This weekend has been a lot of fun. We’ve had a lot of walking down memory lane and catching up with relatives that we haven’t seen in quite some time. This Williams clan all began on November 6, 1910, when a very young 18-year-old, Lewis Franklin Williams married an even younger 16-year-old, Alice Eudora Cheatham. These two kids had their first son, George, in August of 1911. (nine months)Sadly he did not live past his first day. Their second son, Olen, was born in June of 1912. They had twin girls, Christine and Clarine, born in July of 1916. Ogran followed in May of 1918, making their little family “complete” with two boys and two girls…..or so they thought! Alice was told she had a tumor in 1935…well….in January of 1936, that 13 pound tumor was my daddy, James Franklin Williams. What a surprise!
Here’s a picture of the complete family. I’m not sure of the year that this picture was made.
From left to right is Christine, Lewis, Olen, Ogran, Alice, Franklin, and Clarine.
I absolutely LOVE this picture. This is the old home place that this wonderful family grew up in.
I learned this weekend that they lost the house years later in hard times because they could not pay the taxes on it. Such a sad story for such a grand home with so many wonderful memories.
I also was excited this weekend to get some copies of some other older pictures. I love this picture of my daddy when he was little…such a cute little thing! 
I was especially grateful to get this picture of daddy. I have a copy of his journal that he wrote in before he passed away. In that journal he tells of the little red wagon that he got for Christmas one year. He taught his dog to ride in the wagon and would get his Red Rider BB gun (that Clint now has) and “go huntin!” :) This made it all a reality. So special!
Ok, back to the Williams Reunion….the date was chosen because it was Grandpa Williams’ birthday weekend, April 25th. For years and years the family gathered together on this particular weekend to celebrate his birthday. It made sense that this be the weekend that we have our reunion.
Here’s a picture of Grandpa Williams with his birthday cake in 1955. He would have been 118 years old this weekend.
This may sound a little like the scriptures with all of the “begets”….:)
Olen married Erma Lou Bryant and had three children: Winston, J.D., and Margie.
Clarine married Guy Cheatham and had two children: Florine and Nell
Christine married Carl Peace and had four children: Carlyn, twins Ben and Len, and Lewis
Ogran married Mary Hendricks and had one daughter: Peggy…then married Marie Smith and had two children: L.O. and Shirley.
then last, but not least, Franklin married Irene and had two children: Sylvia (yours truly) and Ann.
(Now…if you are reading this and there is ANYTHING that is wrong in this account…PLEASE let me know so I can make the corrections!)
Three of these grands have since passed away: Lewis, L.O., and Peggy.
All of our aunts and uncles are gone, except my mama, Irene Williams. She is the only living aunt.
The cousins got together this weekend to reminisce old times and make new memories.
We started off the weekend by gathering at my house Friday evening. We had people traveling from many places: New Orleans, Florida, Texas….everyone made the trip safely.
Here we are today: Florine, Winston, Carlyn, Nell, Len, Ben, Shirley, Sylvia, and Ann.
We had lunch today at Bayou Bistro:
Ben and Barbara Peace
Buck Peace
Chuck Peace
Mashae, Cole, and Tiffany Peace
Ann Williams Jones
Nell and Harlon Duhon
Florine McKinney
Shirley Chapman
Nell and Winston Williams
James and Carlyn Hall
James Hall, Ann Jones, and Carlyn Hall
Irene Williams
Chip and Sylvia Weldon
Clint Weldon
Then we moved the party to my house where we could spread out and visit. We spent a lot of time looking at old pictures.
Carlyn and Flo discuss our heritage.
Hanging outside….the weather couldn’t have been better!
Len and Ben’s wives: Karen and Barbara
Clyde Smith and James Hall
Looking at more pictures.
Chuck and his daddy, Len.
Clint, Ben, Winston, and Clyde
Sylvia and Buck
Ann and Buck
Brady Carter (Tiff’s boyfriend) and Tiffany Peace
Taking a picture of Chuck taking a picture of me!
Clyde, Chip and Ben
Len and Carlyn 
Karen, Buck and Ann 
Florine gathered us all together outside for her “presentation.” 
Winston introduced Flo as the oldest cousin…"(he’s next in line!)
I think she told him to sit down….
Being from New Orleans, she is VERY proud of her precious Saints. She and Nell made everyone a set of fleur de lei coasters to commemorate the reunion and so EVERYONE would remember that the Saints won the Super Bowl this year! :)
They are really nice coasters and they were handmade by Flo and Nell….makes them more special!
Clint, Karen, and Buck are laughing because when Buck got his coasters, he informed Flo that he was a Colts fan….she told him to give them back….he he
All day Saturday was Karen’s birthday, but it went by without anyone (except Buck) telling her happy birthday. So sorry, Karen! Happy Belated Birthday!
Clint gets the camera and starts taking random pictures at odd angles….come on, Clint!
Now the task of trying to get together a bunch of Williams descendants in a row…oldest to youngest, for a picture. Not easy…why is Winston down on that end with me? He KNOWS he’s supposed to be on the other end of the line! :)
everyone getting cameras ready…
discussing ages and placement…I know which end I go on!
Where’s Ann?
There she is….
That’s better….
Florine
Nell, Harlon, and Florine
Nell and Winston
James and Carlyn 
Ann, Irene, and Sylvia
Ann and Sylvia
Chip, Sylvia, Jessica, and Clint
Karen, Chuck, Cole, Len, Tiffany, Buck, and Mashae Peace
Ben and Barbara Peace
Tiffany, Chuck, Cole, and Mashae Peace
Chuck and Buck Peace
Chip, Sylvia, and Clint Weldon
On Sunday morning…Grandpa Williams’ actual birthday, we gathered up one more time to say our goodbyes. Promising that we would do this again in two years….
Our last meal at Dairy Queen before the last of the bunch hit the road….
I can’t begin to explain how much this weekend meant to me. Since Daddy passed away thirteen years ago, we haven’t been able to get together. Nell said something this morning that I can’t get out of my head…”every once in a while you need to get back with your people that are like you. It’s helps you be grounded and remember where and “who” you came from. It helps you remember who you are.” I’ve missed that so much from this side of the family for a long time….but I got it back this weekend. The only thing that would have made this weekend better for me is if my daddy could have been here too. I really think he, his brothers and sisters, and our grandparents were smiling down on all of us this weekend. Two more years may be too long….These are the people who helped build me. I like being reminded of that.
