BIOGRAPHIES

Source:
A Standard History of
THE HANGING ROCK IRON REGION OF OHIO
An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with the Extended
Survey of the Industrial and Commercial Development
Vol. II
ILLUSTRATED
Publishers - The Lewis Publishing Company
1916
 

JOHN M. WILLIAMS.  Every community is frequently reminded of the fact that "in the midst of life were are in death."  A poignant illustration of this was brought to Portsmouth May 25, 1915, when a few hours after he was struck and fatally injured by a street car within a short distance of his home, John M. Williams passed away.  As was well stated at the time his activity in business, religious, fraternal and political circles earned him a prominence and high regard in the community that few men attain.      In the steady pursuit of one line of business through many years and by useful and disinterested service in various public offices, he had long been one of Portsmouth's best known and most esteemed citizens.  From an humble beginning he rose by his own efforts to the position of commanding influence.  His own family has many prominent associations with the Hanging Rock Iron Region, while his wife is a member of the Barber family, whose residence and activities identify it with the earliest  times in Southern Ohio.      The late John M. Williams was born at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, Feb. 6, 1847, a son of Samuel A. and Harriet (Houston) Williams.  On another page will be found a sketch of the late Samuel A. Williams.      When a boy John M. Williams had regular attendance at the local public schools, and the first brank in the quiet routine of existence was at the age of eighteen when he enlisted in Company I of the One Hundred and Eighty-ninth Regiment of Ohio Infantry.  The war was then in its final period.  He joined his command at Columbus, was sent south into Alabama, and continued in service until honorably discharged September 28, 1865.  The young soldier returned home and for a time was steamboating on the Ohio River and then was an employe in the rolling mill.  August 25, 1869, began his apprenticeship at the carpenter's grade under Robert Baker, at that time one of Portsmouth's leading contractors and builders.  After getting his standing as a master carpenter he continued in the business with an exceptional regularity, and has been one of the best carpenters and builders in this section, his active work as a contractor and builder covering a period of forty-five years.  In 1880 he engaged in partnership with Thomas Johnson in the contracting business and the two remained together for several years.  Later Mr. Williams acquired an interest in the Smith Lumber Company, but sold out in 1903 and with W. A. Miller formed the Williams-Miller Lumber Company.  Two years later he became sole owner and founded the Williams Lumber Company, which was located on the Gallia Pike just east of Young Street.  This business he successfully operated until 1912.      In politics Mr. Williams was a stanch republican, and was repeatedly urged by his friends to become a candidate for republican nomination as mayor, but never allowed his name to go before the primaries.  Perhaps his best public service was as director of the public service at Portsmouth, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Tynes in 1912.  He filled that office until January, 1914, and retired with an enviable record for honesty and efficiency.      His position among the contractors of the city was well illustrated by the fact that at the time of his death he was president of the contractors' Association of Portsmouth, and he was also a director in the Portsmouth Savings & Loan Company.  Many scores of buildings in and around Portsmouth attest his skill as a contractor and in later years he had the valuable assistance of his sons Samuel and Roy in Managing the business.  He was still in the harness as a contractor at the time of his death.      It should also be noted as a part of his public record that he served as chief of the fire department of Portsmouth from 1888 to 1892, and was a trustee of the city waterworks from 1894 to 1897.  During the administration of Governor McKinley he was deputy inspector of workshops and factories.  His high position in the city was given a testimonial after his death when the various city offices were closed during the funeral services and there came from men of all classes tributes of respect and honor to a life which had been led with such signal usefulness.  He also kept up associations with army comrades through Bailey Post No. 164, Grand Army of the Republic, and was affiliated with Aurora 115 of the Knights of Pythias.  Only a short time before his death Massie Lodge presented him with a gold medal in recognition of his twenty-five yeas of active membership.  He was a devout member of the Second Presbyterian Church, and gave freely of his money and energy to its upbuilding and welfare, and was a member of the Good Fellowship Sunday-school class of that church.  His enterprise and ability were always matched by a generosity, and one notable instance of this was the service he rendered in rebuilding the church of a colored congregation in the city after the flood of 1913.      On Oct. 22, 1872, Mr. Williams married Alice Dean Barber, and for more than forty years they traveled life's highway together.  She was born in Portsmouth, a daughter of Uriah Barber, a native of Scioto County.  Her grandfather was Samuel Barber,, born in Pennsylvania July 5, 1787.  Her great-grandfather was Major Uriah Barber, who was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1761, and in April, 1778, enlisted with the colonial troops for three months.  That was the darkest period of the Revolution.  He was in Captain Champlin's company and Colonel Hosterman's regiment.  Again in the same year he enlisted, this time for eight months, and in Captain Morrow's company and Colonel Hartley's regiment.  Following that came six months with Colonel Hunter's regiment, and later in 1779 he enlisted for six months in Captain Grove's company of Colonel Hunter's regiment.  His name is found in the official records of these organizations, which showed strong fighting ability in winning independence.  Many years after the war, when past the age of seventy, he applied for a pension on Sept. 30, 1832, and the request was readily granted.      In the meantime Major Barber had become one of the pioneers of the Northwest Territory.  In the summer of 1796 he landed at the mouth of the Little Scioto River, proceeded to Old Town, lived in that neighborhood until 1803, and then came to Portsmouth.  What the country was like at that time must be left to the more general account found on other pages.  Mr. Massie having given him a lot, Major Barber erected a two-story hewed log house, and opened it as a public inn, the first hotel in Portsmouth's recorded history.  He also became quite prominent in public affairs.  With the prestige of a Revolutionary soldier, he served acceptably as a major of the state militia, and was also trustee of Wayne Township and filled several terms of the office of county coroner.  His death occurred June 26, 1846, at the age of eighty-five.  His burial was with military honors.  Col. Peter Kinney, then captain of the local militia, headed his company in the military ceremony.  Major Barber married for his first wife Barbara Clingman, daughter of John Michael Clingman, and she was a direct ancestor of Mrs. Williams.      Samuel Barber, grandfather of Mrs. Williams, was a boy when his father came to Ohio, and here he learned the trade of shoemaker.  At that time all footwear was made by hand and by custom order, and many shoemakers journeyed about the country devoting a day or more to the requirements of each family.  He did his work well and lived at Portsmouth until his death.  His remains now rest in Greenlawn Cemetery.  He married Violet Swords, who survived him several years.  Uriah Barber, father of Mrs. Williams when a boy was apprenticed to his uncle, Samuel Swords, to learn the trade of plasterer, and eventually became a successful contractor in that line and followed it the rest of his active career.  He died at the age of fifty-six.  His widow Rachel lived on to the advanced age of ninety-three.  Both were members of the Methodist Protestant Church.  They reared seven children: John, Mary, Jim, Alice, William, Kate and Lucy.      Mr. and Mrs. Williams had a fine family of five children named Kate, Samuel A., Alice D., John and Royal A.  Kate's first husband was George Wood, an engineer who lost his life in a railway accident, and she is now the wife of Howard N. Francis of Adler, Washington, and has a daughter Lois Miriam by her first husband.  Samuel A., who is now connected with the River City Lumber Company of Portsmouth has a military record, having enlisted Apr. 24, 1898, three days after the declaration of war on Spain, in Company H of the Fourth Regiment of Ohio Infantry, went with his command to Porto Rico and served until honorably discharged on Jan. 21, 1899.  By his marriage to Merle Black, Samuel A. has a son named John M.  The daughter Alice is the wife of Lloyd J. Moorhead of Portsmouth.  The son John lost his life in a railway accident at the age of fifteen.  Royal A. married Mary Derman and has a daughter named Alice D. Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 645 - 648