"William Wallace
Williams was born in Michigan 3 Feb 1833, while his parents, David and Phoebe Williams, were on a visit in
Michigan, to a brother of Mrs.
Williams. William W., however, was early thrown upon his own resources,
his parents dying when he was still comparatively young. He went to
live with Doctor Taylor in Wauseon, Ohio, attending the public schools
of that city. ... During the Civil war he was in the military forces of
the Union, enlisting in Company I of the 38th Regiment of OVI, and
eventually receiving honorable discharge from the national forces. In
1867, being then 34 years old, he married, soon after which important
event in his history he began to study law, resolving to qualify for
admittance to the legal profession. Eventually he was admitted, and for
many years thereafter was one of the most prominent lawyers of the Delta
section of Fulton County. He resided in that
place, his law practice centering there, and in that city he was greatly
esteemed. He was a man of commendable public spirit, a convincing
public speaker, and he took a helpful part in the civic affairs of
Delta. He was popular in that part of Fulton County, and held the
confidence of the people of Delta; so much that they elected him mayor
of the town. He was 57 years old in the year of his death, 1890, and his
life, although not of very long duration, was yet filled with
consequential achievements, not the least of which was his strength of
purpose in making his own way after the death of his parents. He was a
good Christian, member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Delta, and a
steady supporter thereof. Politically he was a Republican, and was a
factor of some consequence to the party in his home district. He took a
leading part in political movements in his own district; in fact he was
active and useful in almost all phases of the public affairs of Delta.
As a veteran of the Civil war he belonged to the local post of the Grand
Army of the Republic. His wife has lived as widowhood of 30 years, and
53 years have passed since she, Jane Casler, was married to William
Wallace Williams. She was born within 25 miles of Toronto, CA, 30 Jan
1845, the daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth [Yake] Casler, who were both
Canadians by birth, although Mrs. Williams is descended in the maternal
line from an old colonial New York family, her grandparent having been
born at Mohawk River, New York state, the son of John Yake, who came
from Germany to one of the NY settlements. In the paternal line Mrs.
Williams evidently belongs to a family of British antecedents, long
resident in Canada. She has lived quietly in Delta amid a large circle
of good friends since the death of her husband 30 years ago, and she
owns an artistic bungalow on Front Street.
The children born
to William Wallace and Jane [Casler] Williams were: William, who is a
successful and enterprising business man in Minneapolis , MN; Ila, who
married Lewis Cameron, of Delta; Charles, who died at the age of 21
years, just as he had entered promising manhood; Harry, now of Detroit,
MI, is a veteran of 2 wars, having served through the Spanish-American
war, rising to the rank of sergeant, and as a commissioned officer in
the World war, 1917- 1919; Paul, now of Wauseon, also a former soldier,
having for 7 years been in t he U.S. Regular Army; Leland S., of
Wauseon, who is also a veteran of the Spanish-American war. The family
is thus of military record in the last 3 wars in which the nation has
engaged, a note-worthy record of patriotism, seeing that in each case
the service was voluntary. Mrs. Jane (Casler) Williams is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in her younger days took an earnest
part in church work, and also in the social functions of community life
of Delta." --Standard History of Fulton Co., OH, by Frank H. Reighard,
Vol 2 p. 267.
"William W. Williams is a native of
Michigan. he was born at Monroe county, in that State, in 1836, but
early in life came to Ohio