William Williamson

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about William Williamson, out in Orange County. Now settle in, because this one builds slow and lands hard. William Williamson was born in 1829 and lived until 1900, and in those years he helped plant something in the East Texas soil that's still growing.

It started in 1867. Williamson, a Louisiana native, and his wife Joissine Desmarais bought squatters rights and a log house on a tract of public land. Not much to look at, maybe.

But that log house became the community gathering place, the spot where folks came together for socials and church meetings. The kind of place that quietly becomes the center of everything before anyone quite notices. Now, grief has a way of shaping a community just as much as celebration does.

In 1890, the Williamsons lost their son Absolom. After his death, the Williamson Cemetery was set aside, about a mile and three tenths north of where you're standing in the story right now. And that cemetery has grown over the years to hold around six hundred and fifty graves.

Williamson cared deeply about education. He served as a school trustee, and so did several of his fifteen children and their descendants after him. Fifteen children.

And more than a few of them carried that same civic instinct right on down the line. Then comes the turn in the story. In 1900, the very year William Williamson died, he and his wife Joissine were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The marker says it plainly: that marked the beginning of Mormonism in this area. And the congregation didn't wait long. About 1901, volunteers erected the first church house right here, built of pine logs.

In 1915 a frame building was constructed on an acre of land donated by Williamson's son Joseph. Look around the community today and the Williamson name is everywhere. An early school bore it.

A major road bears it still. Every year on July 24th, folks here commemorate the Mormons' arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. The Family Genealogical Association carries the legacy forward.

And this church building sits at the center of the community, just as that first log house once did. One man, one wife, a tract of public land, and the year 1867. That's how deep these roots go.

What the marker says

(1829-1900) This community egan in 1867 when Louisiana native William Williamson and his wife Joissine Desmarais bought squatters rights and a log house on this tract of public land. Their home served as the community gathering place for socials and church meetings. After the death of their son Absolom in 1890, the Williamson Cemetery (1.3 mi. N) was set aside. Vitally interested in education, Williamson served as a school trustee as did several of his 15 children and their descendants. In 1900 Williamson and his wife were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; this marked the beginning of Mormonism in this area. The first church house of pine logs was erected about 1901 by volunteers. In 1915 a frame building was constructed here on an acre of land donated by Williamson's son Joseph. Signs of the Williamson influence in the community include: an early school and a major road bearing the name; the annual July 24th commemoration of the Mormons' arrival in the Salt Lake Valley; the public cemetery which has about 650 graves; the Family Genealogical Association; and this church building which is located at the center of the community.