My earliest documented ancestors are Thomas (1705) and Sarah Jane
Alexander (1709) Best in Tyrrell County, North Carolina. Several
of us have gotten that far and can seem to get no farther, in part because of the liberal use of the name Thomas in Best family
lines. We have documentation that the grandson of Thomas and Sarah, Michael, left N.C. for Tennessee, spent as many as eight years there, then moved on to settle in Macoupin County, IL, around 1822.
My great-grandfather, John E. Williams, was born in May of 1861, in Danville, IL, to a John D. Williams and unknown wife. John E. married Sarah A. Clifford on April 5, 1882, in Greene County, IL.
They had six children: Frederick (May, 1880); Mary ("Ebby") Ebbert (Dec, 1882, Roodhouse, IL); Charles (Sept, 1884, Audrain County, MO); Florence (Feb, 1886, Audrain County, MO); Frances (Dec, 1893, IL), and Sarah (April, 1896, IL).
Apparently, sometime after 1910, John E. divorced Sarah and remarried, but no one in this branch of the family has the second
wife's name or any information.
There is documentation that John was a coal mine inspector for the state of Illinois, but he has been difficult to trace due to numerous moves for his job. He has been documented in Roodhouse, IL; Alton, IL; Danville, IL; and Martinsburg Precinct, Audrain County, MO.
I hope you have information to add to either family history; I will be glad to share whatever I have that might interest you.
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