SEVENTH GENERATION

1752. Florence Williams was born on 14 Jan 1896 in Hitchcock Co., Nebraska. ⁽³³³⁾ She died on 28 Apr 1987 in Columbia, Boone Co., Missouri. ⁽³³³⁾
Florence Lillian Kirkpatrick was born in a sod house on the prairies of H itchcock County, Nebraska, not far from Stratton, on 14 January 1896. W hen Florence was about two years old her family moved from their fronti er home in western Nebraska to Holdrege in south-central Nebraska. Lat er still the family moved to eastern Nebraska to the village of Smartvi lle (now St. Mary). In 1914, when she was a young woman of eighteen li ving in Smartville, her father contracted smallpox on a visit to relati ves in Illinois. It was not until he had returned home that he realize d that the had the disease. By that time he had exposed his entire fam ily, and the medical officials quarantined them. During this period, F lorence nursed and cared for the entire family as one by one they contr acted the disease. It was not until all other members of the household h ad become ill, and some had recovered, that she also became ill. Fortu nately, none of the family died.

In 1915 the family moved to Keokuk, Iowa. There Florence met Wilbur Wo rthington Williams, whom she married on 7 October 1916. Wilbur was the s on of John Henry and Julia Abigail (Nipher) Williams, and the younger b rother of Mary Elizabeth Williams, who married Florence's brother Willi am Bonnie. Wilbur was born in Williamsburg, Iowa, 28 April 1893. The s tory of their wedding has been a cherished tale in this family. At tha t time the city of Keokuk sponsored an October Festival. The centerpie ce of the Festival each year was the wedding of a mystery couple. Not u ntil the day of the wedding was the identity of the couple revealed. I n 1916 the mystery couple were Florence Kirkpatrick and Wilbur Williams . The Daily Gate City of 7 October 1916 gave an account of this unusua l event.

"The public wedding at 4:00 o'clock this afternoon was the feature of t he closing day of Keokuk's big fall celebration. The bride was Miss Fl orence Kirkpatrick of Keokuk and the groom was Mr. Wilbur W. Williams o f Chicago, but formerly of Keokuk. The ceremony was performed by the R ev. Burns of Fort Madison in the presence of a crowd which packed Main S treet and both sides of Sixth Street. The bridal procession moved down M ain Street from Twelfth to Third, and back to Sixth where the ceremony w as performed. A solid wall of humanity packed the street and formed th e way through which the bridal party was driven...
"The bridal party left the Kirkpatrick home on Orleans Avenue between E ighteenth and Nineteenth at 3:30 o'clock this afternoon. Overland auto mobiles furnished by the Overland-Irwin Company, conveyed the party dow n the street. The procession moved as far down Main as Third, and arou nd the Curtis statue, going back to Sixth Street, where the platform ha d been moved to the intersection of the street. The bride's car came f irst. The bride and groom, and minister rode in the first car. Follow ing came the car containing the bridesmaids and groomsmen. In the last c ar was Mayor Lofton, Chairman Fred H. Overton and representative of the G ate City.
"At Sixth Street, the procession stopped and the principals took their p laces on the platform. There were two bridesmaids and two groomsmen, a nd a ring bearer. The procession was preceeded by the Warsaw band and t he boy scout buglers. The moving of the platform to the intersection o f Sixth and Main Streets made room for the big crowd. The street was p acked on both sides and the Sixth Street intersection took care of the o verflow."

Keokuk merchants provided many gifts to the mystery couple as an incent ive to young couples to become the major attraction in this circus atmo sphere. On their fiftieth wedding anniversary, Wilbur observed, "There w ere many people who said that a marriage that began that way wouldn't l ast. We're still waiting to find out."

After their marriage, Wilbur attended Drake university where he graduat ed from the Bible College. He became a Disciples of Christ minister an d served churches in Sioux City, Keota, and Vinton in Iowa, and Roodhou se in Illinois. In 1954 he retired from full-time ministry, moved to C olumbia, Missouri, and served a number of small churches on a part-time b asis. In 1960 Wilbur and Florence moved to Lenoir Memorial Home in Col umbia, a retirement community of the Christian Church (Disciples of Chr ist). Wilbur died there on 15 April 1974. Florence died at Lenoir on 2 8 April 1987.

There were five (5) children born of the marriage.

Social Security Death Index:
Individual: Williams, Florence
Birth date: 14 Jan 1896
Death date: Apr 1987
Social Security #: 337-28-1972
Last residence: MO 65201
State of issue: IL

She was married to Wilbur Williams on 7 Oct 1916 in Keokuk, Lee Co., Iowa. Wilbur Williams was born on 28 Apr 1893 in Williamsburg, Iowa Co., Iowa.⁽³³³⁾ He died on 15 Apr 1974 in Columbia, Boone Co., Missouri. ⁽³³³⁾ [Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 4, Social Security Death I ndex: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from M through Z, Dat e of Import: 5 Mar 2000, Internal Ref. #1.112.4.113054.58]

Individual: Williams, Wilbur
Birth date: 28 Apr 1893
Death date: Apr 1974
Social Security #: 480-18-1575
Last residence: MO 65201
State of issue: IA Florence Williams and Wilbur Williams had the following children:

+3070 i. Charles Williams.
+3071 ii. Rev. Robert Wilmont Williams.
+3072 iii. James Willard Williams.
+3073 iv. Vivian Kay Williams.
+3074 v. Vincent Wray Williams.