came from Southwestern Pennsylvania.
---- The both the Delbrook and Schneider family lines date back to Germany.
Welcome to the Winans & Watercutter family which has now been added to this database. It is interesting that the children of Jonathan & Rachel (Winan) Williams have common ancestors, starting with William H. Taulbee (1748-1833) and his wife Margaret Canady (1762-xxxx)
In 2018, I submitted my DNA to Ancestry. Use of the results have confirmed many of the previously identified relationships.