Life and Times of Ann Williams (8)

Early School Years

Ann writes, “My childhood years were spent in what I would consider a normal development pattern.  After my catch up growth period, I developed physically at a somewhat normal pace.  I can remember being taller than most of the boys and lots of girls in my age group.  I also remember a great desire to be pretty and popular.  Because I felt I was neither of these, I concentrated on making good grades.  I guess I would be considered a member of the honor society in most schools today, but the school I attended was small and in the country.”

NORMAN’S COMMENTS:  Of course I didn’t know Ann at this stage of her life, but I’ve always considered her – not pretty – but stunningly beautiful.  I don’t know of a single woman in her seventies, who’s as attractive as she is.  Once she wrote down her birthday on forms at a dentist’s office.   They came back to her and said, “Didn’t you make a mistake? You wrote down your birth year as 1935.  Didn’t you mean 1953?  She’s always been popular in my books, and I’m the only one who really counts.  There’s an old saying, “Pretty is as pretty does.”  She manages that both ways, except I would replace it by saying “Beauty is as beauty does.” 

Ann continues, “I can remember fighting with a girl over the affections of a boy which was not normal for the time.

“My greatest contribution during this time that is etched in my memory is the way I befriended people who were considered by other students to be unlovable.  One boy, in particular, was my biggest project.  Bubba had a learning disability, but since we had no special education classes, he attended class with us.  He was three or four years older than we were, and much bigger.  The other children would make fun of him, and I can still remember how much it hurt me.  I would let him swing me in the swings, sit by me on the bus, and eat with me in the cafeteria.  Of course the other students included me in their ridicule, but I guess it was worth it for his smile and warm hand clasp.  He would tell me he liked me, and almost every day he would bring me some small gift.”

The Life and Times of Ann Williams (7)

East Waco Church of Christ

Ann writes, “I first attended the East Waco church when I was 8 days old, and where I was baptized on June 14, 1949.

“My life centered around home and school, but mostly I was involved with church activities.  When I was three years old my mother said I decided to be a nurse when I grew up.   I never changed my mind.  My next decision also came at an early age.  I wanted to be a minister’s wife and although I ventured away several times I came back to that decision.

“I have always enjoyed singing.  The Churches of Christ do not have instrumental music, so my singing became very important to me.  I started singing solos at age 9 when I sang an acapella solo for my sister’s wedding.  Since that time I have sung for weddings, funerals, and many other public and private gatherings over the United States.

“My first close friends, my first dates, and some of my special people came from associations formed at this place.  My sisters were married there, as well as many of my friends.  My dearest uncle was an elder in this church, and his funeral service was conducted inside this building.  I can still see my grandfather as he would lead the singing for worship services.  If I allowed myself I could go on for pages, but time goes forward, not backward.”

The Life and Times of Ann Williams (6)

“Life at Tater Hill”

Ann started to school at East Waco Elementary in September of 1941. She only attended school there for five months.  Her father had the opportunity to buy the house in the country, which was closer to his work.  She transferred from East Waco Elementary, which was a city school to South Bosque, which was a country school with all twelve grades in the same building.

Her brother, Robert, was born in August of 1939.  At first she felt resentment because she thought her father’s attention had been transferred to the baby boy.  She and Robert fought a lot in childhood, but that’s a long time in the past.  He lives in Brownwood Texas today.  After her initial disappointment, Ann developed a wonderful relationship with her father, one that she has cherished throughout her lifetime.   I can still remember the proud look on his face when he walked her down the aisle to give her to me in marriage.

Ann shares these memories of life at Tater Hill.  “Our new home had no electricity for the first few weeks.  After that was installed we waited several years for running water.  We hauled water to a big cistern.  On Saturdays we took baths in a big wash tub in the kitchen with water heated on the cook stove.  We had butane gas which made cooking and heating much easier.  Of course there was the outdoor toilet.   The outhouse was “air conditioned” in the winter and heated in the summer, and it always had the Sears and Roebuck catalogue inside. This was quite a transition, but I have many fond memories of this home.  We were a close family.  My mother did not work outside the home until my brother was in high school.  My sisters and I shared a bedroom all our growing up years.  I vividly remember when my second sister, Joyce, got married. At 16 I had a bedroom to myself.”

The Life and Times of Ann Williams (5)

“Little Grandma and Boundary Testing”

Ann was born at 210 Sherman Street in Waco, Texas.  Depression era parents couldn’t afford to send expectant mothers to the hospitals to deliver their babies.  When the family lived in East Waco, they lived only a few houses away from several other family members.  One of the persons who stands out in her memory was “Little Grandma” Richardson.  She remembers playing in the house and yard of her great grandmother, who was known as “Little Grandma.”  Little Grandma had a talking parrot, whom she trained to cuss.   She was called “Little Grandma” because of her short stature, but she made up for her diminutive size with a loud voice and fiery personality.  As Ann remembers that time, she says “Little Grandma” hated kids.  She dipped snuff, and Ann says you didn’t get too close or she would spit it on you.

From her earliest childhood, Ann has been a person who tests boundaries.  But she grew up under the tutelage of a mother who was not afraid to apply the board of education to the seat of learning.   Her mother would establish boundaries, but Ann was one of those strong willed children, who had never accepted standards just because the adults said so.  Forbidden fruit looked attractive to her. 

One day her Mom and Grandma Richardson were working on a quilt, and Ann was playing underneath the quilting frame.   Ann got bored with that, and decided to go play with the neighbor children.   She had been forbidden to play with these kids because they used bad language, but Ann wanted to find out for herself.  After a few minutes, her mother realized she was no longer underneath the quilting frame and found Ann playing with the forbidden kids.  When she saw her mother she took off running.  An even worse no, no was crossing the street.   The church building was six blocks away.  Ann crossed the street and was well on the way to the church house (perhaps she thought she would be safe there) when her mother caught up with her.   Ann got the business end of the belt all the way home.

After they moved to Tater Hill, the family acquired a round dining table.  When Ann would get in trouble, she would hear the words, “Sarah Ann Williams.”  She knew it was bad if she heard all three names.   Somehow, she thought she could get away if she could run around the table.   Of course her mother always caught her, and the degree of discipline was a little harsher than it would have been had she been a compliant child.  Ann said she literally hated the table.  She thought the table was the source of all her problems.   Strangely enough we have a similar table today, and it’s one of her most prized possessions. 

We live in a different kind of world today.  Ann’s parents never heard of “time out.”   They were more of the “spare the rod and spoil the child” philosophy.  They were not mean people. They were not harsh people.  Their children never doubted the love of their parents.   Even though they believed corporal punishment to be a legitimate tool to be used in the process of “training up a child in the way he should go,” they would have been horrified by any display of child abuse and cruelty.  They knew when enough was enough, and they didn’t cross that line.

Ann has never trained a parrot to use profanity, and she’s not loud (although she can be fiery at times), but there’s just a bit of “Little Grandma’s” spirit in her.  She’s makes up her own mind about things, and she’s not terribly concerned about whether others agree with her or not.

The Life and Times of Ann Williams (4)

The Hudson-Richardson Connection

Ann’s grandmother, Mary Sylvester (Bessie) Hudson, was born in 1886 in Bell County, Texas.  She was the daughter of A. D Hudson, who was married to Sarah Ann Elizabeth Greathouse.   So I guess you could say that Ann is really “Sarah Ann III.”   Ann’s grandfather was Johnny Richardson.  He loved to tell his grandchildren that his full name was Johnny Edder Crowder Peabody Richardson.

Grandpa Richardson served in the army shortly after the Spanish-American war.  We have a picture of him in uniform.  He was an excellent song leader, and often led singing for church services.  Grandpa was a farmer, first at Stringtown in Bell County, then in Milam County near Milano.   Later they moved to McLennan County and farmed there.

Two of Ann’s great-greagrandfathers were married to Native Americans. We’re not sure about tribal identification.  It was probably either Comanche, Wichita or Towakini. The Towakinis lived on the West side of the Brazos.  The Comanche tended to follow the best hunting grounds, so they were far more nomadic.  The Huaco (which is just another spelling of Waco) Indians did not really have a tribe.  They were actually a band of the Wichita Indians, who settled around the present city of Waco.  Beyond that we can’t say much about Ann’s Indian heritage.

Johnny and Bessie had four children.  Ruby, who was married to Vernon Eanes, lived in Cameron, Texas.   Aunt Ruby was Ann’s second Mom, and even nursed her  when Ann couldn’t get adequate nutrition from her own mother.  William Earvin, the only boy spent most his adult life in Waco.  He was an elder in the East Waco church in and died in the 1950s.  Sarah Ann Williams, Ann’s mother lived in East Waco when Ann was born.  From there, they moved to Tater Hill.  Tater Hill had a store, and two houses.  Tater Hill was between Waco and McGregor.   When the Texas Highway Department widened Highway 84, they took the house Ann grew up in, but this was after Ann had married me.  They then moved to Woodway where they lived until the death of Ann’s father.  The youngest child was Frances Lucy Bell.  Lucy never married, and had a long career with Clifton Manufacturing Company in Waco.   Ann and “Aunt Bell” were close friends and “ran around” together from Ann’s late teen years until the time she married me. 

When our daughter Ruby was born, she was the first and only granddaughter of her generation.   So she was named after Ann’s Aunt Ruby (as well as my mother), and Lucy, whose first name was Frances.  There was just one problem.  Ann got a little mixed up when Ruby was born and spelled the name “Francis.”

The Life and Times of Ann Williams (3)

The Williams Family

The following information is posted on the internet. “Benj. Wesley Robison (18 MAR 1839)m. Nancy Ann Lucinda Prescott (13 Mar 1836) in Elba AL, moved to Milam Co. after Civil War. Son Perry Benj. Hale Robison (10 Mar 1883)m. Ira Belle Williams (1886 -1927)Her father Charles Williams, (19 Sep 1855 - 8 Jul 1938)mother unknown, from Nathan Head Williams of AL. Their daughter, my grandmother Alice Hayes Robison (1907 -1987)then m. Ernest Williams - another Williams family from Milam Co.!!!>>>His father: John Wesley Williams (26 Dec 1868 - 4 Jun 1945) m. Lucy Jacobs (20 Sep 1871 - ?). Their parents Andrew J. Williams and Janie Price; James T. Jacobs and Martha Ann Harris.  Other Siblings of Ernest Williams: Chess Williams, Lena Williams, Alice Williams, Maudie Williams, Hubert Williams, Jeff Williams,  Pfc.Milton Williams killed Okinawa 1946.”

source http://genforum.genealogy.com/tx/milam/messages/344.html

Jeff William was Ann’s father.  He was an outstanding musician, and even played with Bob Wills when the famous Western Swing musician was in the fledgling stage of his career.  This was before the Lightcrust Doughboys and long before the Texas Playboys.   Sometime around 1961, Mr. Williams told me about a deer hunting trip he had just taken to the Texas hill country.  Bob Wills’ bus was broken down on the road, so he stopped and visited for awhile.  All the Williams children were born and raised in Milam County, and they were talented musicians.

The genealogy information on the internet leaves out two of the brothers – Cecil, who lived in Cameron, Texas and Berniece who lived in Calvert, Texas after serving in the military in World War 1.  I met most of them when Ann’s father died.  I knew Hubert and Chess better than the others.   Uncle Hubert lived in Austin, and we would sometimes make contact when we were traveling through Austin.  Uncle Chess lived in Jacksboro, Texas, and I recall a time when we were living in New York.  We spent the night at their house on our return trip.   Our three oldest children got to meet them. 

The memory of Uncle Milton, the soldier killed on Okinawa,  was always strong in their minds.  The website also dates the battle of Okinawa as being 1946.  The battle of Okinawa was fought from April 1 to June 22, 1945.  The National Archives list him as a World War 2 casualty, although it does not give the date.  He was killed in action.  VJ Day was September 2, 1945, so it is accurate to conclude that he died in 1945, not 1946.

The Life and Times of Ann Williams (2)

Pre-natal Development

Sometimes I rather affectionately refer to my wife as “Nurse Ann” (especially when she gives me unsolicited medical advice).  Ann graduated from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and a BA in psychology.   The following two paragraphs are from a psychology class project authored by Ann several years ago.

“My father worked in a rock quarry at the Universal Atlas Cement Company for fifty cents a day, and the salary didn’t go very far to buy groceries, pay rent for the small apartment they lived in, and furnish the bare necessities for my parents and two small daughters aged 4 and 5.  Another baby wasn’t exactly what they needed.  My mother was on a poor diet during my prenatal development, which occurred near the end of the depression.  Poor diet and getting down on her knees to wash clothes in the bathtub caused a difficult pregnancy.  She carried me high and had some breathing difficulties.

“At the time of delivery, which took place at home, the birth was breech front, but small in size which made the delivery a little easier.  The family doctor was there assisted by my grandmother and two great aunts.  I weighed in at 6 pounds and 12 ounces on August 31, 1935 at 12 noon.  My mother used to tease me by saying I was born at dinner time, and had been hungry ever since.  My parents, especially my father, wanted a son and they didn’t have a girl’s name chosen.  Dr. Harrington suggested Ann – his wife’s name.  My mother’s name is Sarah Ann, and when my father told the doctor, he said that sounded good, so I became Sarah Ann, Jr.”