Jump to content

Old Bill Williams: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m rm empty deprecated/unsupported parameters and genfixes
begin refactor of article {{in use}} and {{subst:Biography}}
Line 1: Line 1:
{{in use}}{{Short description|A short description. See Wikipedia:Short description for details.}}
{{Hatnote|<nowiki>Use only if necessary. {{For}} and {{About}} are also templates you can use for this purpose.</nowiki>}}
{{Other uses|Subject's last name (disambiguation)}}

<!-- The Infobox person entries are examples only. -->
{{Infobox person
| name = Socrates (example)
| image = socrates.png
| caption = The Ancient Greek philosopher
| birth_date = 470 BC
| birth_place =
| death_date = 399 BC
| death_place =
| occupation = [[Philosopher]]
| spouse = [[Xanthippe]]
| parents =
| children =
}}

'''Subject's complete name''' (birthdate &ndash; death) can be a lead-in to the '''subject's popular name'''. Describe the subject's nationality and profession(s) in which the subject is most notable. Provide a description of the subject's major contributions in the immediately relevant field(s) of notable expertise.

<nowiki>To add pictures, use this format: [[File:Photo.ext|thumb|right|Photo caption]].</nowiki>

== Biography ==
Ensure that the following sections are organized by year.<ref name="example">Last, first (date). [https://example.com/ Name of page]. Page xx. Publisher: xxxx</ref>

=== Early life ===
Explain the subject's early life historically using a journalistic style.<ref name="example"/>

=== Marriage and children ===
If the subject married and gave birth, describe the marriage and list their children.

*[[Subject's son]] (birthdate &ndash; death) If notable, provide a brief single-line description.
*[[Subject's daughter]] (birthdate &ndash; death) If notable, provide a brief single-line description.

=== Death ===
[''If applicable''] '''Legacy''' If any, describe. See [[Charles Darwin]] for an example.

== Philosophical and/or political views ==
Wikipedia is [[WP:NOT#SOAPBOX|not a soapbox]] for individuals to espouse their views. However, views held by politicians, writers, and others may be ''summarized'' in their biography only to the extent those views are covered by [[WP:RS|reliable sources]] that are ''independent'' of the control of the politician, writer, etc.

== Published works ==
If any, list the works organized by date of publication. See [[Charles Darwin]] for an example.

== Recognition ==
Include honours, decorations, awards, and distinctions in this section, if any.

==See also==
List related Wikipedia articles in alphabetical order. Common nouns are listed first. Proper nouns follow.
*[[autobiography]]
*[[biography]]

==References/Notes and references==
[[Wikipedia:Cite sources|Always cite your sources!]] [[Wikipedia:No original research|No original research!]]

{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
Add links to further readers' research.

==External links==
List official websites, organizations named after the subject, and other interesting yet relevant websites. No spam.

{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name= "Old Bill" Williams
|name= "Old Bill" Williams

Revision as of 17:34, 2 January 2023

Use only if necessary. {{For}} and {{About}} are also templates you can use for this purpose.
For other uses, see Subject's last name (disambiguation).
Socrates (example)
The Ancient Greek philosopher
Born470 BC
Died399 BC
OccupationPhilosopher
SpouseXanthippe

Subject's complete name (birthdate – death) can be a lead-in to the subject's popular name. Describe the subject's nationality and profession(s) in which the subject is most notable. Provide a description of the subject's major contributions in the immediately relevant field(s) of notable expertise.

To add pictures, use this format: [[File:Photo.ext|thumb|right|Photo caption]].

Biography

Ensure that the following sections are organized by year.[1]

Early life

Explain the subject's early life historically using a journalistic style.[1]

Marriage and children

If the subject married and gave birth, describe the marriage and list their children.

  • Subject's son (birthdate – death) If notable, provide a brief single-line description.
  • Subject's daughter (birthdate – death) If notable, provide a brief single-line description.

Death

[If applicable] Legacy If any, describe. See Charles Darwin for an example.

Philosophical and/or political views

Wikipedia is not a soapbox for individuals to espouse their views. However, views held by politicians, writers, and others may be summarized in their biography only to the extent those views are covered by reliable sources that are independent of the control of the politician, writer, etc.

Published works

If any, list the works organized by date of publication. See Charles Darwin for an example.

Recognition

Include honours, decorations, awards, and distinctions in this section, if any.

See also

List related Wikipedia articles in alphabetical order. Common nouns are listed first. Proper nouns follow.

References/Notes and references

Always cite your sources! No original research!

  1. ^ a b Last, first (date). Name of page. Page xx. Publisher: xxxx

Further reading

Add links to further readers' research.

List official websites, organizations named after the subject, and other interesting yet relevant websites. No spam.

"Old Bill" Williams
Old Bill Williams
Old Bill Williams by Alfred Jacob Miller
Born(1787-01-03)January 3, 1787
Polk County, North Carolina
DiedMarch 14, 1849(1849-03-14) (aged 62)
Southern Colorado along the Rio Grande
Cause of deathKilled by Ute warriors
Burial placeWilliams, Coconino County, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Mountain man, trapper, guide, interpreter
Spouse(s)A-Ci'n-Ga, name means Wind Blossom
Parent(s)Joseph Williams, Sarah (Musick) Williams
Allegiance United States
Service / branchMississippi Mounted Rangers
RankSergeant and Scout
Battles / warsWar of 1812

William Sherley "Old Bill" Williams (January 3, 1787 – March 14, 1849) was a noted mountain man and frontiersman. He served as an interpreter for the government, and led several expeditions in the West. Fluent in several languages, he lived with the Osage, where he married the daughter of a chief, and with the Ute.

Biography

Early life and education

Williams was born on January 3, 1787 on Horse Creek, a branch of the Pacolet, under Skyuka Mountain in Polk County, North Carolina.[1][2] He liked to explore and learned to trap animals for their furs, and found he had a gift for languages. Williams was the son of Joseph Williams who was invited to settle in what is now Missouri by Spanish lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana, Zenon Trudeau in about 1795.[3]

Career

Williams was a master fur trapper and trail guide, becoming fluent in several Native American languages among the tribes he knew the best. He served as a sergeant and scout with the Mississippi Mounted Rangers during the War of 1812 and, as he encountered local tribes, learned their languages and customs.[4] His ability to communicate in the different languages made him valuable to the government and the military for tribal negotiations.[5]

After military service, Williams became a Protestant preacher, and worked with some of the Native American tribes, moving west from Mississippi to frontier areas.[5] During his early years, he lived with the Osage Indians in Missouri, and later with the Ute Indians.[2][6] While residing with the Osages he worked with the Harmony Mission to the Osages. He translated the bible into the Osage language and was the interpreter for the 1825 treaty between the Osage and the United States.[7]

Marriage and family

He married A-Ci'n-Ga, a full-blood Osage woman. They became the parents of two daughters.[7][8] He assimilated into the Osage as a fur trapper and never returned to European-American life, however he did send his half-Osage daughters to it. Williams was named "Lone Elk" by numerous Native American tribes.[9]

William had two children with A-Ci'n-Ga, whose name means "Wind Blossom."[10] The first-born was Mary Ann, who was born in 1814.[11] The second, Sarah, was probably born around 1816.

After his wife A-Ci'n-Ga died, he sent his daughters to attend school in Kentucky. His daughter Mary Williams married John Allan Mathews of Kentucky who operated multiple trading ventures with the Osage. After her death Mathews married Williams' younger daughter Sarah. Sarah Williams (Mathews) was the grandmother of historian John Joseph Mathews.[12]

John Joseph Mathews, Williams' great-grandson, became a noted author of the Osage, served on the Tribal Council, and helped found the Tribal Museum in 1938.[8]

Later career

By 1822 he was working as an independent trapper,[6] and also guided travelers through the far western frontier of the time. He was a respected figure among the mountain men and worked with many, including Uncle Dick Wooton,[13] Joe Walker, Alexis Godey, George Nidever, Zenas Leonard, Antoine Leroux,[2] Lucien Maxwell,[13] William Thomas Hamilton,[14] Dick Owens,[13] Kit Carson,[13] and, infamously, with John C. Frémont[2][15] on his fourth expedition.[1] As an Indian fighter, he had noted encounters with Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche, and Modoc Indians.[1][4][5]

Williams traveled through a wide territory, including Texas, California, the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, the Santa Fe Trail, Arizona, and the Colorado and Little Colorado River regions.[2][4][9][13][15] Williams was with Joseph Walker's historic expedition which found, but did not enter, the Yosemite Valley.[1][6][16]

Frémont's Fourth Expedition controversy

In November 1848 Frémont sought Williams to lead a transcontinental railroad survey into Sangre de Cristo range after other mountain men had rejected Frémont's proposition. Once the team entered the mountains, Williams changed his mind due to the heavy early snowfall. He warned the party against continuing and insisted on a southern route. Frémont continued, and the expedition was defeated within the San Juan Mountains, where 10 expedition members died of starvation and exposure.[1][2][6][13][15]

Death

Williams died shortly afterward at age 62 in March 1849 when ambushed and killed by Ute warriors. He was returning to Taos from helping to retrace the expedition trail to try to find survivors.[1][6]

Legacy and honors

Old Bill Williams statue in Williams Arizona

"Old Bill" is portrayed in an 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture by B. R. Pettit, erected in 1980 in Bill Williams Monument Park in Williams, Arizona.[13] In addition to the park and town, several places and organizations in Arizona were named after him: Bill Williams River and Bill Williams Mountain,[17] the Bill Williams Mountain Men of Williams, Arizona chapter of the Pioneer Club, and the Chautauqua Program: "Rendezvous With Old Bill Williams".[18] He was portrayed by Slim Pickens in a Disney series entitled The Saga of Andy Burnett.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old Bill Williams.
  1. ^ a b c d e f Alpheus H. Favour, Old Bill Williams, Mountain Man
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Bill Williams". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  3. ^ John Joseph Mathews, The Osages: Children of the Middle Waters (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961) p. vii
  4. ^ a b c "William Sherley 'Old Bill' Williams", Legends of America; Explorers, Trappers, Traders & Mountain Men,
  5. ^ a b c All Things William, William Sherle Williams
  6. ^ a b c d e "William Sherley Williams", The Columbia Encyclopedia
  7. ^ a b Mathews, The Osages, p. vii
  8. ^ a b Fredrick W. Boling, "Tribute to John Joseph Mathews: Osage Writer", Western Writers of America Rpundit Magazine, August 2006, at Frederick Boling's website, accessed 3 December 2011
  9. ^ a b Patrick Whitehurst, "The silent sentinel of Williams" Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, Williams News, 5 May 2007
  10. ^ Mathews, John Joseph. The Osages: Children of the Middle Waters,1961.
  11. ^ Guy Red Corn Nixon, Finding Your Native American Ancestors, 2011. p. 42.
  12. ^ Mathews, The Osages, p. viii
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Old Santa Fe Trail: The Story of a Great Highway, Bill Williams, Mountain Man" Archived 2012-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, Mountain Man Bronzes
  14. ^ Joseph Norman Heard (1987). Handbook of the American Frontier: The far west. Scarecrow Press. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-0-8108-3283-1.
  15. ^ a b c "Old Bill lives on – Bill Williams Mountain men", Williams News
  16. ^ R. E. Brammer, "Joe Walker discovers Yosemite Ridge" Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Joe Walker Website at Digital-Desert
  17. ^ "Bill Williams Mountain", Google Maps
  18. ^ "Program, Rendezvous With Old Bill Williams". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Bill_Williams&oldid=1131123425"