Hugh Richard Williams
1821-1900

Welsh Immigrant

The purpose of this blog is to enable the descendants of Hugh R. Williams to separate fact and fiction regarding his history,  discover his parentage, place of birth, and  work together to share information regarding Hugh and his family.

Family Lore:  What is fact?  What is fiction? 

In an article on Hugh R. Williams published in the History of Blue Earth County  (P : 756),  Hugh R. Williams was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales, about 1827 to Richard and Kitty Jones Williams.  He had one brother, William, who was two years younger.  The father, Richard,  died when Hugh was about four years old.  His mother, Kitty,  died when he was about six.  The two boys were raised by relatives. According to the family,  the people Hugh R. and William were living with owned a pub or inn.  One day the two boys were in the cellar fighting and tipped over a barrel of beer or ale.  Frightened, they ran away and came to America.  

Hugh R Williams, was originally a farmer in Waukesha, Wisconsin.  The first official record found thus far is a Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States No # 1333 filed in the Circuit Court of Waukesha County, Wisconsin.  Apparently he filed this document on the 4th day of November, 1851.  It claims he was born in Wales in 1821 and immigrated to the US on or about the month of May, 1850.  The next document filed after that was by a Gabriel Williams also of Wales, who was born in 1811.  Could this be a relation to Hugh R. Williams? 

The 1850 census records for Delafield Township, Waukesha, Wisconsin list Hugh and Margaret Williams.  They probably married in Wisconsin in 1850.  Hugh R. became naturalized and they had daughter, Catherine.  Shortly afterwards they started charting their course for Butternut Valley late in the fall of 1855.  The second child, Richard Williams was born on April 1, 1855.  The family are as follows:  Hugh R., wife Margaret, children:  Richard, Catherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Ellen, Hugh, Jeanette, Willie, Margaret E. and Thomas. 

According to the Lake Crystal newspaper dated September 12,  the family (Margaret and Hugh R. daughter Catherine, and son Richard) left to go to southern Minnesota in November of 1855.  The following is part of the Lake Crystal article with revisions thrown in.  Apparently they had yoke and oxen and one cow when they settled on the farm owned by George Wagner.  They lived there for about three months before they moved to a 160 acre farm southwest of the village of Cambria, Minnesota, which they acquired by preemption paying two and one-half dollars per acre. Here they built a log house.  Their son Richard Williams later bought this farm in 1881. 

Like other pioneers of those early days, the family lived on johnny cakes and prairie chickens.  The chickens were so abundant they could be caught in traps.  Passenger pigeons and partridges were also included in the menu.

Below a large spring, just below the Williams farm, a tribe of Indians lived in a village each winter.  Richard Williams played with the Indian children until the uprising occurred when he was seven years old.  Prior to the outbreak of 1862, the Indians brought wild ducks and geese to the Williams family and traded them for bread.

Hugh R. Williams joined the Butternut Valley guard to protect the settlers from the invading Indians.    During the outbreak, the family took refuge in South Bend.  In their absence,  the Indians took one horse and a colt. 

Mrs. Margaret Williams died in 1867, cause of death unknown.  Later that year, their daughter, Catherine,  married William Salisbury Hughes of Butternut Valley. Hugh R. Williams signed their marriage certificate as a witness. 

Hugh R. Williams married again on May 19, 1869 in Cambria, Minnesota, to Ruth Rees whose father was a minister named Joseph Rees.  They moved west in 1881 and lived in Coalville, Utah, long enough to have one child and then settled in Lewisville, Idaho.

Hugh R. Williams died on August 6, 1900 and his second wife Ruth died in 1925.

This article was based on information given by Gladys Williams, a granddaughter of Hugh's first family living in Minnesota and correspondence she received from Selma Grimmett, a 2nd great granddaughter of Hugh's second family living in Idaho.

"Hugh R. Williams", Hughes, Thomas. History of Blue Earth County and Biographies of Its Leading Citizens, Middle West   Pub. Co.:Chicago,1901. http://openlibrary.org/books/OL24156317M/History_of_Blue_Earth_County_and_biographies_of_its_leading_citizens

Another account of Hugh R. Williams' life written by another granddaughter, Joyce Spaulding gives additional information.

Hugh Williams was born September 15, 1824, at Kraganois, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Richard and Kitty (Jones)Williams.  His father was "Champion Boxer of the British Isles" for four years. His parents died at an early age and relatives took care of him and his younger brother, William.

 In 1846 Hugh married Margaret Jones and in 1849 they left Cardiff, Wales on the ship "City of Glasglow" and sailed to New York.  First they settled in Waukeska, Wiscconsin, then moved to Minnesota in 1859 and settled at Butternut Valley, now called Cambria.  They had seven children while living there.  They were: Catherine, Mary, Richard, Elizabeth, Ellen, William, and Hugh Thomas.  They purchased the Richard Morgan farm and built a house in the valley.  Since they were early settlers in that area, they endured many hardships and had to fight the Indians.  To protect themselves the people hid in a cornfield from the attacking Indians.
 

In May 1868 Hugh's wife, Margaret, died and shortly after that he married his second wife, Ruth Rees, at Saratoga,  Minnesota.  She was born January 1, 1845, at Scranton, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joseph and Sarah Jones Reese.  Her father was pastor of the Mankato Presbyterian Church.  To this union the following children were born:  William, born  December 2, 1869, at Cambria, Blue Earth, Minnesota, married Hulda Elizabeth Hill on 8 January 1891. He  died September 18, 1934.   Benjamin, born  September 7, 1871 at Cambria, married Edith Leonhurt on September 1900.  He died May 12, 1945. Joseph Bert, born  August 18, 1874 at New Ulm, Minnesota.  He married Dora Idella Marler on June 18, 1903.  He died April 5, 1927. Sarah Mable born September 16, 1877 at Cambria.  He married Moses Robert Johnson on December 25, 1894.  She died December 23, 1972. Alice Eva, born January 8, 1880 at Cambria, Minnesota.  She married Sylvester L. (Bash) Bennett on December 25, 1896. She died March 9, 1940.  Ella born December 29, 1882 at Wales, Utah.  She married Albert Neas on June 17,1899.  She died  September 23, 1967. Jeanette Evelyn, born December 5, 1885 at Lewisville, married Bert Henderson.  She died April 24, 1941. Raymond Dwight, born January 22, 1887, at Lewisville.  He  married Alice Kendrick on April 7, 1910.  He died November 1,1949.

 In 1881, the family joined the LDS Church and came to Utah on the train.  They settled in Coleville where Hugh worked on the railroad in that area and at Nephi for two years.  In 1884 they moved to Lewisville and took up a 160 acre homestead almost two miles west of Lewisville.  He cleared the land and hauled wood to Idaho Falls to make some money.  It was a hard life living in such primitive conditions, but they were used to it.

Hugh was a very religious man and rode a donkey to every meeting on Sundays.  His wife was not as converted to the LDS faith and this caused some contention between them.  But she was a good mother and, as a midwife, delivered many babies, including her own grandchildren.  In times of illness, a white flag was put on the roof top and Mrs. Williams would come to assist those in need.

In 1899 they sold their farm to George Hill and decided to move to Montana with their married daughter, Kitty, and her husband, Mose Johnson.  But Hugh became very ill and stayed behind.  After he found out he had cancer, he decided to go to Montana anyway.  Bash L. Bennett and Bill Williams put him on the train to join his family who had traveled to Montana by team and wagon.  While enroute, he got off the train at Chinook, Montana, and died there August 6, 1900 before the family could reach him.  He's buried at Chinook, Montana. 

His wife Ruth Rees Williams died November 4, 1925, at Roberts and is buried in Lewisville's cemetery.