I recalled seeing a person I believe may have been Nancy's brother in the 1850 census, living next door to her. His name was....wait for it!...Abijah! Abijah Williams. Since the 1850 census doesn't indicate relationships, I made the assumption he's shown with his wife Malissa and their children. I've seen references to Malissa's maiden name being Meeks, and indeed, just a few houses away were several Meeks. Does any of this mean I'm right? Not necessarily! But I'm willing to take the chance for now (and I know who I added so I could easily delete them again should I decide I'm wrong.) I also added Nancy's father as "_____ Williams", using 5 underscores so I don't mess up any hints the algorithms might decide to serve up. I didn't get any immediate new hints for Nancy (disappointing) but I still have hope! It's not a total guess. Unless she was adopted, it's fairly safe to assume her father's surname was Williams.
Recently, Ancestry suggested Nancy's father may have been Edward. I added his name and searched, but didn't find any supporting records. Another person's tree shows his name as Alexander. Again I searched, but I've not found anything to support this either. This doesn't mean either is wrong, I just can't prove either is correct. So for now, the elder Williams will remain with an unknown given name. But as I was searching for Abijah Williams I found a marriage record. It's for Abijah Williams in Habersham, Georgia (correct location) and Malissa Meeks! I'm one record closer to....a discovery?....something?....anything?!
After adding this record, I now have 13 hints for Abijah Williams and 11 for Malissa Meeks. One interesting twist I'll have to figure out is the 1860 census showing them as surname Harper. It appears the enumerator just used a ditto mark for the family prior to them. Was this an oversight? Did they actually claim to be related? Did they intentionally use another surname for some reason? I'm not sure, but I do know there are Meeks family members shown just a few houses away—and Abijah and Malissa aren't exactly common names. So I'm pretty sure the record is correct, but the surname shown may not be.
Also in my new hints is a legal record where Nancy LeCroy filed against Thomas LeCroy for the value of some fabric. Also mentioned is Abijah Williams. This is a good omen. I'm feeling pretty confident this is Nancy's brother! Who was Thomas LeCroy? I'm not sure yet. There's also a Revolutionary War Pension record for Abijah, so I now have even more threads to follow. Perhaps I'll find some military records, or maybe a DAR application with even more information? Don't burst my bubble! I have hope I might actually be on to something.
Of course, this all hinges on the name Nancy Williams being correct. She's shown as the mother on the same death certificate indicating Abijah LeRoy was the father. Everything hinges on a single death certificate. And while we'd all like to believe legal documents are correct, during a time of loss and grief, people do make mistakes. Still, I feel somewhat energized from the finds. Maybe I won't find Abijah LeRoy, but maybe I'll push a bit further back on the Williams line.
Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. All content is my own.
I think you are making progress. I know what it's like researching Williams people. I spent 20 years working on my husband's great grandmother, Minnie Mae Williams, and her paternal line.
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