Clarence Williams, WWI vet

maternal grandfather

Top, 4th from the left is Clarence; seated on the right end is Charlie (1911)

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 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. 

 

Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial