Williams Plantation

OVERVIEW

Location: Penfield, Greene County, Georgia
Date Constructed/ Founded: 1840 – 1850
Associated Surnames: Baldwin, Daniel, Williams
Historical Notes: William Nelson Williams was born in 1798 in Virginia. He migrated to Penfield, Greene Co., GA where he married Nancy Baldwin in 1843, and established a cotton plantation in Penfield. In his estate documents, the land is described as 485 acres lying adjacent to the lands of Moncrief, Lankford, Mullins, Boswell, and others. At the time, the land and the sale of cotton were being managed by Robert L. McWhorter and William K. Mullins (administrators for William N. Williams).
Associated Pages: none
Accession: GAgree00001

ASSOCIATED ENSLAVED PERSONS

Williams family: Willis Williams (b.1810-d.1874) – minister on the Williams Plantation, member of Shiloh Baptist Church; Lucrecia “Creecy” Daniel Williams (b.1840-d.?) – wife (m.?) of W. Williams, servant of Mrs. N.E. Daniel; Berryman Williams (b.1857-d.?) – son of W. and L.D. Williams; Randal Williams (b.1858-d.?) – son of W. and L.D. Williams; Adam Daniel Williams (b.1861-d.1931) – son of W. and L.D. Williams; Eve Williams (b.1863-d.?) – dau. of W. and L.D. Williams; Marshall Williams (b.1865-d.?) – son of W. and L.D. Williams

1850: Group 1 – Male age 60 (b.1790), Male age 50 (b.1800), Male age 45 (b.1805), Male age 40 (b.1810), Male age 38 (b.1812), Male age 90 (b.1760), Male age 17 (b.1833), Male age 13 (b.1837), Male age 11 (b.1839), Male age 11 (b.1839), Male age 6 (b.1844), Male age 7 (b.1843); Group 2 – Female age 55 (b.1795), Female age 45 (b.1805), Female age 43 (b.1807), Female age 23 (b.1827), Female age 21 (b.1829), Female age 16 (b.1834), Female age 14 (b.1836), Female age 13 (b.1837), Female age 10 (b.1840), Female age 10 (b.1840), Female age 8 (b.1842), Female age 1 (b.1849) [1850 U.S. Census – Slave Schedule, District 162, Greene Co., GA, William N. Williams]

1860: Group 1 – Male age 60 (b.1800), Female age 60 (b.1800), Male age 55 (b.1805), Female age 50 (b.1810), Male age 40 (b.1820), Male age 38 (b.1822), Male age 27 (b.1833), Male age 25 (b.1835), Male age 21 (b.1839), Male age 21 (b.1839), Male age 19 (b.1841), Male age 15 (b.1845), Male age 14 (b.1846), Male age 7 (b.1853), Male age 2 (b.1858), Male age 2 (b.1858); Group 2 – Female age 55 (b.1805), Female age 19 (b.1841), Male age 1 (b.1859); Group 3 – Female age 28 (b.1832), Female age 13 (b.1847), Female age 9 (b.1851), Female age 5 (b.1855), Female age 3 (b.1857); Group 4 – Female age 21 (b.1839), Female age 1 (b.1859); Group 5 – Female age 20 (b.1840), Female age 17 (b.1843), Female age 30 (b.1830), Female age 26 (b.1834), Male age 8 (b.1852), Female age 6 (b.1854), Male age 13 (b.1847) [1860 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedule, Greene Co., GA, Wm. N. Williams, 33 total, 6 houses]

ASSOCIATED FREE PERSONS

Williams family: William Nelson Williams (b.1798-d.bef.1879) – owner of Williams Plantation; Nancy Baldwin Williams (b.1796-d.1877) – wife (m.1843) of W.N. Williams; William Samuel Williams (b.1844-d.1902) – son of W.N. and N.B. Williams

HISTORICAL RECORDS AND DATA

• 1850 U.S. Federal Census, District 161, Greene Co., Georgia, USA (Ancestry.com) – William N. Williams (b.1799), farmer, household 821 (p.7 or 127b)
• 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Greene Co., Georgia, USA (Ancestry.com) – William N. Williams (b.1798), farmer, household 77 (p.11 or 460)
• 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Greene Co., Georgia, USA (Ancestry.com) – William Williams (b.1798), farmer, household 473 (p.13 or 323B); Willis Williams (b.1810), farmer, household 475 (p.13 or 323B)
• 1883 Estate of William N. Williams (Ancestry.com) – Greene Co., Georgia; Robert L. McWhorter (administrator), William K. Mullins (administrator)
• Shiloh Baptist Church (Historic Rural Churches) – Shiloh Baptist was organized in 1795, one mile from Penfield. It was first known as Towns Creek.
• Shiloh Baptist Church (National Archives – Southeast Region) – Shiloh was attended by both free white and enslaved black people. Willis Williams and his family were members (pre-Civil War), but he was not allowed to preach there.
• Digital family tree: Greene Co. GA African American Families (ID 618984), William N. Williams (ID I0071) (RootsWeb WorldConnect)

NOTABLE DESCENDANTS

• Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (b.1929-d.1968) – grandson of Adam Daniel Williams; U.S. Civil Rights leader; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.

REFERENCES

• Ancestry.com. Georgia, U.S., Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978 [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
• Ancestry.com. Georgia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992 [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
• Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2004.
• Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
• Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
• Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2004.
• Ancestry.com. 1860 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
• RootsWeb WorldConnect [database online]. https://wc.rootsweb.com/.
• Historic Rural Churches. Shiloh Baptist. https://www.hrcga.org/church/shiloh-baptist/.
• National Archives – Southeast Region. Roots of a Tree: The Genealogy of Martin Luther King Jr. http://friendsnas.org/education/S4_civilRights/Roots_of_MLK.pdf; Supplemental information, https://www.archives.gov/files/atlanta/education/resources-by-state/images/mlk-supplemental.pdf.
• Stanford University. The Martin Luther King Jr. Encyclopedia: Williams, Adam Daniel (A.D.). https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/williams-adam-daniel-d.
• Stanford University. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project: Introduction. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/sites/mlk/files/publications/vol1intro.pdf.