Vara Thomas Williams
Johnnie Vara Thomas was born on April 20, 1880 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the third of seven children of William Henry “Will” Thomas and Sidney Dyer Thomas. Will and Sidney were both natives of Trigg County with Will being a grandson of Starkie Thomas. Will had two additional marriages which provided Vara with seven half-siblings.
Vara’s siblings were Stanley Dyer Thomas, born in 1875 and married Willie Ethel Hite; Lilburn Clinton Thomas, born in 1878 and married Verna Herndon; Rufus Kenneth Thomas, born in 1882 and married Tina Avery Wood; Arvin Henry Thomas, born in 1885; Sallie Roberta Thomas, born in 1887 and married Lamont Benton Futrell; and William Cyrus Thomas, born in 1889 and died at the age of four. Vara’s half sibling from her father’s marriage to Ophelia Estelle Tinsley was Conrad Tinsley Thomas, born in 1892 and married Nola Lorraine Sholar. Vara’s half siblings from her father’s marriage to Martha Ellen Tinsley were Marcellus Jagoe Thomas, born in 1897 and married Minnie Olive Leitch and then married Augusta Evelyn Jennings; Ophelia Angela Thomas, born in 1899 and married Lester Perry Ellis; Raymond Redmond Thomas, born in 1901 and married Bertha Violet Stewart; William Street Thomas, born in 1903 and married Louise Jones; Herschel Dunning Thomas, born in 1907 and married Mary Lou Wolfe; and Norbet Hilton Thomas, born in 1910 and died at the age of two.
Vara grew up in the Warrenton community and her family later moved to the Oak Grove community. Vara was a young lady who liked the outdoors. She had her own horse and was considered a skilled rider. On December 25, 1900 she married Thomas Green Williams. Tom was born on March 4, 1874 in Stewart County, Tennessee and was the son of Dudley Miles Williams and Arabella Marie Milam Williams. After Vara and Tom’s marriage in Trigg County, they moved to Almo in Calloway County where they established their home on a farm. In 1908, they moved back to Trigg County where they settled on a farm located east of Canton. Within a few months, Tom had built a log cabin on a hill in a wooded area of the farm. Later they built a new home on Canton Pike which was located just west of what is now the entrance to Lake Barkley State Park. The house was subsequently destroyed as the result of the building of the entrance to the park.
In addition to being a farmer, Tom was an accomplished musician. He made and sold five-stringed banjos. The family owned a pump-organ and all of Tom and Vara’s children played the organ and the neighbors often gathered on long winter evenings for a joyous family singalong.
Tom and Vara were the parents of eight children, Sidney Alma Williams, born in 1901 and married Pink Harrell Guier; Annie Lucille Williams, born in 1903 and married Robert Elliott Malone; Gillis Thomas Williams, born in 1905 and married Kittie Hendricks; Lily Roberta Williams, born in 1908 and married Olive James Cunningham; Loys Lamont Williams, born in 1910 and married Mary Leta Boyd; Geneva Evelyn Williams, born in 1913 and married Earl Wane Simmons; John Cullen Williams, born in 1915 and married Audrey G. Forrest and then married Vera May Cox Gibbs; and Forest Hilda Williams, born in 1918 and married Gilbert N. Bridges.
Vara died on December 23, 1937 at the age of 57 at the hospital in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She had been admitted for complaints with gallstones and failed to recover from surgery for her ailment. She was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County. Tom had died of tuberculosis on March 26, 1924 at the age of 50 at his home. He was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery with his wife.
Tom and Vara Williams tombstone
LINEAGE: (Johnnie Vara Thomas was the daughter of William Henry and Sidney Dyer Thomas. William Henry was the third child of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas. Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas. Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Stanley Thomas.)
No comments:
Post a Comment