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Below is a family biography included in The History of Dent County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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William W. Williams, who is closely connected with the farming and stock raising interests of Norman Township, was born in Wales in 1817, and is the son of David and Sarah Williams, natives of Wales, where they spent all their lives. The mother died during the Civil War, and the father died about ten years before. Of their seven children, five sons and two daughters, William W. is the youngest. He was reared on a farm in his native country, and received a very limited education. About 1840 he came to the United States, and lived in Pennsylvania until 1866, when he came to Dent County, Mo., and settled on his present farm, which now consists of 500 acres, with 150 under cultivation, all the result of his own labor. He was engaged in coal mining in Pennsylvania, and farming and stock-raising in Missouri. His farm is located nine miles north of Salem, and is a fine place. He served a short time in Company A, Forty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was on guard duty in Pennsylvania. He was married in 1849 to Miss Jane Thomas, who was born in Pennsylvania, and died in June, 1851. She bore him one child, who is also deceased. Mr. Williams is a Republican in politics, his first presidential vote being for Taylor in 1848. His three brothers and one sister came to the United States, and the sister died in Salem. She was the wife of William Williams. Mr. Williams is the owner of 200 acres near Meramec River, and a house and lot in Salem, all the result of his own hard work, and has cleared nearly all his land by his own individual labor. He has always been very industrious, and, although seventy-one years of age, does considerable hard work. In early life he made several sea voyages, and has had a varied experience.

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This family biography is one of 82 biographies included in The History of Dent County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Dent County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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