History of Detroit, a chronicle of its progress, its industries, its institutions, and the people of the fair City of the straits, / by Paul Leake ... [Vol. 3]

HISTORY OF DETROIT

1243

Cornelia, who married Wilson Cressie, of Bay City, Michigan; and James
of Detroit, who married Lillian Bogart. Cornelia D., the only living
child of James Williams, was born in Detroit where the Moffit block
now stands and has always made her residence in this city.
In this connection it cannot be otherwise than appropriate to give
some account of the Williams family which is of very ancient and interesting lineage, and the following history by Eleanor Lexington is here
appended: "The name of Williams is very ancient. Most of the original members of the name were doubtless of Welsh extraction. They
form a large portion of the principality of Wales-somewhat like the
O's of Ireland and the Mac's of Scotland. Not a few of the name in
Wales trace their lineage as far back as Adam, thereby making a genealogical tree of imposing proportions. It seems to be well established that
the family is lineally descended from Marchudel, who belonged to one of
the fifteen tribes of North Wales. He lived in the time of Roderic the
Great, King of the Britons, about 849. The royal house of Tudor is
descended from him.
The earliest form of the name is Wilhelm, which is composed of Will
and Helm. It is a little tautological to say that 'will' means 'will,' but
not quite so to say that 'helm' signifies 'helmet,' it being the diminutive
form. Originally then Wilhelm meant something very like 'stout warrior.' William the Conqueror spelled his name Wilhelm, though the
form Pillelm occurs most often on his coins, which bear the legend,
'Pillem Rex,' or 'Pillelm Rex.' The P stands as the old English form
of WA, but his great seal reads Willelmus.
Another distinguished member of the Williams family was Oliver
Cromwell, the protector and pretender. His ancestor in the fourth remove, was Morgan Williams, or rather Morgan ap Williams, a Welsh
gentleman of considerable property, whose father, William ap Yevan,
held a position of honor in the house of the Duke of Bedford, and even,
it is said, in the house of his nephew, King Henry VII. Morgan Williams married a sister of Lord Thomas Cromwell, afterward Earl of
Essex, and his descendant assumed the name of Cromwell. Carlyle
says that Cromwell descended from General Williams of Berkshire, or
from Morgan Williams. 'Cromwell, alias Williams,' he has it. One
encyclopedia says that the genealogy of Cromwell is traced to Richard
Williams, who assumed the name of Cromwell from his maternal uncle,
Thomas Cromwell, secretary of state to Henry VIII, and through William of Yevan, back to the barons of the eleventh century. Roger Williams, the founder of Providence in Rhode Island, was an intimate friend
and contemporary of Cromwell's, and some say, a relative. Both were
born in 1599.
Robert Williams is the common ancestor or pioneer of the family in
America. He was born in Great Yarmouth, England, in 1593. With his
wife, Elizabeth Stratton, he came to America in the ship Rose, in 1835.
He settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and lived to the age of one hundred years. There is a tradition that his wife, Elizabeth, was much
opposed to coming to this country, but, being strangely impressed by a
dream that if she came she would be the mother of a long line of men
who would become prominent in church and state, she consented, fully
believing that her dream would be realized. As the fame of many
Americans of the name of Williams is world wide, her dream has apparently been fulfilled. Prominent in church and educational matters, they
have left enviable records. They were also ready with pen and sword
to lead the way to independence. William Williams, fifth in descent
from Robert Williams, was a member of the American congress in 1776
and 1777, and as such was one of the signers of the D'eclaration of In