.

Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

George and Margaret Williamson's Missing Child and Civil War Service.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
Tonight from the Fortress overlooking a rainy valley and overcast sky I bring you additional information on our common ancestor George Matthew Williamson, father of William Jonathan Williamson.

George Matthew Williamson (Great Great Grandparent)
to
William Jonathan Williamson
to
The Nine Williamson Children (Charles was my Grandfather)
to
Charles Williamson
to
Me

In the family reunion book The Williamson Legacy, it says that George and Margaret had 13 children but only 10 are known. My goal tonight was to try to locate the three missing children. We know that William (our common grandfather) was the second eldest. We have a record of this large family in the 1880 US Census. The actual entry in the Census form for our family is below (click on the image to enlarge).

Click to Enlarge

Here you'll count 10 children. According to the family book George and Margaret. My next stop in this search for our missing Great uncles or aunts was the next US Census I could find a listing of George and Margaret - the 1860 Census when the family lived in Illinois. The image of the actual page from the Census is below:

Click to Enlarge

Yes, there is a missing child. You'll see Selina as the eldest, then William and there he is, our missing relative - Abraham, only 2 months old. We must assume then that Abraham died as a child. That leaves two more to find.

One other thing of interest in tonight's post. I found a South Dakota record from the year 1900
listing Civil War veterans living in the Black Hills (for the federal pension). This is the page listing George as a Civil War Vet.


Click to Enlarge

You'll see his name on the top of the page listed on the 12th line. Then look at the very bottom and match two 12th lines. In George's description you'll read that he was "wounded badly in the right arm, badly disabled".

I'm wondering if anyone in the family has information on his Civil War Service. We know from the 1860 census that George and Margaret (age 26 and 25) were married with three children. We must assume that George fought on the Union side (considering he was living in Illinois) and that he left his family to fight.

Any other information?

Simply,
Victor