Nicholas Lanier Williams

Nicholas Lanier wrote this report concerning the early days of his father: "My father, Joseph Williams, fourth and youngest son of Nathaniel Williams of Hanover County, Virginia, when he first moved to N.C., clerked in the store of his cousin, (also named) Joseph Williams. He married Rebekah Lanier, the daughter of Thomas Lanier, of Granville County and the couple shortly moved to Surry County. Not long after his removal to that county, he was elected Clerk of the Surry County Court, which office he continued to hold until his death in 1827.

Upon marriage, full of high adventure, the young couple challenged the wilderness. They carved out a plantation of several thousand acres in the wilds of Piedmont North Carolina, located in the well-watered Yadkin River Valley. Obviously, the Cherokee Indians did not welcome this incursion and went on the war path. Joseph Williams organized the Surry settlers into a body of militia and fought back. He captured and destroyed five of their villages and drove them back to the Tennessee River, and, as part of a tri-colonial campaign (Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina) got the Indians to sue for peace and accept a treaty. The result was not only to leave the Yadkin valley settlers in peace but to open up Tennessee and beyond for settlement. We often hear of the Treaty of Greenville, which opened up the Ohio country to settlement, but whoever hears of the Treaty of Watauga?"

Samuel C. Williams wrote many years later: "Had this campaign been waged by New Englanders, instead of by Virginians, North Carolinians and Wataugans, it would not have failed of a sesquicentennial commemoration on a scale commensurate with its importance."

Unfortunately, there was to be no early peace for this young couple due to the American Revolution. Joseph Williams was a Whig, as the Revolutionists termed themselves. He was the delegate from Surry, elected to the Hillsboror Convention to set up a provisional government for North Carolina, and was also commissioned a major in the State militia and was soon promoted to colonel.

Nicholas Lanier provides this account of a plot against his father: "He was during the Revolutionary War a colonel in the Whig Army and fought several battles with the Tories, to whom he was exceedingly obnoxious. Three of his neighbors, one named Still and the other named Elrod, went to Fayetteville or near there and in connection with the Tories in that vicinity entered into a plan to kill my father, and in accordance with the arrangement agreed upon, the three neighbors returned home to execute their murderous plot. Col. Collier, of Stokes County, learning something of it, instantly sent a runner to inform my father, who at once set out to join Collier and his party and to proceed to arrest the three conspirators. When the door of the house was broken in, Still called for his sword in order to defend himself, but it had been broken the day before in killing a Whig. The two were taken a short distance from the house and shot, the third, one of the Elrods, was spared at the insistance of my father, who claimed the right to protect him as coming from his County of Surry. This account by son Nicholas Lanier, gives us some insight into the character of Col. Joseph Williams. We find him to have been an officer and a Christian gentleman."

Nicholas Lanier Williams was associated with the "Old Nick Williams Co." a whiskey distillery established in 1768 in the community of Williams, NC. Formerly an incorporated town in Yadkin County, the Williams community is located near Lewisville in western Forsyth County. This area of Yadkin County was annexed to Forsyth County in 1927.  Col. Joseph Williams, a Virginia native, came to the area in 1771 and acquired eight thousand acres straddling both sides of the Yadkin River.  This plantation, called Panther Creek because of its proximity to the creek of the same name, is near present day Lewisville.  Nicholas Williams, a descendant of Col. Williams, diversified the farming and cattle operations by using the excess corn produced on the farm to distill whiskey.  The distillery eventually employed several hundred people and manufactured a brand of liquor called "Old Nick" that became popular with the locals and was reported to have been shipped all over the world. The company made whiskey and other liquors.

In North Carolina's pre-prohibition era, Yadkin County was home to a number of federally licensed distilleries, including its biggest, the Williams distillery.  The town of Williams, with a population of fifty-two individuals, was incorporated in 1903 to bypass the state law banning distilleries from being located in unincorporated areas.  With the statewide ban on distilleries in 1908, however, the Williams distillery was forced to close, the "Old Nick" whiskey brand was discontinued, and the town of Williams faded away.

The Williams community is remembered not only for its famous beverage, but also for the illustrious Williams family, who made numerous contributions to politics and other endeavors.  Robert, a son of the Colonel, served in Congress and was governor of Mississippi.  Another son, Lewis, served in the NC General Assembly and the House of Representatives.  A cousin, Thomas Lanier Williams, took the nickname "Tennessee" and became a famous playwright.  Another cousin of the family, Ben Ames Williams, wrote about the Williams plantation in his book A House Divided. Befitting their wealthy status, the Williams family welcomed visitors from near and far.  Famous visitors partaking of their hospitality included such celebrities as John Calhoun and Henry Clay.

Nicholas Lalnier Williams arried Mary Graves Kerr, a Williams cousin, on 4 Aug 1824 in Halifax Co., NC.  Their summer home, "The Cabins", was in Ashe County, up in the mountains. In 1885, their main home "Panther Creek", built by Col. Joseph Williams, burned, destroying a lot of family history and heirlooms. Nicholas died 3 Dec 1886 and is buried with his wife in Panther Creek Cemetery. His wife Mary had proceeded him, dying on 29 June 1884.

Sources:

• http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/williams/nicholaslani...
• http://lewisvillehistory.com/pages/ForsythCountyCommunities.php
• Gravesite photo is courtesy of direct descendant, Zebulon Vance Williams III, Surry Co., NC (2006).