Errors in census records and various publications pertaining to the Williamson family as well as the loss of Licking Co. marriage records in the courthouse fire of 1875 have made Williamson family research a big challenge.
George Williamson's death is recorded in Licking Co., OH death records. That record says he died age 77 years, 2 mo. on 10 Feb 1880 and was born in Fairfield Co., OH. If this is correct he was born in Dec 1802.
His parents were Peter and Rebecca (Green) Williamson who were married in Fairfield Co., OH in Jul 1801.
It is thought that Peter and Rebecca moved their family to Monroe Twp., Licking Co. about 1818. In the 1820 census Peter Williamson is listed as head of family and one male is listed in the 16-26 category as well as one in the 16-18 category. George would have been 17 that summer at census time so would have probably been the one male listed for each category.
In the 1830 census George is not listed as head of a household in the Licking Co. area. However Peter Williamson IS listed and there is a male in his household who COULD have been George. George was old enough to have been married by 1830 but there is no evidence that he was unless the Ameson Williamson, age 22, with wife Lydia age 18, and son Richard age 1, living next to George in the 1850 census was a son by an earlier wife. It is not known who this Ameson Williamson was and he does not appear in later censuses in the Licking Co. area unless he was listed by another name (which did happen with other members of the Williamson families).
Several published accounts of the Williamson family state that George Williamson's wife was Mary Evans and that they had a large family. However, George's daughter Asenath "Sena" (Williamson) Smith's death record lists her mother as Mary Cross. George's son Jeremiah died in Arkansas and his death record indicates his mother was __________Evans. This would seem to indicate George had at least two wives.
No documentary proof has been found but there is circumstantial evidence in the naming pattern of George Williamson's children that points to the following explanation of who George Williamson's wives were.
Berkeley Co., VA marriage records indicate that a Richard Evans married a Cenea Cross Feb 1824. Basil Cross was the bondsman for this marriage. Those same Berkeley Co., VA Marriage records show that a Basil Cross married Mary Seaborn there in 1800.
In the 1830 Berkeley Co., VA(WV) census a Sena Evans is listed as head of a household having 2 females and 1 male under 5 years of age. It is believed that this Sena Evans was the Cenea Cross who married Richard Evans in 1824 there. Apparently she had been widowed and left with three young children to care for. It is thought that she went to central OH by mid 1830's but it is not known who she may have gone to OH with.
There was a Basil S. Cross living in Monroe Twp., Licking Co. very Peter and Rebecca (Green) Williamson. He had married Lucinda Green, a dau. of Peter and Rebecca (Green) Williamson brother, in Licking Co. in 1829. It is SUSPECTED that this Basil S. Cross was a brother of Cenea/Sena Cross but no proof of that has been located. Sena may have gone to OH to live near her supposed brother. Many families from Berkeley Co., VA(WV) moved to the Monroe Twp., Licking Co. area between 1820 and 1840 so Sena (Cross) Evans could have traveled with any one of a number of families heading that direction.
It is ASSUMED that Sena (Cross) Evans married George Williamson about 1834 or 1835. This is based on the age of their first child Peter E. who was undoubtedly named for George's father Peter Williamson. Peter E. was born ca 1835. George's next child was a son born 1837 and following the custom he was named Basil after his mother's father, Basil Cross. In 1839 a daughter was born and she was named Rebecca after George's mother, Rebecca (Green)Williamson.
The customary pattern then was to name children after their parents once their grandparents had namesakes. George and Sena did just that when they named their next child, born in 1841, after George himself. This child was named George Seaborn Williamson. He was not only named for his father but for Sena's mother's family also.
Custom would have had the next daughter named Mary after Sena's mother but in 1843 a daughter was born to George and Sena and she was named Matilda. It is not know why the name Matilda was chosen but, as we shall see, Sena had already named one of her daughters (by Richard Evans) Mary after her mother Mary Seaborn. That might explain why she had used her mother's surname when naming her son George Seaborn Williamson.
The next child, born in 1846, was a daughter and they followed the naming pattern again and named this daughter after Sena herself. She was named Asenath and called Sena. It was this Sena's death record which indicates her mother's surname was Cross.
Another daughter was born, in 1849, and she was named Priscilla Ellen. It is not known for sure if Ellen was Sena (Cross) Evans' daughter or not but it is thought that she was. Ellen's death record offers no help for the information was given by a grandson-in-law who listed her parents as unknown.
What caused Sena (Cross) Evans Williamson's death is unknown as is the date of her death. But she had died prior to the 1850 census for in that census George Williamson had a young wife whose name was Mary Ann and she was 24 years old. The census indicates she was born in OH but that appears to be an error. She was undoubtedly born in Berkeley Co., VA about 1825 or 1826 and she was Mary Evans, daughter of Richard and Sena (Cross) Evans.
When George Williamson's wife Sena died he was left with 6 or 7 children ages 13 or 14 and under. He needed someone to care for his family and who better to do that than their step sister who had no doubt been helping care for them the previous 14 years? So it is believed he married his stepdaughter Mary Evans and his family continued to grow.
In 1851 Mary presented George with a son and following the naming pattern already established she named her son Richard E. Williamson after her father Richard Evans. About 1852 a son John Williamson was born followed in 1854 by a son Jeremiah Williamson. Just who these sons were named for is not known. Perhaps they were named for neighbors or even Evans, Cross or Williamson ancestors who are not yet known.
In Apr 1857 Mary (Evans) Williamson gave birth to her first daughter and since George Williamson already had a daughter named Rebecca after his mother and one named Sena after HER mother it was time to name this daughter after Mary (Evans) Williamson herself, which they did. The baby was named Mary Viola Williamson. In 1860 another daughter was born whom they named Amanda Captolia Williamson. The reason for this name is unknown.
By the time Mary (Evans) Williamson had their last known child in 1861, George Williamson's two oldest daughters had married. Rebecca Williamson married James Bailey and Matilda Williamson had married Kitchel Blamer so George and Mary named their new son James Kitchel Williamson.
It is not know what happened to Mary (Evans) Williamson but it is assumed that she died between the time James Kitchel was born and the 1870 census when George and 8 year old Kitchel were living with James and Rebecca (Williamson)Bailey and their family. George Williamson was listed as a shinglemaker in that census.
George Williamson never owned any land but he did lease land several times. William L. Smith leased him the east 1/2 of lot 7 in Jersey Twp.. Licking Co. from 20 Mar 1848 until 15 Apr 1854. He was to clear not less than 15 acres or more than 25 acres of the land. He was to fence the land in suitable fields with the fence to be 7 or 8 rails high with a block under each corner and he was to dig a well. He was to build a house hughed down inside (16 ft. by 18 ft. or larger.) for a dwelling house with privilege of building other necessary buildings for his own accomodations and he was to build a brick chimney in the house. Wm. Smith would pay for half the bricks. At the expiration of the lease George was to leave all the improvements but could harvest the crop that was seeded the previous fall.
In Mar 1851 George leased land from Benjamin and Jacob Clouse, Jr to be in effect from Apr 1851 to Apr 1861. This was 17 acres of land along the Monroe/Jersey Twp. line. He was to clear the land and build a cabin and other buildings to suit his convenience, and to build a fence 8 rails high and keep it in good repair. He was to leave all improvements at the end of the lease.
In Aug 1859 George and Peter E. Williamson, his son, leased land from Jacob McLain and James Stewart. This lease was from Aug 1859 until Apr. 1866. This land was in the east part of lot 21 in northwest quarter of Jersey Twp. containing 25 acres. They were to clear the timber off the east part of the lot except for the timber suitable for splitting into rails. They were to build a fence around the land 8 rails high. 40 rods of fence was to be built by 1 Apr 1860. George and Peter E. each had the privilege of building a dwelling house on the property and necessary out buildings. (Peter E. had married Almira Bailey in 1855.)
Unfortunately before the last lease expired Peter E. Williamson died. In 1864 he had enlisted to serve in the Civil War but got only as far as Columbus where he contracted small pox. He was sent home to recuperate but died there in Jan 1865.
George's son Basil Williamson was killed in the Battle of Ringold in GA in 1863. George Seaborn Williamson, who also served in the Civil War, was discharged 15 Jul 1865.
One other note of interest. In the 1850 census a Richard Evans, age 20, was working on a farm in Jersey Twp., Licking Co., OH near where George Williamson was living. It is thought that this young man was the son of Richard and Sena (Cross) Evans who was the male under age 5 in the 1830 Berkeley Co., VA census. He was no longer in the area in the 1860 census and it is not known what happened to him. Neither the name or whereabouts of Sena and Richard Evans' other daughter is known.
compiled by:
Vivian Bishop Boerger
Shelton, WA.
VBoerg@aol.com
Jan 1999
