James Eden Williams is one of those endearing ancestors we have that is a mystery both in birth and in death. Despite intensive research, his early life and ancestry remains unknown.

James was born circa 1818 in Illinois according to several records. As a young man of 21 years, he applied for a Republic of Texas land grant from Fannin County. Originally the grant was specified as a Class 3 with 320 acres, but by the time it was surveyed and certificates issued, it was a Class 4 with 640 acres. The change in acreage can be explained by his marriage circa 1842 to Nancy (Hart) Chenoweth, but the change in classification is yet another mystery added to the pot.

Nancy (Hart) Chenoweth was the exwife/widow of Hardin Thomas Chenoweth. They had divorced in Scott Co., AR in 1832, after having only one child, Lavinia Chenoweth. Hardin had served in the Army of the Republic of Texas from 7 Jun 1836 to 7 Dec 1837 and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. Hence he was entitled to 1 league and 1 labor of land for his services, but died in 1844 in Sherman, Grayson Co., TX, leaving Nancy and her daughter Lavinia as heirs to his vast estate.

James and Nancy slowly made their way south through the state of Texas, stopping briefly in Henderson County where Nancy filed a Power of Attorney to James. By 1846 they were living in Milam District, where James had purchased William Armstrong's headright. James appears on the 1846 Milam tax lists, and his signature also appears on the petition to the Governor asking to form Williamson County off of Milam District. James' property was situated on land that soon would be in Williamson County.

By 1847 Nancy's daughter Lavinia was married to John R. Beck and was living next door to James and Nancy. October of 1847 Lavinia gave birth to a daughter, Nancy Ann Beck. Lavinia died a few days later, leaving John with the baby. By the 1850 federal census, James E. Williams is listed with wife Nancy and two year old baby Nancy Ann Beck in the household, with John R. Beck and his new 18 year old wife Amanda Burke living just a couple of houses away.

Nancy wrote her last will and testament in mid 1850, knowing that she was ill. James entered her will into probate in the Bell County probate court in October of 1851, indicating that Nancy had died just previously. "My loving husband James E. Williams" was listed as administrator of the estate, and also as trustee for Nancy's granddaughter Nancy Ann Beck and her two slaves, Rhoda and infant son David. For two years numerous papers on this probate were filed, along with several entries in the court journals. It seems John R. Beck filed suit against James, saying that he was an unfit guardian for the two slaves, never mentioning his baby Nancy Ann Beck. In the end James was declared trustee of both baby Nancy and Rhoda and David.

During the time James was going through the turmoil of these court cases, he also was an active member of the newly founded Bell County community. His name appears in the very first court journals of the county, being elected Deputy Sheriff, and then as being present in this capacity for several sessions. As time passes and the death of Nancy and the ensuing court cases consumed more of James' time and emotions, his name appears less and less in the court journals. One of the documents that John R. Beck filed in 1853 told that James was considering leaving the state, although that actually didn't take place until 1854.

Early in 1852, James E. Williams remarried to Huldah (Queen) Davis, daughter of Reuben Queen and Mary (Butler) Queen. Huldah had married young in 1843 in Carroll Co., AR to an Abram Davis. They had two daughters, Mary Isabella Davis who was born in 1844 and Laura Annis Davis who was born in 1846. By the 1850 census, Huldah and her two daughters were living in her parents' household (Reuben QUEEN and Mary Elizabeth (BUTLER) QUEEN) in Williamson County, TX. We assume that Abram Davis had died in AR.

12 of December 1852 Huldah and James' first child was born, a son named Milam Williams. During 1853, James sold his various landholdings in preparation of their overland trek to the green hills of the San Joaquin Valley in central California. James, Huldah, Huldah's two daughters (Mary and Laura) and son Milam left Texas circa January of 1854 headed for CA. Milam was 13 months old at this time, Mary was 10 yrs. old, and Laura was 8. They traveled by wagon train through what is called the "Southern Emigrant Route". This trail originated in central Texas, traveled through El Paso, TX, through New Mexico Territory (Arizona was not a state yet), through Tucson, Ft. Yuma, into California near San Diego, then north culminating in El Monte. This trail, from central TX to El Monte, took about 8 months to travel by wagon. Normally several wagons would travel together. It is known that John R. Beck, wife Amanda and step-daughter Nancy were among the travelers, along with Isaac W. Williams, wife Mary, and their two sons. Isaac died in CA a couple of months before the 1860 census was taken, so just Mary and her two sons are listed. Relationship to Isaac Williams is still ongoing at this time, possibly a cousin to James. Other families that traveled with this train were William Davis (who was most likely a younger brother to Huldah's first husband Abram Davis), John Dunlap, Thomas Mahuron, William Walker, John C. Reid, Alexander Glenn, Moses and Josiah Hart clan, and James R. Richards. All of these families were together in 1850 in Milam Co., TX, and together again in Tulare Co., CA in 1860.

By the 1860 federal census, James and Huldah were living in Tulare County, with John R. Beck, wife Amanda, and daughter Nancy Ann Beck (now in John's house) as close neighbors. Evidently John and James had settled their differences, and Nancy had gone to live with her biological father. James and Huldah had added another son to the household, James Williams Jr., who was born in 1862, in addition to first son Milam and Huldah's two daughters.

Around 1867 James and Huldah moved up into the Tehachapi Mountain Range area. James laid claim to hundreds of acres of land, and started a community that was named Williamsburg. Author Judy Barras, in her book "Tehachapi: The Formative Years" gives this description of the area: ""HE CALLED IT WILLIAMSBURG" "There they were. Living on scattered and isolated homesites from one end of the Tehachapi Valley to the other, the pioneer families settled down to farm, raise some cattle, and enjoy the life of the western frontier, as the area most certainly was in the 1860's. A few families found, explored and claimed land in Brite Valley, Cummings Valley, Bear Valley. There weren't many, but those who came planned to stay...........It was inevitable. An enterprising individual had to enter the scene, see the potential commercial enterprise waiting to be tapped, and begin a town. That man was James E. Williams. Mr. Williams came to the Tehachapi Valley in 1867. By 1869 he had built a house on a large parcel of land to which he laid claim. It was surrounded by low-lying hills; higher mountains framed a backdrop. Black oaks dotted the terrain, just waiting to shade and comfort other frame houses and act as climbing trees and forts for children. Water was abundant. Brite Creek flowed swiftly over the land; springs found their way out of the mountainside; a lake was nearby.
It was in 1869 that James Williams built the first commercial establishment in the Tehachapi Valley. At first it was known as the Williams Hotel, but in later years was called The Mountain House. The town he envisioned, he called Williamsburg. Williams wasted no time; he surveyed a town site. He certainly looked to future growth. The names of three streets are known. The main street on which his hotel was located was Bullion Street. A street cornering it was Tehachipa Street. And at the other end of the block the corner was Main Street.
During the first years of Williams' grand dream a marked increase in population took place. An interest in Kern County government was early and active. Politics, always fair game for men,........
........The blacksmith shop and wagon shop were owned by Mr. Williams. And by this time Brite's schoolhouse was no more. A new building was erected on the outskirts of the town, and was a public and tax supported county institution after the incorporation of Kern County in 1866."

James was considered a real estate mogul of the 1870's, selling off sections of his claim to newcomers in the area. Slowly the township and community of Williamsburg grew. Today this town is called Tehachapi. There is a monument in Tehachapi for "Old Town" that James developed, along with a picture of the Williams Hotel in the Tehachapi Museum.

Trouble once again brewed for James in the 1870's when the Southern Pacific Railroad had reached the west coast area. The federal government arbitrarily handed the SSPR every other section of land in the Tehachapi mountain range without first checking whom had laid claim to this land. James was still in the time period required for a homesteader to gain clear title to the land when the government handed the SSPR several of his sections of land. Land documents of James selling these sections to various individuals were located in Kern Co., with the wording of "give clear title either from the federal government or the railroad" included. Assuming this meant James was fighting the railroad and government for his land, documents were finally located to prove this in the National Archives. It took a 17 year court battle for the title to revert back to James and Huldah. After James' death in 1876, his wife Huldah had assumed the fight and continued with it until she cleared the titles.

In September of 1876, an outsider filed claim against James saying that the land in question was not James, that it was his. This opportunist evidently had heard about the court cases with the RR, and planned to take advantage of the situation. On December 16 of 1876, James suddenly died. No death certificate, no probate, no will, no grave nor headstone has ever been located on this prominent developer and citizen of Kern County. A short obituary was found, giving the date of death and reason for death as pneumonia. Judy Barras, in her book entitled "Tehachapi: The Formative Years", infers that gunfighting in that area was quite common, and that may have been how James ended his life. No family stories have survived the years to explain why James' death has been covered up. We can only speculate.

James and Huldah had a total of nine children, with only three living to adulthood. Milam grew up to marry Mary Jane Wilson. Son Henry died at age 8 months in 1860. Son James, Jr. died prior to 1876 with an accident on horseback. Son Jefferson Davis Williams died around age 18. Daughter Sierra Nevada "Sadie" married William Knapp, the first telegrapher of Tehachapi. Son Major married Etta Francis Fickert in Tehachapi in 1888. Son Andrew Williams died at age 1 year, 1 month in a stream by the home. Two other children, names unknown, died young.

A mystery in birth and in death, James Eden Williams lived a full and eventful life. A true pioneer, both in Texas and in California.
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