WILLIAMS family, Lunenburg Co., VA

In 1757, Daniel Williams, planter, of Granville Co., NC deeded a tract of land consisting of 420 acres in Lunenburg Co., VA to his son, Henry Williams "for love and affection." Henry and his wife Elizabeth lived in Lunenburg Co., VA through 1762. In 1764 Lunenburg Co was divided to form Mecklenburg Co., VA in the south. Henry and Elizabeth Williams were then listed as living in Mecklenburg Co., VA between 1765-1770; therefore this land must have laid in the area that was originally Lunenburg that became Mecklenburg Co., VA in 1764. The Willliams family removed to Orange Co., NC, then Caswell Co., NC about 1770.

Today I searched for Henry Williams in the USGenWeb Lunenburg Co., VA archive files for deeds and court records. Although I did not find any references to Henry Williams, my ancestor, I did find a family record file of Reverend John Williams, that was submitted by JoLee Gregory Spears. Reverend John Williams of Lunenburg Co., VA was a 1st cousin of my ancestor, Henry Williams.

JoLee's family record contained a link to Reverend John Williams and Henry Williams' grandfather, John Williams, the Wealthy Welshman published by Scott K. Williams.

This website was a wealth of information regarding the history of the Williams Family in America. Scott K. Williams' two significant references were the following:

1) "Williams 300 Years of Leadership in America: A History of the Descendants of John Williams of Llangollen, Wales" by Lewis James Williams, 1997. This book can be found at the State Library of North Carolina.

2) The transcript of the Williams Family Bible written by John Drayton Williams, son of Washington Williams, grandson of Gen. James Williams; In 1910 Barbara A. McClung copied John D. Williams' family bible that he wrote in 1845 which she borrowed from William D. Williams, Jr (Greenville, TN). If I'm not mistaking, this transcription by Barbara A. McClung is housed in the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection at the Knox Co., TN Library and is copied in several rootsweb files online.

I am very excited about all the great publications references I have come across this week on my Williams family. Now I just have to find enough records to prove that Henry Williams is really my ancestor!!! I'm not sure of what the genealogy netiquette of saying this is, but proving that Henry Williams' daughter, Susannah Williams Brooks Rice was married to Christopher Brooks, and that they were the parents of my ancestor, Christopher Williams Brooks, would disprove existing publications listing George Brooks as C W's father.

With a little help from my new-found friend in TN, I hope to solve this mystery soon.