My third great-grandfather on my mom’s father’s side, Jacob WILLIAMS, was born in about 1830 in Kentucky. He died sometime between 1895 and 1910. I have found census records for him and his family from the 1850 Federal Census through the 1895 Kansas State Census.

Jacob had a total of at least fifteen children. He had at least five children with his first wife and at least ten children with his second wife, including my second great-grandfather, Nathaniel WILLIAMS.

1850 United States Federal Census for Jacob and Elizabeth WILLIAMS:

Name: Jacob Williams
Age: 24
Birth Year: abt 1826
Birthplace: Kentucky
Home in 1850: Johnson, Kentucky
Gender: Male
Value of Real Estate: $200

Household Members:
Jacob Williams ~ 24 ~ Farmer ~ born in Kentucky
Elizabeth Williams ~ 20 ~ born in Kentucky
Samuel G Williams ~ 1 ~ born in Kentucky
John J Williams ~ 3 months ~ born in Kentucky

1850 Census for Jacob and Elizabeth WILLIAMS

1860 United States Federal Census for Jacob and Elizabeth WILLIAMS:

Name: Jacob Williams
Age in 1860: 32
Birth Year: abt 1828
Birthplace: Kentucky
Home in 1860: Jackson, Jasper, Missouri
Gender: Male
Post Office: Fidelity
Value of Real Estate: $300

Household Members:
Jacob Williams ~ 32 ~ Farmer ~ born in Kentucky
Elizabeth ~ 31 ~ born in Kentucky
Samuel G Williams ~ 11 ~ born in Kentucky
Malinda E Williams ~ 8 ~ born in Missouri
Sarah A Williams ~ 4 ~ born in Missouri
Isaac H Williams ~ 6 months ~ born in Missouri

1860 Census for Jacob and Elizabeth WILLIAMS

1870 United States Federal Census for Jacob and Sarah E WILLIAMS:

Name: Jacob Williams
Age in 1870: 45
Birth Year: abt 1825
Birthplace: Kentucky
Home in 1870: Scott, Bourbon, Kansas
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Fort Scott
Value of Real Estate: $17,000

Household Members:
Jacob Williams ~ 45 ~ Farmer ~ born in Kentucky
Sarah E Williams ~ 25 ~ Keeping House ~ born in Missouri
Samuel G Williams ~ 21 ~ Farmer ~ born in Kentucky
Malinda Williams ~ 18 ~ At Home ~ born in Missouri
Sarah A Williams ~ 14 ~ At School ~ born in Missouri
Nathaniel Williams ~ 7 ~ born in Kansas
Mary J Williams ~ 5 ~ born in Kansas
Abraham Williams ~ 3 ~ born in Kansas
Amanda Williams ~ 1 ~ born in Kansas

On the original 1870 census it appears that the census taker originally wrote Sarah E. WILLIAMS’ age as 25. Then someone wrote over it and made it say 35 years old. She really was 25 at the time, but was the step-mother to some children almost as old as she was. I have confirmed Sarah E.’s age throughout several later censuses and other records. Nathaniel was the first child of Jacob and Sarah E. WILLIAMS.

1870 Census for Jacob and Sarah E. WILLIAMS

1880 United States Federal Census for Jacob and Sarah E. WILLIAMS:

Name: Jacob Williams
Age: 50 * See note below.
Birth Year: abt 1830
Birthplace: Kentucky
Home in 1880: Scott, Bourbon, Kansas
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)
Occupation: Farmer
Jacob’s Father’s Birthplace: Kentucky
Jacob’s Mother’s Birthplace: Kentucky
Marital Status: Married

Spouse’s Name: Sarah E Williams
Sarah’s Birthplace: Missouri
Sarah’s Father’s Birthplace: Missouri
Sarah’s Mother’s Birthplace: Missouri

Household Members:
Jacob Williams ~ 50 ~ Self (Head) ~ Farmer ~ born in Kentucky
Sarah E Williams ~ 35 ~ Wife ~ Keeping House ~ born in Missouri
Sarah Williams ~ 24 ~ Daughter ~ Without Occupation ~ Born in Missouri
Nathaniel Williams ~ 17 ~ Son ~ Farm Laborer ~ born in Kansas
Mary J Williams ~ 15 ~ Daughter ~ Without Occupation ~ born in Kansas
Abram Williams ~ 13 ~ Son ~ Farm Laborer ~ born in Kansas
Emma Williams ~ 8 ~ Daughter ~ Attending School ~ born in Kansas
Eddy Williams ~ 7 ~ Son ~ Attending School ~ born in Kansas
Walter W Williams ~ 1 ~ Son ~ born in Kansas

This census shows Jacob as being about five years younger than he was said to be on just about every other record up until this time. I honestly wonder if Jacob and/or Sarah started shaving off a few years of Jacob’s age, since he was evidently about 20 years older than his wife Sarah. My mom and adoptive father always said that he was ten years younger than he was, because he was 20 years older than my mom. It was a HUGE secret until my mom told me when I was 18, but I still was supposed to keep the secret from everyone else. My mom has been gone for over 26 years and my father has been gone almost 10 years, so the secret is out… actually it has been for at least 20 years. 😉

The picture of this census is not very readable. The writing is too light to show up well enough to include here, but you can find a copy several places online including on Ancestry.com.

1895 Kansas State Census for Jacob and Sarah E. WILLIAMS:

Name: Jacob Williams
Census Date: 1 Mar 1895
Residence County: Bourbon
Residence State: Kansas
Locality: Scott
Birth Location: Kentucky
Gender: Male
Estimated Birth Year: 1822
Race: White

Household Members:
Jacob Williams ~ 73 * See note below.
Sarah Williams ~ 46
Albert Williams ~ 15
Gracie Williams ~ 12
Bertha Williams ~ 10
Ed Williams ~ 21
Delia Williams ~ 23

This census actually puts Jacob at about five years older than he most likely was. This census is really a mess, so I am not extremely confident in it anyway. I truly believe that he was 20 years older than his second wife, Sarah, and three to four years older than his first wife, Elizabeth.

Delia (Dehlia) was actually married to Ed WILLIAMS. Although I could not tell this by reading the 1895 Kansas Census, I confirmed my hunch on later Federal Censuses for Ed and Dehlia WILLIAMS.

So…

Jacob and his first wife, Elizabeth, had: Samuel G, John J, Malinda E, Sarah A, and Isaac H. John and Isaac both died sometime after becoming a few months old and before turning 11 years old.

Jacob and his second wife, Sarah, had: Nathaniel, Mary J, Abraham/Abram, Amanda, Emma, Eddy/Ed, Walter W, Albert, Gracie, and Bertha. Amanda died between the age of one and eleven. Walter may have left the house in early teens or maybe passed away by the age of 16.

It is also possible that they had more children who were not alive during the dates the censuses were taken.

Jacob seemed to have lived a long life full of love, but also full of too much loss. I will continue to dig further back on his side, because I still do not know enough about him. I am sure that part of the problem is probably because of the fact that his age seemed to change often on records and I have not connected him to his parents and/or siblings. If you happen to be related and know more about this line, please let me know. Thanks!