I was born in Lawrenceburg, TN in 1937 but my roots in Nashville go way back.
Elisha Williams was born about 1749 and married Sarah Josey in Windsor, NC in 1775, producing three sons and one daughter. The last
child, born 1786, was Josiah Frederick Williams. Josiah, who attended the University of North Carolina and then moved
with his family to Nashville about 1804.
Josiah Frederick Williams was married in 1815 to Margaret Peggy Philips, born in 1799 at Sylvan Hall, her parent’s large farm on Dickerson
Pike about six miles north of Nashville, between Old Hickory Blvd and I-65. Her father was Joseph D. Philips II who had come
to Nashville in 1791 from Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina with his wife Milbry Philips nee Horn. The population
of Nashville at that time was about 300.
The Philips’ family cemetery, circled by a high stone fence, remains
today in the middle of a housing development near where the original house stood until about 1960. Members of both the Philips
and Williams families are buried there.
In 1817 Josiah Williams built a brick house, one of the first in Davidson County,
named Maplewood on his 1,400 farm situated 4 miles from Nashville on Gallatin Pike just before Briley Parkway.
Maplewood
was the scene of the marriage of three of Colonel Williams’ daughters to the three Ewing brothers with the weather so
cold the wedding guests were driven across the river on ice.
Another of Josiah Williams daughters, Mary Thomas, married
James C. Warner, a prominent iron manufacturer, in 1851. Their son was Percy Werner, the namesake of the park on west end.
One
of Josiah Williams’ sons,
James H. Williams, born in Nashville, TN 1826, moved to Osceola, AR in 1849 to manage some of his father’s land in that area. Before
leaving Nashville, he married Mary E. Finley and they had one child. Shortly after arriving in Arkansas Mary died
and James married Juliette Marion Heath who gave birth to the father of my grandmother,
Edward Heath Williams, born 1859. He had two other sons, William Williams, born between 1848-1857, and Henry Ewing Williams, born 1860. My
grandmother eventually ended up in Lawrenceburg in 1920 where she lived until she died in 1973.
Colonel Jere Baxter, born in 1852, purchased the house and land surrounding Maplewood in 1884. He founded the Tennessee Central Railroad in 1893,
connecting Nashville and Knoxville. He had for many years been a collector of objects of art and Maplewood was filled with
treasures brought from all over the world. There was also an extensive library, containing many volumes of rare editions.
However, as Nashville grew, the land became more valuable and on April 27, 1922 the last of the land, 27 acres, and
the home were subdivided and sold at auction.
I have been living in Hendersonville with my wife Janice since 1989,
back close to my roots, after moving around the country and am now retired.
Larry Feldhaus
. Williams Family Tree . .Reference Info. .Early Halifax NC. . John Williams . . Richard Williams . . Joshua Williams . . Maps . . Historical North Carolina Maps . . Two Elishas (1). . Two Elishas (2) . . Elisha Williams . .Scotland Neck Trinity Church. . Betsy Williams . .William Williams. .John Wharton Williams. . Elisha Williams, Jr. . . Josiah Frederick Williams . .Henry P. Williams. . Money Williams . . James H. Williams . . Edward H. Williams . .Sallie Williams Cartwright. .Edward James Williams. . Frank D. Williams . . Mama Nelle and Pop . . Joseph D. Philips . . Sylvan Hall Cemetery . . Contacts .
