James Eden Williams (1818 - 1876)

Born 1818 in Illinois, United States

Descendants

Died 15 Dec 1876 at about age 58 in California, United States

Biography

James Eden Williams was born in 1818 in Illinois. He arrived to Texas in December, 1840, according to his Fannin County Land Grant, unconditional certificate #64. Sometime between Dec. of 1840 and July of 1843 James married Nancy (HART) Chenoweth, the widow of Hardin T. Chenoweth. By 1846 they appear on the Milam County, Texas tax rolls.

In 1848 James E. Williams' signature appears on the petition to the Governor of Texas, asking to form Williamson County from Milam County. James appears on the 1850 Milam County federal census.

They lived on land at that time that turned into Bell County when it was formed in 1851. Additionally James purchased part of the Matilda Connell headright in Bell County. James was elected the first Deputy Sheriff of Bell County, and served in that capacity for just over a year. During this time, his wife Nancy died, with her will being probated in Bell County courts. James was left with custody of Nancy's two year old grandchild and her two slaves. Around March of 1852 James married Huldah Queen, daughter of Reuben Queen of Williamson County. Reuben and family had arrived in Texas during 1848, settling in Williamson County and then moving to Bell County when that formed. James and Huldah's first child, Milam Williams, was born in 1852.

In 1854 James, Huldah and children left on a wagon train for California. Other Texas citizens who also went to California at that time were the Harts, Mahurin, Beck, and Isaac Williams families. James established the town of Tehachapi in Kern County, California.

Around 1867 James and Huldah moved up into the Tehachapi Mountain Range area. James laid claim to hundreds of acres of land, and started a community that was named Williamsburg.

James was considered a real estate mogul of the 1870's, selling off sections of his claim to newcomers in the area. Slowly the township and community of Williamsburg grew. Today this town is called Tehachapi. There is a monument in Tehachapi for "Old Town" that James developed, along with a picture of the Williams Hotel in the Tehachapi Museum.

Trouble once again brewed for James in the 1870's when the Southern Pacific Railroad had reached the west coast area. The federal government arbitrarily handed the SSPR every other section of land in the Tehachapi mountain range without first checking whom had laid claim to this land. James was still in the time period required for a homesteader to gain clear title to the land when the government handed the SSPR several of his sections of land. Land documents of James selling these sections to various individuals were located in Kern Co., with the wording of "give clear title either from the federal government or the railroad" included. Assuming this meant James was fighting the railroad and government for his land, documents were finally located to prove this in the National Archives. It took a 17 year court battle for the title to revert back to James and Huldah. After James' death in 1876, his wife Huldah had assumed the fight and continued with it until she cleared the titles.

In September of 1876, an outsider filed claim against James saying that the land in question was not James, that it was his. This opportunist evidently had heard about the court cases with the RR, and planned to take advantage of the situation. On December 16 of 1876, James suddenly died. No death certificate, no probate, no will, no grave nor headstone has ever been located on this prominent developer and citizen of Kern County. A short obituary was found, giving the date of death and reason for death as pneumonia.

James and Huldah had a total of nine children, with only three living to adulthood. Milam grew up to marry Mary Jane Wilson. Son Henry died at age 8 months in 1860. Son James, Jr. died prior to 1876 with an accident on horseback. Son Jefferson Davis Williams died around age 18. Daughter Sierra Nevada "Sadie" married William Knapp, the first telegrapher of Tehachapi. Son Major married Etta Francis Fickert in Tehachapi in 1888. Son Andrew Williams died at age 1 year, 1 month in a stream by the home. Two other children, names unknown, died young.

• Fact: Residence (1850) Milam, Texas, United States
• Fact: Residence (1860) Township 2, Tulare, California, United States

Sources

• 1850 Census: "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLL-3QQ : 4 April 2020), James E Williams, Milam county, Milam, Texas, United States; citing family 424, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• 1860 Census: "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDKF-VDH : 18 March 2020), James Williams, 1860.

• Burial: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVN-JCH1 : 27 July 2019), James Eden Williams, 1876; Burial, Unknown ; citing record ID 17995727 Find A Grave: Memorial #17995727

• Genealogy: "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 29 April 2020, 23:44), entry for James Eden Williams(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LBB6-GL8); contributed by various users.