An Irreparable Loss: The Obituary of Susan Quesenberry Williamson

Susan Quesenberry was my great-great-great grandmother. She had six children, one of whom was William Woodberry Williamson. Her parents were William Minor Quesenberry (1777-1851) and Elizabeth Ann Bean (1787-1857). Susan was the eighth of ten children.

For my family members keeping track, Susan Quesenberry was Sam Williamson's grandmother.

Below is her obituary as it appeared in the Russellville, Arkansas paper in 1892:

Mrs. Susan Williamson was born in Tennessee, April 23, 1823 and died Jan. 20, 1892. She made a profession of religion in early life and her life was so exemplary and her devotion to Christ so manifest that her influence was a power in maintaining the moral and religious interests of the community in which she lived. She was an active member of the Shiloh congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian church and took a leading part in the Sunday service. She was the wife of J. L. Williamson to whom she was married Dec. 15, 1847. In her death the family has sustained an irreparable loss, and the church and community has been deprived of the counsel and instruction of a devout christian.

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Sources:

Pope County, Arkansas, Obituaries and Death Notices: February 2, 1887 - December 7, 1893. Page 36. Copied by J. B. Lemley. Date unknown. Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, Houston, TX.

The Clan MacBean in North America. Bernie and Carol Bean. The Clan MacBean Register, 1976. Montgomery County Library, Main Branch, Conroe, TX.

A Steady, Every Day Christian: The Obituary of Sarah Caroline Brigham Williamson

In my post A Man and His Wives, I introduced you to my great-great grandfather and his three wives. His first wife was Sarah Caroline Brigham. Sometimes her first name was Sallie. Sometimes her last name was Brigance. Whatever she was called, she was my great-great grandmother.

She died when she was 25. Below is her obituary. Based on what was written, and given the ages of the children she left behind, this was a devastating time for the family.

This newspaper piece was transcribed verbatim. The paragraph breaks are my own, to give readers' eyes a break, and my family a chance to take in all the details:

OBITUARIES

Mrs. Sarah C. Williamson

The ravages of death made another home lonely and drear, other hearts sad and desolate, and robbed other children of a mother. Mrs. Sarah C. Williamson, who departed this life Nov. 16th 1887, was born Feb. 13th 1862. Her maiden name was Sarah Caroline Brigham. She was married to Mr. Woodberry Williamson Jan. 18th 1878, with whom she lived in perfect fidelity and concord until her demise.

She professed faith in Christ and joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Russellville, in 1874, at a meeting held by the Rev. R. G. Sims now of Texas.

Mrs. Williamson was not a spasmodic christian, religious while only at church, and zealous only during the progress of revivals, but she was a steady, every day christian in whose life the love of God was manifest in all she did.

Around her heart there seemed to be perennial sunshine that radiated to those about her. She was kind, loving, and true in everything. But with all her beautiful traits of character, and happy disposition, she was called home in the very prime of her life. She had assured her loved ones that she was not afraid of death, and now while they are weeping, she is basking in the glory world.

She was buried in the Williamson burying ground, services by the writer. She leaves a husband, four little children, a host of relatives and friends to mourn their loss, all of whom we commend to our Father in heaven who alone can bind up the broken hearted.

H. B. MILNER

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Source: "Williamson, Sarah," Copy from Williamson family file, Pope County Library, Russellville, Arkansas. Retrived August 4, 2008. Originally published in the Russellville Democrat, 23 Novembr 1887.

Arkansas Road Trip, Part 1

Let me tell you about my exciting trip to Arkansas! My dad, my son (not a willing participant) and I drove from Houston to Texarkana on Sunday. On Monday, we took our time on the back roads to our final destination of Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas. We got there in the afternoon. There wasn't any plan to do any family huntin' on that day, but we couldn't resist. Since we were staying in the north part of town, we decided to check out the Shiloh-Williamson Cemetery.

I'm pretty sure the "Shiloh" comes from the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church founded in the area in the 1830's (now gone). The "Williamson" part comes from the.....wait for it....Williamson family.

It was incredibly hot that day, with the heat index pushing 110. We walked around and took a few pictures, but not much else. It was too hot!

Here is the view of the Shiloh-Williamson Cemetery on Darby Road. The cemetery was moved in the 1960's when Lake Dardanelle was formed, so some of these stones are symbolic as there were no remains to transfer. Bummer.

The noise you hear in the video is my car engine running. We had the A/C on so my son, the unwilling participant, could stay cool while sitting in there.

Tsk, tsk

The Williamsons were instrumental in the foundation of the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Pope County, Arkansas in 1833.

Some of the minutes from the church were compiled and typed by J. B. Lemley for the Pope County Genealogy and Family Group. Many Williamsons were members of this church. Some acted as Elders or had other leadership roles. My current subject of study, William Woodberry Williamson, was an Elder and is mentioned in many of the meeting minutes, even taking the very notes I am reading in some cases.

In one set of session minutes dated August 19, 1883, I found this little nugget about William Woodberry Williamson:

"Bro. W. W. Williamson was charged with unbecoming Christian conduct or card playing for amusement, which he frankly acknowledged in an open session and further more that he had repented and very sorry indeed that he had committed the deed. On these terms he was pardoned and set aright in the church by a unanimous vote of the session and admonished to watch his future coarse (sic) in life."

The Williamsons of Pope County, Arkansas were a pretty straight-laced group, so there's not much dirt to find. When WWW wasn't playing cards and repenting, he was a farmer, then school teacher, then county treasurer in the 1920's.

Houston, We Have a Brigance

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent yesterday at the Clayton. I stumbled upon a Roots Magic presentation, so I sat for it. When it was done, I was really hungry and tired, but I didn't want to squander the rare opportunity I had to visit the library so I forged on with the mental thought, "just 20 more minutes..."

This is where we pause for a back story: I've been working on the Williamson clan for a while now, specifically William Woodberry Williamson (1853-1942). His first wife was Sarah/Sallie Brigham. She is my great-great grandmother. I have all this information on Williamson going back may generations. I have little on Sarah: a census where she's an adult and an obituary transcription. She died at 25, leaving four children and that's all I know. It's always bugged me that my Brigham line began and stopped with Sarah.

Back to yesterday. In the "20 more minutes," I browsed the History of Pope County, vol. 1 book. It's helped me sort out all the Williamsons in the past, so I thought I'd scan the pages for other names I recognized.

One of those people was John Clingman (1844-1923). I recognized his name from all the Shiloh Cumberland Church minutes but I never had any indication there was a deeper connection to my ancestors other than church mates. The article had a photo of him, so I studied it for a while and scanned the words. He had two sisters, Mary and Margie. The piece goes on to say that Margie married John Brigance and they had five kids. One of those kids was Sarah Brigance...who was the first wife of Wood Williamson.

So my Sarah Brigham is also Sarah Brigance (1862-1887). Woo hoo! I didn't jump up and down in the library and scream like I won the lottery, but I did make the universal sign for touchdown.

Last night I took the info from the Pope County book and hunted around for more on Sarah Brigance. Having her siblings' names helped me find her as a child "Sarah Briganel" in the 1870 census.

Now Sarah has a history and parents. They apparently died young and the children lived with John Clingman and his wife for a while. The article says John Brigance died in the Civil War. At some point, I'll investigate that claim, but for now it's back to the Williamsons...

It's just really nice to see my tree with the Brigham/Brigance line extended now.

And that's why you stay at the genealogy library just 20 more minutes.

Working on the WWW Puzzle

Not much time for genealogy today.

This evening, I'm going over some of the minutes from the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church, once part of Pope County, Arkansas.

The Williamson family was instrumental in its foundation and they were part of its backbone for decades.

William Woodberry Williamson (1853-1942) was a part of many of the sessions that were recorded in these minutes. I am adding the details of those events to my notes on "Wood" as he was called. He was my great-great grandfather. So far, I have 21 pages of typewritten notes. I could easily write a small history on him and I haven't even researched his post-1900 life. Maybe someday when all research avenues are exhausted, I'll write that piece.