Ephraim Smith Williams wrote this 52-page genealogical manuscript, titled Genealogy of the Williams Family from Their First Settlement in America, for his daughter, Jenny M. Williams, in 1868. The book chronicles the genealogy of their branch of the Williams family from the arrival of Welshman Robert Williams in Roxbury, Massachusetts, around 1638. Most Williams family members were born in Roxbury until the early 19th century, when Oliver Williams, the son of Benjamin Williams and Anne Fuller, moved his family to Detroit, Michigan. Genealogical information includes the names of Williams family members, their spouses, and their descendants, covering successive generations into the 1860s. Dates of births, deaths, and marriages are recorded when known. Ephraim Williams added information until at least 1885, often making notes of recent deaths. Other annotations record his relationship to certain family members, and he identified his two namesakes as well as his father's half-siblings. Though most branches of the family remained in Massachusetts, others lived as far away as Michigan, Texas, and California. Several generations of the Gotee family, ancestors of Ephraim's wife, Hanna Melissa Gotee, are also represented.
The genealogical information is supplemented by a half-page dedication note and 3 pages of family history. This additional information briefly relates some events from the lives of Oliver Williams and his son, Ephraim Smith Williams, including Oliver's experiences as an early settler in Detroit, Michigan, and as a British prisoner during the War of 1812. Other topics include a description of travel between Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan, in the 1810s and 1820s, and observations about the region's development, especially the diminishing Native American presence. Also included are brief biographical notes regarding Ephraim Smith Williams.
Ephraim Smith Williams, the fourth child of Oliver and Mary Lee Williams, was born in Concord, Massachusetts, on February 7, 1802. His father Oliver, an early settler of Detroit, Michigan, traded goods with local Native Americans in the years before the War of 1812. His family joined him in Michigan in 1815. Around 1830, Ephraim Smith Williams moved to Saginaw, Michigan, where he and his brother George worked for the American Fur Company. He served as Saginaw's postmaster for several years, until 1840. Ten years later, he moved to Flint, Michigan, where he served as the city's postmaster and mayor. Williams married Hannah Melissa Gotee on March 13, 1825, and they had seven children: Mary Abigail (1826-1872), Oliver Harvey (b. 1830), Julia Ann (b. 1833), Ephraim Schuyler (b. 1835), Elias Gotee (1838-1884), Eliza Melissa (1841-1842), and Jenny Maria (1844-1936). Ephraim Smith Williams died on July 20, 1890.
