W. G. Williams Story

to OUR ANCESTORS REMEMBERED!
written by their descendants.

MINCO, CHICKASAW NATION, I. T.
Friday, Jan. 16, 1894

An Old Timer

W. G. WILLIAMS was up today from the south Indian country, consulting his attorney, W. H. CRILEY, on business matters. He is one of the prominent stockmen of the lower country, he has a find stock ranch on the Washita River, ten miles below Anadarko. "Bill" as he is everywhere known, is now 54 years of age, and has been 33 years with the Caddo Indians. He left Kentucky in 1859 and went to Texas on foot. Here he worked on a ranch at $15. per month for awhile, and afterward gathered stray cattle in the Wichita Mountains among the hostile Indians, where no white man would go and received a consideration of one third of the cattle he recovered. In this way he made his first 'stake'. During the [Civil] war he was a contractor to furnish beef to the Osage, Caddo and Comanche Indians, and at the close of the war received $18,000 in Confederate currency, which being worthless caused his bankruptcy.

He soon recovered from his discouragement, however, and soon began to accumulate, and he now has on his ranch 2,500 cattle, 350 horses, and 300 hogs. His horses are extra fine American blooded horses, the result of thirteen years of careful breeding, and the half-moon brand of horses are in demand wherever known. WILLIAMS has 2,000 acres of land under fence and in cultivation, and has besides a pasture one mile square, fenced with wire.

As a result of his prosperity, a large elegant frame residence is completed at the ranch, which cost $3,000. WILLIAMS is married to a Caddo woman and has eight children. During all the time he has been among the Indians he has only been in one Indian fight.

El Reno Herald

Submitted by Sandi CARTER GGG niece of William Garrard WILLIAMS

W. G. (Caddo Bill) WILLIAMS

W. G. WILLIAMS was born on Greenbriar Farm in Clay county Kentucky, on November 12 1839 and passed his youth working on his father’s farm and attending such common schools as that country afforded. In 1859 one of Mr. WILLIAMS’ uncles decided to seek a home for his family in the then new state of Texas, and being offered an opportunity to accompany them, our subject readily accepted, and leaving his old Kentucky home, started on the long and wearisome journey by wagon to the land of promise in the Southwest.

A few days before Christmas the party reached Crawford’s ranch, in the Keechi valley, where they were attracted by the beauty of the country and decided to make settlement. On New Years day 1860, young WILLIAMS departed on the pretence of hunting work, owing to the quarrelsome disposition of his aunt, and never saw his relatives again. With $3.00 in his pocket, he set out for Young County on foot, a distance of 40 miles, through a dangerous, Indian infested country and the scene of frequent tragedies. On reaching the old U. S. Indian agency he found but one man there, who had chanced to select the deserted buildings as a place to camp for the night.

After six months we find Mr. WILLIAMS with a wagon train on his way to Ft. Cobb, Indian Territory, making himself generally useful as driver of a 'chuck wagon' by day and horse guard by night. On reaching his destination Mr. WILLIAMS hired to as post trader, John SHIRLEY, and a month later got employment in a hay camp swinging a scythe, at #25.00 a month, but at the end of his task the money was not forthcoming, and he again hired to Mr. SHIRLEY. Finding himself again out of employment, Mr. WILLIAMS made a trip to Ft. Arbuckle, a distance of 100 miles, to try to collect from the man who yet owed him for his work in the hay camp. Not being able to collect the debt he hired to Smith PAUL to make 1,000 rails and build the fence, the first fence ever erected in Pauls Valley, a region noted for its wonderful fertility and valuable farms.

In 1861 Mr. WILLIAMS hired to SHIRLEY, his old employer, to assist in bringing to the Territory a herd of cattle from Camp Cooper in Texas. A location for the cattle was chosen on Chandler’s creek, and Mr. WILLIAMS’ experience as a rail splitter was put to good use in erecting corrals. That fall the Kiowas took the war path and it was necessary to move the cattle to the Washita near the reservation. When things quieted down they were again moved to the ranch, where Mr. WILLIAMS remained until the fall of 1862. On the 22nd of October some Indians from the north made a descent upon the agency, which they burned, and killed five white men, then they turned upon the Tonkawa Indians and massacred fully half of the tribe, 152 persons, mostly women and children. Those of the agency who escaped made their way to the ranch a distance of fifteen miles. There being but one horse in the party they rode by turns, and reached the ranch about daylight. Mr. WILLIAMS was still in bed, but was called out and sent after the horses. During his absence a council of war was held and all were eager to start at once for Texas. Mr. WILLIAMS remained at Gainsville during the rest of that fall and winter.

The following spring he met Mr. SHIRLEY at Sherman and made arrangements to return with him to the abandoned ranch on Chandler’s Creek, where they found the cattle running wild with the buffalo and still in the midst of hostile Indians. They succeeded in getting together about 1,000 head and took them to Pauls Valley and in partnership with a man named BUNGER, they handled them on shares for Mr. SHIRLEY. They kept the cattle near White Bead Hill until after the war. In 1867 the herd was divided and Mr. WILLIAMS received one-third as his share. This was the starting point of his long and successful career in the cattle business.

In the spring of 1872 the herd was moved up on the Chisholm trail at what was then known as Old Silver City, where he remained until 1878, when he sold out to M. T. JOHNSON and moved over on Stinking Creek in what is now Caddo County, then he moved to the Washita, where the present Williams Ranch is now located.

Mr. WILLIAMS’ herd was known all over the Southwest as the Half Moon herd. These cattle and horses were purchased by C. B. CAMPBELL, who continued to breed them up to a higher standard. His ranch at one time comprised 16,000 acres of range, on which he kept 3,000 to 5,000 head of cattle.

W. G. WILLIAMS was one of the organizers of the Bank of Minco of which he was president for a number of years; was a partner with Mr. CAMPBELL in the firm of C. B. Campbell & Co.; owned an interest in the El Reno Wholesale Grocery Co. and other interests in this section.

Mr. WILLIAMS’ first wife was a handsome Indian maiden of the Caddo tribe, and to this union were born eleven children, one daughter being the wife of C. B. CAMPBELL, of this city. The other living children are: Charles S., Robert L., Mrs. J. W. CARPENTER, Jesse, Mrs. Sadie COLEMAN, and Miss Mayme WILLIAMS. Mr. WILLIAMS married a second time, in 1894 to Mrs. S. W. ROMICK, from whom he was divorced last year.

[This article was probably from a Chickasha newspaper.]

Lucy WILLIAMS, a daughter, was the first wife of my grandfather, Jonathan Richard OSBORNE. She died in 1898.

Submitted by Sandi CARTER GG niece of William Garrard and Annie WILLIAMS

These graphics were done by an artist and are the property of the artist. They are not for the taking. If you wish to use them on your web pages, click on the above graphic to view her web pages of beautiful art and then you must contact the artist - Carla if you wish to use any them.

I would appreciate if you would keep in mind, while visiting this web site and others, that the information found within each page is not to be copied in any manner, or used for profit or public use. The information on this page is the property of the writter/submitter.