Matthew Williams, II

Matthew Williams, (son of Matthew), was born 8 May 1651, Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut and died 12 Nov 1732, Orange, Essex Co., New Jersey, came to Essex Co, New Jersey with his brothers Amos and Samuel and settled in the part of Newark that is now Orange. He traded his city land for two tracts at the mountain. About 1695 he built a dwelling on the south side of Eagle Rock, a that time a dense wilderness in habited only by bears, wolves, and panthers. He married Ruth [Lindley] Wheeler of Wethersfield and they had 9 children.

family

• Father Matthew Williams (~1620-<1654)
• Mother Susanna Cole (~1626-<1659)

Marriage

1. abt 1685, Orange, Essex Co., New Jersey to Ruth [Lindley] Wheeler (Birth 4 Feb 1658, Branford, Connecticut - Death 27 Jul 1724, Orange, Essex Co., New Jersey) daughter of Francis Lindley & Susannah Culpepper. Probably a widow Wheeler.

Children

1. Jemima (1686-1758)
2. Jane (1688-1741)
3. Amos (1690-1754)
4. Eunice (1692-1752)
5. Matthew (1694-1772)
6. Gershom (1698->1753)
7. Thomas (1700-1795)
8. Joanna (1702-<1780)
9. Rebecca (1703-1745)
10. Ruth (1708-1724)

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Name, family and wife's name for Matthew Williams 841

Buried in First Presbyterian Church Old Burying Grounds, Orange, NJ. Tombstone reads: Here lies the body of Matthew Williams who departed this life November 12, 1732 in the 81 year of his life. 461

brief biography

From https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6621993/matthew-williams

The first of the Williams family to settle in Orange, NJ, Matthew Williams was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut in 1651 to Matthew and Susanna Cole Williams. His father was of Welsh ancestry, and his mother English. He came to New Jersey in 1680, residing in Newark for a short time before settling farther west in present day Orange, where he died at the age of 81 in 1732. The husband of the former Ruth Wheeler, daughter of Lieut. Thomas Wheeler, [SIC: unproven] he was the father of nine children. His sandstone stele bears only his initials "MW" in its tympanum, and is simpler and more rustic than some of the other early gravestones in the churchyard, which dates from 1723. A widower at the time of his death, Mr. Williams had been predeceased by his wife Ruth eight years earlier. His partly eroded epitaph, which had been painstakingly but inconsistently lettered, is a classic of the Puritan era:

• "Remember this as you pas by
• As you are now so once was i
• as i am now (so you must) be
• Prepare (for Death and follow me)"

The use of the f-like letter S, lower case i, and misspelled words also reflect the times.

biography

From page 114 of The Founders and Builders of the Oranges: Comprising a History of the ... By Henry Whittemore. "The Williams Family"

The first to adopt the name of Williams as a surname, was Roger Williams, of Llangibby Castle and the Priory at Uske, County Monmouth, England. He was said to be a direct descendant of Brychan Brecheinisg, prince and lord of Brecknock, who lived about the year 490.

It is a family tradition that Matthew Williams, the progenitor of the Newark and Orange branch of the Williams family, was in love with the daughter of a wealthy English gentleman named Condict, who opposed the match. The couple were married, however, without the knowledge of their parents, and came to America. They settled first in Massachusetts and removed thence to Wethersfield, Conn., in 1638, where he died. His wife immediately prepared to return to her home in England, but died before the vessel sailed. Their children were: Amos, born 1645; Matthew, born 1647, died young; Ruth, born 1649, married Caleb Pierson; Matthew, again, born 1651; Samuel, born 1653. It is supposed that these three sons came to Newark about the same time.

SECOND GENERATION.

MATTHEW WILLIAMS (2), son of Matthew (1), was born in 1657. He came to Newark and was admitted a planter by a vote of the town, November 29, 1680, at the age of twenty-nine, together with four others provided they pay the purchase of what land they have as other Planters have done. In January, 1688, George Day exchanged lands with Matthew Williams, the latter parting with a dwellinghouse, shop, and other edifices, and orchards and lands near Newark, and receiving two tracts at the mountain bounded east by Wigwam Brook, and the other on Parrow's Brook. Matthew removed to the Mountain in 1695, where he died Nov. 12, 1732. His residence was located on the south side of Eagle Rock Road, near where the mountain stream unites with Wigwam Brook. By his wife, Ruth * he had Jemima, born 1686, married Samuel Harrison, son of Samuel; Jane, married Abraham Soveril; Amos, born 1690; Eunice, born 1692; Matthew, born 1694; Gershom, born 1698; Thomas, born 1700; Joanna, born 1702, married John Condit; Rebecca, born 1703, married Joseph Hedden.

Sources

• Genealogical and Memorial History of New Jersey, F B Lee, p 1222
• http://www.condit-family.com/ps02/ps02_024.html
  • 468. Fred Russell Williams, Jr., Williams Genealogy; Matthew, Thomas, Miles and Swain; 1623-2003, Gateway Press, Inc, Baltimore, MD, 2003, williamsgenealogy2003@hotmail.com.
  • 643. Lyle Keith Williams, The Williams Family of New Jersey, self published, Ft. Worth, TX, 1994.
  • 841. Francis Bazley Lee, compiler, Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, copy in my possession, New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1910, pg 1222.
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=tibart&id...
• page 826 of Families of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut, VOLUME 2 ONLY. Descendants of Matthew Williams, the Wethersfield Settler, in the line of his son Matthew, Jr.
• page 371 of Genealogical Record of the Condit Family: Descendants of John Cunditt, a ... By Jotham Halsey Condit

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Matthew Williams (2) son of Matthew: Matthew came to Newark and was admitted a planter by vote of the town Nov. 29, 1680 at the age of twenty-nine with four others "provided they pay the purchase of what land they have as other Planters have done."

In January 1688, George Day exchanged land with Matthew Williams, the latter parting with a dwelling house, shop and other edifices and orchards and lands near Newark, and receiving two tracts at the Mountain, bounded east by Wigwam Brook and the other on Parrow's Brook. Matthew removed to the Mountain in 1695, where he died Nov. 12, 1732. His residence was located on the southside of Eagle Rock Road, near where the mountain stream unites with Wigwam Brook. (This text names all his children, dates of birth and some of their marriages).

Source:

The Founders and Builders of the Oranges: Comprising a History of the ... By Henry Whittemore

pages 113-114