My Genealogy Hound

James H. Williams was born in Carroll County, Ark., in 1841, and is a son of Lewis and Nancy (Shropshire) Williams, natives of Tennessee, who located in Carroll County, in 1840. The father, who was a farmer all his life, died in 1843, leaving three children, viz.: Wesley, William and James H. Wesley and William were killed during the late war. After the death of her first husband Nancy Williams married Henry Nelson, who died in 1854, the father of one child, Adaline, now the wife of James Stelfer. The mother subsequently married Sam Crooks, by whom she had three children, viz.: Amanda, who married James Robinson; Miranda, the wife of Joseph Perkins, and Willis. Mr. Crooks died in December, 1887, and his widow lives on her father’s old homestead. She is well along in years, and is a member of the Christian Church. The maternal grandfather of our subject, James Shropshire, was a native of Tennessee, from which State he removed to St. Francis County, Ark., and afterward to Carroll County, where he lived a number of years, locating finally in Franklin County. He died in Yell County. In 1861 James H. Williams enlisted in Company A, Fifth Arkansas Regiment, and served until the close of the war, participating in the battle of Pea Ridge and others. After the surrender he returned home and turned his attention to farming. In 1866 he married Emily Smith, who was born in 1846, and is a daughter of Arthur Smith, who came to Arkansas from Alabama in 1860; he served in the late war, and died at Pine Bluff April 7, 1864. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been born twelve children, viz.: Mary A., wife of J. J. Ward; Martha J., William W., Lewis A., Nancy M., Florence E., Robert H., Anna D., Columbus M. and John M.; Sarah and Jane F. are deceased. As a result of hard work and good management, Mr. Williams has 300 acres of a fine tract of land under cultivation, and also owns and operates a cotton-gin and corn-mill; he also conducts a general merchandising business, which he established in the spring of 1888. He takes an active interest in educational and public enterprises, and is a Democrat politically. Mrs. Williams is a member of the Christian Church.