"Not worth burying" said his son, but they did anyway.
His children were all raised by others.
He was was the son of Moses Williamson and Lucy Ann Slack. He was born in Delaware Township, NJ, but was mostly raised in Lambertville from about 1865. He was likely named for the Joseph Williamson who was his father's cousin and his mother's nephew. He is with them in the 1870 Census at the Williamson family farm which had been in the extended family since the 1780s.
He is buried near his sister Emma Williamson, son Horace (son of his first marriage to Maggie Zens whose grave may be in this cemetery), and grandson Luman. His brother Asher Williamson is also buried in this cemetery in an unmarked grave, likely in the open space next to Joseph's grave.
He married first Margaret/Maggie Zens of Kingwood on 16 Nov 1876. Two newspaper reports and a birth record give her name as Zens. One record lists her name as Maggie Blair. This seems to have been an error. No Blair family can be found in the area at the time, but the Zens family can be tracked. She was alive at the time of the 1885 NJ Census but seems to have died by December 1886 when he remarried.
Their children were:
* Horace W. Williamson 1877-1958, a postal worker who was raised by his aunt Emma Williamson
* George R. Williamson b. 1881, died young
He married second Hannah Marie Horn on 23 Dec 1886 in Hightstown, NJ. Her sister and brother-in-law are found in 1885 NJ Census in Delaware Twp., Hunterdon. Perhaps they met while she was staying with her sister.
They lived in Delaware Township on the Samuel Wolverton Farm on the Rosemont-Prallville (Stockton) Road. He was a "farm hand."
Their children were:
* Grover Cleveland Williamson 1888-1975, a dairy farmer
* Hannah Williamson 1889-1892 who died young after setting herself on fire while playing with matches
* Elias Winfield Williamson 1891-1982, a garage owner and mechanic
* Frederick Rittenhouse Williamson 1894-1978, a garage owner and mechanic
* Carry Belle Williamson, later Jean Bull Hartzell 1895-1986 who was adopted by the Bull family as a baby
Sometime between the 1895 census and 1898, disaster occurred. A family story says that a fire destroyed the family home and that a child died. No record of a house fire has been found although house fires were regularly reported in the newspapers. However six newspapers reported that a two year old "Williamson girl," likely Hannah, died by fire in 1892 and that she and her elder brother, likely Grover, had been playing with matches in a barn. I am inclined to think that the story of the house fire was an invention. Grover's family later distanced themselves from his involvement in his sister's death in spite of him having been a very small child himself. See the memorial for Hannah for the newspaper accounts of her death.
What is clear however is that the family collapsed and mother Hannah was declared "hopelessly insane" and committed to Trenton State in 1897. The sons were raised by other families and the baby girl was adopted in 1898. Interestingly, the sons maintained relationships with each other as adults.
Oddly in the 1895 NJ Census, the youngest son Fred is listed as daughter Hannah although she had been dead for three years. The age was right, however, for the son. Perhaps this was an error, perhaps it was a delusion, perhaps it was a fore-shadowing of Hannah's mental health problems.
Hannah, sane or not, lived another 40 years and was buried near Joseph's parents at Rosemont.
Joseph worked as a “hired man” for the rest of his life and moved around. He was in Bucks County, PA in 1900 with the Augustus Pidcock family. Augustus had also worked at the Samuel Woolverton Farm in the 1890s.
In 1905 Joseph was a “hostler” (looked after horses) at a hotel in Holland Twp., Hunterdon Co. In 1910 he was in Alexandria Twp., Hunterdon Co. with the Harry Hance family. In 1915 he was in back in Delaware Twp. working for the widowed Elizabeth Buchanan who died in 1916.
I have not found him in 1920. Nor have I found his eldest son Horace’s family. Although Horace lived at 1 Delaware Ave. in Lambertville in 1915, 1930, and 1940, he is not listed in 1920. Joseph died in 1925 at the dairy farm of his son Grover in Mt. Airy. The funeral was at his son Horace’s house in Lambertville, and he was buried at Holcombe River View Cemetery next to his sister Emma in a plot owned by Horace. His grave was marked with a small metal plaque until 2016 when a gravestone was added by a great-granddaughter. His children buried him, but did not mark his grave.
He was descended from the earliest settlers of Hunterdon County, including Williamsons originally from New Netherlands (1651) who arrived in Hunterdon via Six Mile Run in Somerset County in the middle of the 18th century and Rittenhouses originally from Philadelphia who arrived in Hunterdon in the early 18th century.
His children were all raised by others.
He was was the son of Moses Williamson and Lucy Ann Slack. He was born in Delaware Township, NJ, but was mostly raised in Lambertville from about 1865. He was likely named for the Joseph Williamson who was his father's cousin and his mother's nephew. He is with them in the 1870 Census at the Williamson family farm which had been in the extended family since the 1780s.
He is buried near his sister Emma Williamson, son Horace (son of his first marriage to Maggie Zens whose grave may be in this cemetery), and grandson Luman. His brother Asher Williamson is also buried in this cemetery in an unmarked grave, likely in the open space next to Joseph's grave.
He married first Margaret/Maggie Zens of Kingwood on 16 Nov 1876. Two newspaper reports and a birth record give her name as Zens. One record lists her name as Maggie Blair. This seems to have been an error. No Blair family can be found in the area at the time, but the Zens family can be tracked. She was alive at the time of the 1885 NJ Census but seems to have died by December 1886 when he remarried.
Their children were:
* Horace W. Williamson 1877-1958, a postal worker who was raised by his aunt Emma Williamson
* George R. Williamson b. 1881, died young
He married second Hannah Marie Horn on 23 Dec 1886 in Hightstown, NJ. Her sister and brother-in-law are found in 1885 NJ Census in Delaware Twp., Hunterdon. Perhaps they met while she was staying with her sister.
They lived in Delaware Township on the Samuel Wolverton Farm on the Rosemont-Prallville (Stockton) Road. He was a "farm hand."
Their children were:
* Grover Cleveland Williamson 1888-1975, a dairy farmer
* Hannah Williamson 1889-1892 who died young after setting herself on fire while playing with matches
* Elias Winfield Williamson 1891-1982, a garage owner and mechanic
* Frederick Rittenhouse Williamson 1894-1978, a garage owner and mechanic
* Carry Belle Williamson, later Jean Bull Hartzell 1895-1986 who was adopted by the Bull family as a baby
Sometime between the 1895 census and 1898, disaster occurred. A family story says that a fire destroyed the family home and that a child died. No record of a house fire has been found although house fires were regularly reported in the newspapers. However six newspapers reported that a two year old "Williamson girl," likely Hannah, died by fire in 1892 and that she and her elder brother, likely Grover, had been playing with matches in a barn. I am inclined to think that the story of the house fire was an invention. Grover's family later distanced themselves from his involvement in his sister's death in spite of him having been a very small child himself. See the memorial for Hannah for the newspaper accounts of her death.
What is clear however is that the family collapsed and mother Hannah was declared "hopelessly insane" and committed to Trenton State in 1897. The sons were raised by other families and the baby girl was adopted in 1898. Interestingly, the sons maintained relationships with each other as adults.
Oddly in the 1895 NJ Census, the youngest son Fred is listed as daughter Hannah although she had been dead for three years. The age was right, however, for the son. Perhaps this was an error, perhaps it was a delusion, perhaps it was a fore-shadowing of Hannah's mental health problems.
Hannah, sane or not, lived another 40 years and was buried near Joseph's parents at Rosemont.
Joseph worked as a “hired man” for the rest of his life and moved around. He was in Bucks County, PA in 1900 with the Augustus Pidcock family. Augustus had also worked at the Samuel Woolverton Farm in the 1890s.
In 1905 Joseph was a “hostler” (looked after horses) at a hotel in Holland Twp., Hunterdon Co. In 1910 he was in Alexandria Twp., Hunterdon Co. with the Harry Hance family. In 1915 he was in back in Delaware Twp. working for the widowed Elizabeth Buchanan who died in 1916.
I have not found him in 1920. Nor have I found his eldest son Horace’s family. Although Horace lived at 1 Delaware Ave. in Lambertville in 1915, 1930, and 1940, he is not listed in 1920. Joseph died in 1925 at the dairy farm of his son Grover in Mt. Airy. The funeral was at his son Horace’s house in Lambertville, and he was buried at Holcombe River View Cemetery next to his sister Emma in a plot owned by Horace. His grave was marked with a small metal plaque until 2016 when a gravestone was added by a great-granddaughter. His children buried him, but did not mark his grave.
He was descended from the earliest settlers of Hunterdon County, including Williamsons originally from New Netherlands (1651) who arrived in Hunterdon via Six Mile Run in Somerset County in the middle of the 18th century and Rittenhouses originally from Philadelphia who arrived in Hunterdon in the early 18th century.
"Not worth burying" said his son, but they did anyway.
His children were all raised by others.
He was was the son of Moses Williamson and Lucy Ann Slack. He was born in Delaware Township, NJ, but was mostly raised in Lambertville from about 1865. He was likely named for the Joseph Williamson who was his father's cousin and his mother's nephew. He is with them in the 1870 Census at the Williamson family farm which had been in the extended family since the 1780s.
He is buried near his sister Emma Williamson, son Horace (son of his first marriage to Maggie Zens whose grave may be in this cemetery), and grandson Luman. His brother Asher Williamson is also buried in this cemetery in an unmarked grave, likely in the open space next to Joseph's grave.
He married first Margaret/Maggie Zens of Kingwood on 16 Nov 1876. Two newspaper reports and a birth record give her name as Zens. One record lists her name as Maggie Blair. This seems to have been an error. No Blair family can be found in the area at the time, but the Zens family can be tracked. She was alive at the time of the 1885 NJ Census but seems to have died by December 1886 when he remarried.
Their children were:
* Horace W. Williamson 1877-1958, a postal worker who was raised by his aunt Emma Williamson
* George R. Williamson b. 1881, died young
He married second Hannah Marie Horn on 23 Dec 1886 in Hightstown, NJ. Her sister and brother-in-law are found in 1885 NJ Census in Delaware Twp., Hunterdon. Perhaps they met while she was staying with her sister.
They lived in Delaware Township on the Samuel Wolverton Farm on the Rosemont-Prallville (Stockton) Road. He was a "farm hand."
Their children were:
* Grover Cleveland Williamson 1888-1975, a dairy farmer
* Hannah Williamson 1889-1892 who died young after setting herself on fire while playing with matches
* Elias Winfield Williamson 1891-1982, a garage owner and mechanic
* Frederick Rittenhouse Williamson 1894-1978, a garage owner and mechanic
* Carry Belle Williamson, later Jean Bull Hartzell 1895-1986 who was adopted by the Bull family as a baby
Sometime between the 1895 census and 1898, disaster occurred. A family story says that a fire destroyed the family home and that a child died. No record of a house fire has been found although house fires were regularly reported in the newspapers. However six newspapers reported that a two year old "Williamson girl," likely Hannah, died by fire in 1892 and that she and her elder brother, likely Grover, had been playing with matches in a barn. I am inclined to think that the story of the house fire was an invention. Grover's family later distanced themselves from his involvement in his sister's death in spite of him having been a very small child himself. See the memorial for Hannah for the newspaper accounts of her death.
What is clear however is that the family collapsed and mother Hannah was declared "hopelessly insane" and committed to Trenton State in 1897. The sons were raised by other families and the baby girl was adopted in 1898. Interestingly, the sons maintained relationships with each other as adults.
Oddly in the 1895 NJ Census, the youngest son Fred is listed as daughter Hannah although she had been dead for three years. The age was right, however, for the son. Perhaps this was an error, perhaps it was a delusion, perhaps it was a fore-shadowing of Hannah's mental health problems.
Hannah, sane or not, lived another 40 years and was buried near Joseph's parents at Rosemont.
Joseph worked as a “hired man” for the rest of his life and moved around. He was in Bucks County, PA in 1900 with the Augustus Pidcock family. Augustus had also worked at the Samuel Woolverton Farm in the 1890s.
In 1905 Joseph was a “hostler” (looked after horses) at a hotel in Holland Twp., Hunterdon Co. In 1910 he was in Alexandria Twp., Hunterdon Co. with the Harry Hance family. In 1915 he was in back in Delaware Twp. working for the widowed Elizabeth Buchanan who died in 1916.
I have not found him in 1920. Nor have I found his eldest son Horace’s family. Although Horace lived at 1 Delaware Ave. in Lambertville in 1915, 1930, and 1940, he is not listed in 1920. Joseph died in 1925 at the dairy farm of his son Grover in Mt. Airy. The funeral was at his son Horace’s house in Lambertville, and he was buried at Holcombe River View Cemetery next to his sister Emma in a plot owned by Horace. His grave was marked with a small metal plaque until 2016 when a gravestone was added by a great-granddaughter. His children buried him, but did not mark his grave.
He was descended from the earliest settlers of Hunterdon County, including Williamsons originally from New Netherlands (1651) who arrived in Hunterdon via Six Mile Run in Somerset County in the middle of the 18th century and Rittenhouses originally from Philadelphia who arrived in Hunterdon in the early 18th century.
His children were all raised by others.
He was was the son of Moses Williamson and Lucy Ann Slack. He was born in Delaware Township, NJ, but was mostly raised in Lambertville from about 1865. He was likely named for the Joseph Williamson who was his father's cousin and his mother's nephew. He is with them in the 1870 Census at the Williamson family farm which had been in the extended family since the 1780s.
He is buried near his sister Emma Williamson, son Horace (son of his first marriage to Maggie Zens whose grave may be in this cemetery), and grandson Luman. His brother Asher Williamson is also buried in this cemetery in an unmarked grave, likely in the open space next to Joseph's grave.
He married first Margaret/Maggie Zens of Kingwood on 16 Nov 1876. Two newspaper reports and a birth record give her name as Zens. One record lists her name as Maggie Blair. This seems to have been an error. No Blair family can be found in the area at the time, but the Zens family can be tracked. She was alive at the time of the 1885 NJ Census but seems to have died by December 1886 when he remarried.
Their children were:
* Horace W. Williamson 1877-1958, a postal worker who was raised by his aunt Emma Williamson
* George R. Williamson b. 1881, died young
He married second Hannah Marie Horn on 23 Dec 1886 in Hightstown, NJ. Her sister and brother-in-law are found in 1885 NJ Census in Delaware Twp., Hunterdon. Perhaps they met while she was staying with her sister.
They lived in Delaware Township on the Samuel Wolverton Farm on the Rosemont-Prallville (Stockton) Road. He was a "farm hand."
Their children were:
* Grover Cleveland Williamson 1888-1975, a dairy farmer
* Hannah Williamson 1889-1892 who died young after setting herself on fire while playing with matches
* Elias Winfield Williamson 1891-1982, a garage owner and mechanic
* Frederick Rittenhouse Williamson 1894-1978, a garage owner and mechanic
* Carry Belle Williamson, later Jean Bull Hartzell 1895-1986 who was adopted by the Bull family as a baby
Sometime between the 1895 census and 1898, disaster occurred. A family story says that a fire destroyed the family home and that a child died. No record of a house fire has been found although house fires were regularly reported in the newspapers. However six newspapers reported that a two year old "Williamson girl," likely Hannah, died by fire in 1892 and that she and her elder brother, likely Grover, had been playing with matches in a barn. I am inclined to think that the story of the house fire was an invention. Grover's family later distanced themselves from his involvement in his sister's death in spite of him having been a very small child himself. See the memorial for Hannah for the newspaper accounts of her death.
What is clear however is that the family collapsed and mother Hannah was declared "hopelessly insane" and committed to Trenton State in 1897. The sons were raised by other families and the baby girl was adopted in 1898. Interestingly, the sons maintained relationships with each other as adults.
Oddly in the 1895 NJ Census, the youngest son Fred is listed as daughter Hannah although she had been dead for three years. The age was right, however, for the son. Perhaps this was an error, perhaps it was a delusion, perhaps it was a fore-shadowing of Hannah's mental health problems.
Hannah, sane or not, lived another 40 years and was buried near Joseph's parents at Rosemont.
Joseph worked as a “hired man” for the rest of his life and moved around. He was in Bucks County, PA in 1900 with the Augustus Pidcock family. Augustus had also worked at the Samuel Woolverton Farm in the 1890s.
In 1905 Joseph was a “hostler” (looked after horses) at a hotel in Holland Twp., Hunterdon Co. In 1910 he was in Alexandria Twp., Hunterdon Co. with the Harry Hance family. In 1915 he was in back in Delaware Twp. working for the widowed Elizabeth Buchanan who died in 1916.
I have not found him in 1920. Nor have I found his eldest son Horace’s family. Although Horace lived at 1 Delaware Ave. in Lambertville in 1915, 1930, and 1940, he is not listed in 1920. Joseph died in 1925 at the dairy farm of his son Grover in Mt. Airy. The funeral was at his son Horace’s house in Lambertville, and he was buried at Holcombe River View Cemetery next to his sister Emma in a plot owned by Horace. His grave was marked with a small metal plaque until 2016 when a gravestone was added by a great-granddaughter. His children buried him, but did not mark his grave.
He was descended from the earliest settlers of Hunterdon County, including Williamsons originally from New Netherlands (1651) who arrived in Hunterdon via Six Mile Run in Somerset County in the middle of the 18th century and Rittenhouses originally from Philadelphia who arrived in Hunterdon in the early 18th century.
Family Members
Siblings
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
