FAMILY HISTORY
Our celebrations for these reunions represents the coming together of family members who are the descendants of our great-grandmother, Peggy Buckley, a slave who was the cook for plantations owner, Jeff Williams. The only thing we know about this great-grandmother is that she was separated from the Buckley family as was typical during slavery time. Dennis Williams, her first born, was fathered by Jeff Williams and Williams became the last name for Dennis and George Williams while she was still the slave of Jeff Williams. Her remaining three sons, Cedas Jones, Esaw Jones, and Charlie Jones were born of her marriage to Cedas Jones, Sr. after slavery was abolished in 1863. Great Grandma Peggy, along with her boys, Dennis, age 10 years and George, about six years were set free by Jeff Williams. Jeff Williams had other children including a grandson, Horace Williams of Enterprise, MS. He died on June 17, 1984 at the age of 84 years, leaving only a grandson now living in Hattiesburg, MS.
From the five sons of great-grandma Peggy listed on the cover of each program for each reunion are the families into which we were born. Parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and any other adults around were always there as a support system simply because they loved us and graciously nurtured us so that we are what, where and who we are today! There is still a big number of seniors in generation four who want to rest and enjoy these occasions. Generation four, we have an awesome task before us as we take on the responsibility to keep our legacy alive and thriving. Your presence here today is evidence that we have been willing to share, care, and be there for each other.
Currently, we can account for eight generations with our great-grandma Peggy as the first, her sons as the second, the offspring of the five brothers, as third etc. It is my understanding that there is only one third generation offspring yet with us. That person is Aunt Susie, daughter of great uncle George Williams. She resides in Sacramento, California. In May 1998 the last third generation offspring of Dennis Williams, Aunt Louise (Gandy) McCreary, went to be with the others gone on before.
Our families have left us a rich legacy even though times were hard for them sometimes. They did not just survive; they thrived and were land and homeowners with a well-ingrained work ethic. As a result we are blessed. They loved the Lord our Savior and gave generously of their time and talent to the church and not only took care of their families but others who were in need of help. There was always the sharing of food, a place to sleep and hand-me-down clothes. Calvin Klein and Tommy Hillfinger designer clothes were nowhere to be found. It was grandma, aunt, mama, designs and an occasion bought garment from the Jews who always had something for .99 and 1.99.
It has been very difficult and time consuming to gather data about our early family. What had been shared here comes by mouth from our third generation families. When I started to question my mother, aunts, and uncles, they were hesitant to talk about their parents and great-grandma Peggy. They always responded by saying, why do you want to know that? Just be happy you were not living back then. Little did they realize that for us knowing about our past is important for meeting the demands of the present and planning for the future. The books holding the information for those born in Clark County, MS were supposedly burned at the county seat in Quitman, Ms. Much research is needed to tap the State records in Jackson, MS and the Federal records in Washington, DC which relates to vital statistics.
The work Leroy Goines has embarked upon may help us in the future to outline more details of our forefathers and the family members left behind. Let those of us in generation four be generous in sharing what we know with those who are in the younger generation inquiring about our family background. During the 2000 Millennial Reunion, Leroy provided some excellent audiovisual presentations of data he had collected, including interviews and picture. New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church was filled to capacity with families for the first time since we organized. May I close by saying – what a joy it was to see and hear “The Family Angels” choir in Atlanta 2002, and God’s blessings to their leader, Danielle Saddler.
History compiled by Helen C. (King) Rice