Clarence Williams and his brother Charles loved to play baseball. In fact, in the 1915 Census, Charlie lists his profession as a ballplayer.
But as I noted back in 2019, I didn’t know much about the Williamses, even though Clarence was my biological maternal grandfather. I’m fairly sure I attended Clarence’s funeral in 1958, though I have no recollection of it.
Their father was Charles Williams, who was married to Margaret Collins (1865-1931), whose parents almost certainly were born in County Cork, Ireland.
When I was in Charlotte, NC, recently, I went through a bunch of photos and came upon a few paper relics. I realize that they are exceedingly hard to read. The record below, even blown up, I can’t really make out.
But I was able to find this on Ancestry: Clarence was inducted in Owego, NY, on November 23, 1917. He was 31 1/2 years old and 5’10”. He got promoted twice and served overseas from May 27, 1918, to March 1919, when he was honorably discharged without wounds.
I have noted that his paternal grandfather, Daniel Williams, served in the Civil War.