Bill was born on a farm in Polk County, North Carolina on June 3, 1787, the fourth of nine children of Joseph and Sarah Musick Williams. In 1795, he moved with his family to a small settlement known as Owen’s Station in Missouri, located about 16 miles northwest of St. Louis. As a child, he was well educated and spoke fluent French and Spanish, had some knowledge of Greek and Latin, and was widely read.
What a life. He seen so much country before anyone had a chance to shit on it. Very probably the first white man to lay eyes on it long before there were fences
ReplyDeleteHe must have been acquainted with James Beckwourth. Their timelines are an almost perfect match.
ReplyDeleteOld Bill's story doesn't paint a very flattering picture of John C. Fremont, does it?
In Missouri not long after the revolution pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteOld Bill got around. Unexplored vistas pretty much always before his eyes. Exploring Mars holds nothing, compared to what he saw.
ReplyDeleteMy maternal grandfather’s family was closely related to the Williams of Western North Carolina. I wonder if he’s kin. My grandfather’s great-something grandmother married a William Williams fresh off the boat from Ulster in the early 1700s.
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