In January 3, 1787, William Sherley Williams was born\ as the forth of nine children, to parents of Welsh Ancestry in a remote area, Horse Creek, a branch of of the Percolet under the Skyuka Mountains, Rutherford County, North Carolina. His parents were Joseph and Sarah Musick Williams. His kin folks were among the Regulators of North Carolina and his father was a Revolutionary soldier with many years of service. Joseph's father, John Williams, migrated from Wales to America.
The Musicks and the Lewis's, Meriweather Lewis was a first cousin of Bill thru his mother, came to Virginia from Wales and lived there for awhile. They moved to the mountain district of North Carolina in the western part of North Carolina.
On the family farm, it was a religious home, the children were taught fundamental academics by a knowledgable mother, effectively so, for it is written that a sibling, Lewis Peter, went on to become a famous preacher and Bill was judged an educated man with appreciation for literature and understanding of history, politics and comparative religion. He also learned that a mans word was as good as a contract and Bill carried this his entire life.
About 1793 after the war, the Williams and Musick Clans packed their belongings and joined the flight of pioneers going west, eventually settled in Whiteside Station, Missouri which was a village on the east side of the Mississippi, opposite St. Louis, which was at that time was a territory ruled by Spain. The pioneers had to give up their citizenship and become Catholics. It was ironic for the men of the families who had fought so hard in the Revolutionary War.
Bill and his siblings grew up on the river and watched the keel boats and barges up and down the river. Trappers went past the Williams home with their packs of furs and hides. This was an exciting time, Indian tribes, Osage, Delaware, Shawnee and other tribes, were numerous. The Williams children learned their languages and learned how to hunt as the Indian's did. The Osage tribe were the ones Bill became most familiar with.
Bill grew up to be a large, rawboned youth with red hair and many freckles. He had many characteristics of his mother, tremendous confidence and his ability to believe he could do things better than anyone else. From here, Will, as the family called him, ranged widely and perfected the woodland skills that would earn him the admiration of his fellow mountain men many years later. One day, when he was only sixteen and hunting far from home, Will arrived at a village of Osage Indians. Captivated by their ways, he re-appeared at the farm shortly after and announced he would from then on live as an Osage. Will settled with the Osage, learned their language, married into their tribe and had considerable influence over them. Over the years two daughters were born to William, Mary and Martha, and he acquired two more wives. Will would remain with the Osage Indians for nearly a quarter of a century.
During the years Bill made excursions into the far west and learned much about the huge expanse between Osage Country and (in Missouri and Arkansas) and the Rocky Mountains. He knew his way around the mountains by 1810, long before organized brigades of hunters and government expeditions came into the area.
When the war of 1812 broke out on the Missouri frontier, Will volunteered as a scout to the region along the Mississippi. (Records confirm his service as official interpreter and guide for several army concerns near the Osage Villages prior to 1822). Bill was assigned to a region along the Mississippi as a scout for the Mounted Rangers.
In 1821 a band of missionaries arrived in Osage country. Old Bill aided the missionaries at first by furnishing practical information about the Osages and volunteering his services as interpreter and translator. His efforts produced material- a dictionary, grammar and familiar sentences-that was later made into a book "Osage First Line of Writing" Only five hundred copies were issued and the work is very scarce.
In the fall of 1824, Bill headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River, ran into a hostile party of Blackfeet Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon where he hid for two days. On the third day, he emerged and fashioned a crude craft and floated down the Columbia to the trappers camp.
Bill and his fellow travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man style. Bill was cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. Bill had skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is remembered as having an uncanny way with the American Indians and maintained comfortable relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill Williams acquired the nickname "Old Bill" by which he was known for the rest of his life.
Old Bill Williams Mountain Man:
William Sherley Williams was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Musick) Williams and the brother of Micajeh-born February 16, 1783-died 1825 , James- born March 27, 1778-died 1851, Lewis-born may 19, 1784-died 1838, John W.-born September 1795-died 1869, Benjamin Franklin-January 19, 1798, Mary-born September 15, 1800, Olivia-born January 1, 1803, Peter born 1806 and died in 1859, Arabella-born December 4, 1806-died September 24, 1890.
He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and became a Baptist preacher. He soon tired of preaching and began drifting further west. He married an Osage Indian woman and had two daughters. He became a trapper and a guide for early explorers of the West, which includes Meriweather Lewis who Old Bill was related to.
In the fall of 1824, Williams headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River ran into a hostile party of Blackfoot Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon, where he hid for two days while the Indians hunted for him. On the third day he emerged atop steep, ragged rocks in time to watch his enemies leave the vicinity. Fearing their presence still on the river banks, Williams fashioned a crude raft and quietly floated down the Columbia River back to the trappers camp.
Williams and his group of travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals, but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man Style. Masterfull in snaking through dangerous Indian country Williams was assuredly cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. He participated in skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is, however, remembered as having an uncanny way with American Indians and maintained relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill acquired the nickname "Old Bill: by which he was known the rest of his life.
Old Bill joined a government expedition soon after, to survey and mark the trade road from Fort Osage to Santa Fe, New Mexico. As interpreter, his main duty was to help negotiate treaties with tribal leaders. Williams lost his job, however, when he began gambling after a successful beaver hunt. Old Bill then made his new stomping grounds in Taos, New Mexico.
In 1826, as Bill trapped alone, in the "State of Sonora" (Arizona) he was surprised by Apaches, stripped of everything and turned loose in the desert. Naked and without a weapon he journeyed 160 miles northeast through mountains arid valleys and the desert before being picked up by the Zunis Indians. The Zunies took him to their pueblo and treated him with great honor, almost worship. Ultimately he returned to Taos, some two hundred miles away. A few years later Williams took up residence in an adobe with a Mexican widow and her three children. She came of good family and a son, Jose, was born to Antonia and Bill around 1834.
Williams had a pattern as a notoriously sharp trader of buying and selling furs promptly for an immediate cash profit. The fur trade was declining by 1840 and many trappers pursued other interests. In a carefully planned enterprise, Old Bill joined a mixed band of American and trappers, New Mexicans, French-Canadians and Indians intent on "collecting" abandoned horses in Southern California. Three thousand animals were gathered and driven on a hard journey of about 1000 miles, over half were lost before clearing the Mohave Desert. Bill's usual good business sense failed him in this instance, as he sold his share and settled for a barrel of whiskey.
It was November 1848, and Old Bill probably knew better than to attempt a mountain crossing this late in the season, already there were signs of extremely severe weather conditions ahead. Yet, Captain John C. Fremont This despite an incident of serious disagreement between these two only three years before.
Thirty-three men and 120 pack-mules left the Mountain Men's settlement in present day Colorado, steering directly southwest for California, but leaving the two previously known travel routes. Many, like old Bill, knew the extreme difficulty of crossing the middle ranges of the Rockies this time of year, they were by no means sure a "practical route" could be found. Winter settled in, snow storms, piercing winds, deadly drops in temperature and deepening drifts.
Williams tried to lead the expedition toward the least arduous crossing but was halted by Fremont, who had already rejected this course. From then on Old Bill ceased to function as guide and his words of council were generally disregarded.
Finding a barely tolerable "wagon road" the group struggled inch by inch up the canyons and slippery mountainsides. Mules dropped dead and men became snow blind and badly frost bitten. Food for either had about vanished. With despair, Bill and three others were dispatched to seek help from settlements located about 170 miles away. On the eleven day struggle through bitter weather the men subsisted on a hawk, an otter parched boots and charred leather. Still they crept along until one of the group laid down and died. Meanwhile up in the mountains, tem men and 120 mules perished, twenty-three men were crippled, never to recover completely, and nearly all the equipment was lost. This Ended Fremont's Fourth Expedition, Surrounded by Controversy Over Responsibility For The Disaster.
During his lifetime of living in the outdoors, he made his way by his wits and prowess as a trapper. He was schooled in the ways of the Indians, a successful trapper and guide, a clever and cool-headed man in battle and a man who how to handle a rifle. He has been cited as being the greatest of all Mountain Men in the West. Historians record that Old Bill traveled alone much of the time. It is said that he met his death at the hands of a Ute Indian warrior in Southern Colorado, the Ute's did not recognize Old Bill in the heat of battle and killed him by mistake. They gave him a Ute Burial Ceremony due to Bill being a friend of the Ute Indians and was a great warrior.
Today William Sherley Williams-Old Bill- is remembered as a kind, honest and brave man, charitable toward the less fortunate, expert in the fur trading business. A river and a mountain and it's town, Williams, Arizona beside the Grand Canyon, have been named for him. Old Bill served America honoraby in the adventurous days of yore.
The Musicks and the Lewis's, Meriweather Lewis was a first cousin of Bill thru his mother, came to Virginia from Wales and lived there for awhile. They moved to the mountain district of North Carolina in the western part of North Carolina.
On the family farm, it was a religious home, the children were taught fundamental academics by a knowledgable mother, effectively so, for it is written that a sibling, Lewis Peter, went on to become a famous preacher and Bill was judged an educated man with appreciation for literature and understanding of history, politics and comparative religion. He also learned that a mans word was as good as a contract and Bill carried this his entire life.
About 1793 after the war, the Williams and Musick Clans packed their belongings and joined the flight of pioneers going west, eventually settled in Whiteside Station, Missouri which was a village on the east side of the Mississippi, opposite St. Louis, which was at that time was a territory ruled by Spain. The pioneers had to give up their citizenship and become Catholics. It was ironic for the men of the families who had fought so hard in the Revolutionary War.
Bill and his siblings grew up on the river and watched the keel boats and barges up and down the river. Trappers went past the Williams home with their packs of furs and hides. This was an exciting time, Indian tribes, Osage, Delaware, Shawnee and other tribes, were numerous. The Williams children learned their languages and learned how to hunt as the Indian's did. The Osage tribe were the ones Bill became most familiar with.
Bill grew up to be a large, rawboned youth with red hair and many freckles. He had many characteristics of his mother, tremendous confidence and his ability to believe he could do things better than anyone else. From here, Will, as the family called him, ranged widely and perfected the woodland skills that would earn him the admiration of his fellow mountain men many years later. One day, when he was only sixteen and hunting far from home, Will arrived at a village of Osage Indians. Captivated by their ways, he re-appeared at the farm shortly after and announced he would from then on live as an Osage. Will settled with the Osage, learned their language, married into their tribe and had considerable influence over them. Over the years two daughters were born to William, Mary and Martha, and he acquired two more wives. Will would remain with the Osage Indians for nearly a quarter of a century.
During the years Bill made excursions into the far west and learned much about the huge expanse between Osage Country and (in Missouri and Arkansas) and the Rocky Mountains. He knew his way around the mountains by 1810, long before organized brigades of hunters and government expeditions came into the area.
When the war of 1812 broke out on the Missouri frontier, Will volunteered as a scout to the region along the Mississippi. (Records confirm his service as official interpreter and guide for several army concerns near the Osage Villages prior to 1822). Bill was assigned to a region along the Mississippi as a scout for the Mounted Rangers.
In 1821 a band of missionaries arrived in Osage country. Old Bill aided the missionaries at first by furnishing practical information about the Osages and volunteering his services as interpreter and translator. His efforts produced material- a dictionary, grammar and familiar sentences-that was later made into a book "Osage First Line of Writing" Only five hundred copies were issued and the work is very scarce.
In the fall of 1824, Bill headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River, ran into a hostile party of Blackfeet Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon where he hid for two days. On the third day, he emerged and fashioned a crude craft and floated down the Columbia to the trappers camp.
Bill and his fellow travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man style. Bill was cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. Bill had skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is remembered as having an uncanny way with the American Indians and maintained comfortable relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill Williams acquired the nickname "Old Bill" by which he was known for the rest of his life.
Old Bill Williams Mountain Man:
William Sherley Williams was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Musick) Williams and the brother of Micajeh-born February 16, 1783-died 1825 , James- born March 27, 1778-died 1851, Lewis-born may 19, 1784-died 1838, John W.-born September 1795-died 1869, Benjamin Franklin-January 19, 1798, Mary-born September 15, 1800, Olivia-born January 1, 1803, Peter born 1806 and died in 1859, Arabella-born December 4, 1806-died September 24, 1890.
He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and became a Baptist preacher. He soon tired of preaching and began drifting further west. He married an Osage Indian woman and had two daughters. He became a trapper and a guide for early explorers of the West, which includes Meriweather Lewis who Old Bill was related to.
In the fall of 1824, Williams headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River ran into a hostile party of Blackfoot Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon, where he hid for two days while the Indians hunted for him. On the third day he emerged atop steep, ragged rocks in time to watch his enemies leave the vicinity. Fearing their presence still on the river banks, Williams fashioned a crude raft and quietly floated down the Columbia River back to the trappers camp.
Williams and his group of travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals, but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man Style. Masterfull in snaking through dangerous Indian country Williams was assuredly cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. He participated in skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is, however, remembered as having an uncanny way with American Indians and maintained relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill acquired the nickname "Old Bill: by which he was known the rest of his life.
Old Bill joined a government expedition soon after, to survey and mark the trade road from Fort Osage to Santa Fe, New Mexico. As interpreter, his main duty was to help negotiate treaties with tribal leaders. Williams lost his job, however, when he began gambling after a successful beaver hunt. Old Bill then made his new stomping grounds in Taos, New Mexico.
In 1826, as Bill trapped alone, in the "State of Sonora" (Arizona) he was surprised by Apaches, stripped of everything and turned loose in the desert. Naked and without a weapon he journeyed 160 miles northeast through mountains arid valleys and the desert before being picked up by the Zunis Indians. The Zunies took him to their pueblo and treated him with great honor, almost worship. Ultimately he returned to Taos, some two hundred miles away. A few years later Williams took up residence in an adobe with a Mexican widow and her three children. She came of good family and a son, Jose, was born to Antonia and Bill around 1834.
Williams had a pattern as a notoriously sharp trader of buying and selling furs promptly for an immediate cash profit. The fur trade was declining by 1840 and many trappers pursued other interests. In a carefully planned enterprise, Old Bill joined a mixed band of American and trappers, New Mexicans, French-Canadians and Indians intent on "collecting" abandoned horses in Southern California. Three thousand animals were gathered and driven on a hard journey of about 1000 miles, over half were lost before clearing the Mohave Desert. Bill's usual good business sense failed him in this instance, as he sold his share and settled for a barrel of whiskey.
It was November 1848, and Old Bill probably knew better than to attempt a mountain crossing this late in the season, already there were signs of extremely severe weather conditions ahead. Yet, Captain John C. Fremont This despite an incident of serious disagreement between these two only three years before.
Thirty-three men and 120 pack-mules left the Mountain Men's settlement in present day Colorado, steering directly southwest for California, but leaving the two previously known travel routes. Many, like old Bill, knew the extreme difficulty of crossing the middle ranges of the Rockies this time of year, they were by no means sure a "practical route" could be found. Winter settled in, snow storms, piercing winds, deadly drops in temperature and deepening drifts.
Williams tried to lead the expedition toward the least arduous crossing but was halted by Fremont, who had already rejected this course. From then on Old Bill ceased to function as guide and his words of council were generally disregarded.
Finding a barely tolerable "wagon road" the group struggled inch by inch up the canyons and slippery mountainsides. Mules dropped dead and men became snow blind and badly frost bitten. Food for either had about vanished. With despair, Bill and three others were dispatched to seek help from settlements located about 170 miles away. On the eleven day struggle through bitter weather the men subsisted on a hawk, an otter parched boots and charred leather. Still they crept along until one of the group laid down and died. Meanwhile up in the mountains, tem men and 120 mules perished, twenty-three men were crippled, never to recover completely, and nearly all the equipment was lost. This Ended Fremont's Fourth Expedition, Surrounded by Controversy Over Responsibility For The Disaster.
During his lifetime of living in the outdoors, he made his way by his wits and prowess as a trapper. He was schooled in the ways of the Indians, a successful trapper and guide, a clever and cool-headed man in battle and a man who how to handle a rifle. He has been cited as being the greatest of all Mountain Men in the West. Historians record that Old Bill traveled alone much of the time. It is said that he met his death at the hands of a Ute Indian warrior in Southern Colorado, the Ute's did not recognize Old Bill in the heat of battle and killed him by mistake. They gave him a Ute Burial Ceremony due to Bill being a friend of the Ute Indians and was a great warrior.
Today William Sherley Williams-Old Bill- is remembered as a kind, honest and brave man, charitable toward the less fortunate, expert in the fur trading business. A river and a mountain and it's town, Williams, Arizona beside the Grand Canyon, have been named for him. Old Bill served America honoraby in the adventurous days of yore.
In January 3, 1787, William Sherley Williams was born\ as the forth of nine children, to parents of Welsh Ancestry in a remote area, Horse Creek, a branch of of the Percolet under the Skyuka Mountains, Rutherford County, North Carolina. His parents were Joseph and Sarah Musick Williams. His kin folks were among the Regulators of North Carolina and his father was a Revolutionary soldier with many years of service. Joseph's father, John Williams, migrated from Wales to America.
The Musicks and the Lewis's, Meriweather Lewis was a first cousin of Bill thru his mother, came to Virginia from Wales and lived there for awhile. They moved to the mountain district of North Carolina in the western part of North Carolina.
On the family farm, it was a religious home, the children were taught fundamental academics by a knowledgable mother, effectively so, for it is written that a sibling, Lewis Peter, went on to become a famous preacher and Bill was judged an educated man with appreciation for literature and understanding of history, politics and comparative religion. He also learned that a mans word was as good as a contract and Bill carried this his entire life.
About 1793 after the war, the Williams and Musick Clans packed their belongings and joined the flight of pioneers going west, eventually settled in Whiteside Station, Missouri which was a village on the east side of the Mississippi, opposite St. Louis, which was at that time was a territory ruled by Spain. The pioneers had to give up their citizenship and become Catholics. It was ironic for the men of the families who had fought so hard in the Revolutionary War.
Bill and his siblings grew up on the river and watched the keel boats and barges up and down the river. Trappers went past the Williams home with their packs of furs and hides. This was an exciting time, Indian tribes, Osage, Delaware, Shawnee and other tribes, were numerous. The Williams children learned their languages and learned how to hunt as the Indian's did. The Osage tribe were the ones Bill became most familiar with.
Bill grew up to be a large, rawboned youth with red hair and many freckles. He had many characteristics of his mother, tremendous confidence and his ability to believe he could do things better than anyone else. From here, Will, as the family called him, ranged widely and perfected the woodland skills that would earn him the admiration of his fellow mountain men many years later. One day, when he was only sixteen and hunting far from home, Will arrived at a village of Osage Indians. Captivated by their ways, he re-appeared at the farm shortly after and announced he would from then on live as an Osage. Will settled with the Osage, learned their language, married into their tribe and had considerable influence over them. Over the years two daughters were born to William, Mary and Martha, and he acquired two more wives. Will would remain with the Osage Indians for nearly a quarter of a century.
During the years Bill made excursions into the far west and learned much about the huge expanse between Osage Country and (in Missouri and Arkansas) and the Rocky Mountains. He knew his way around the mountains by 1810, long before organized brigades of hunters and government expeditions came into the area.
When the war of 1812 broke out on the Missouri frontier, Will volunteered as a scout to the region along the Mississippi. (Records confirm his service as official interpreter and guide for several army concerns near the Osage Villages prior to 1822). Bill was assigned to a region along the Mississippi as a scout for the Mounted Rangers.
In 1821 a band of missionaries arrived in Osage country. Old Bill aided the missionaries at first by furnishing practical information about the Osages and volunteering his services as interpreter and translator. His efforts produced material- a dictionary, grammar and familiar sentences-that was later made into a book "Osage First Line of Writing" Only five hundred copies were issued and the work is very scarce.
In the fall of 1824, Bill headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River, ran into a hostile party of Blackfeet Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon where he hid for two days. On the third day, he emerged and fashioned a crude craft and floated down the Columbia to the trappers camp.
Bill and his fellow travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man style. Bill was cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. Bill had skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is remembered as having an uncanny way with the American Indians and maintained comfortable relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill Williams acquired the nickname "Old Bill" by which he was known for the rest of his life.
Old Bill Williams Mountain Man:
William Sherley Williams was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Musick) Williams and the brother of Micajeh-born February 16, 1783-died 1825 , James- born March 27, 1778-died 1851, Lewis-born may 19, 1784-died 1838, John W.-born September 1795-died 1869, Benjamin Franklin-January 19, 1798, Mary-born September 15, 1800, Olivia-born January 1, 1803, Peter born 1806 and died in 1859, Arabella-born December 4, 1806-died September 24, 1890.
He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and became a Baptist preacher. He soon tired of preaching and began drifting further west. He married an Osage Indian woman and had two daughters. He became a trapper and a guide for early explorers of the West, which includes Meriweather Lewis who Old Bill was related to.
In the fall of 1824, Williams headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River ran into a hostile party of Blackfoot Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon, where he hid for two days while the Indians hunted for him. On the third day he emerged atop steep, ragged rocks in time to watch his enemies leave the vicinity. Fearing their presence still on the river banks, Williams fashioned a crude raft and quietly floated down the Columbia River back to the trappers camp.
Williams and his group of travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals, but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man Style. Masterfull in snaking through dangerous Indian country Williams was assuredly cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. He participated in skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is, however, remembered as having an uncanny way with American Indians and maintained relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill acquired the nickname "Old Bill: by which he was known the rest of his life.
Old Bill joined a government expedition soon after, to survey and mark the trade road from Fort Osage to Santa Fe, New Mexico. As interpreter, his main duty was to help negotiate treaties with tribal leaders. Williams lost his job, however, when he began gambling after a successful beaver hunt. Old Bill then made his new stomping grounds in Taos, New Mexico.
In 1826, as Bill trapped alone, in the "State of Sonora" (Arizona) he was surprised by Apaches, stripped of everything and turned loose in the desert. Naked and without a weapon he journeyed 160 miles northeast through mountains arid valleys and the desert before being picked up by the Zunis Indians. The Zunies took him to their pueblo and treated him with great honor, almost worship. Ultimately he returned to Taos, some two hundred miles away. A few years later Williams took up residence in an adobe with a Mexican widow and her three children. She came of good family and a son, Jose, was born to Antonia and Bill around 1834.
Williams had a pattern as a notoriously sharp trader of buying and selling furs promptly for an immediate cash profit. The fur trade was declining by 1840 and many trappers pursued other interests. In a carefully planned enterprise, Old Bill joined a mixed band of American and trappers, New Mexicans, French-Canadians and Indians intent on "collecting" abandoned horses in Southern California. Three thousand animals were gathered and driven on a hard journey of about 1000 miles, over half were lost before clearing the Mohave Desert. Bill's usual good business sense failed him in this instance, as he sold his share and settled for a barrel of whiskey.
It was November 1848, and Old Bill probably knew better than to attempt a mountain crossing this late in the season, already there were signs of extremely severe weather conditions ahead. Yet, Captain John C. Fremont This despite an incident of serious disagreement between these two only three years before.
Thirty-three men and 120 pack-mules left the Mountain Men's settlement in present day Colorado, steering directly southwest for California, but leaving the two previously known travel routes. Many, like old Bill, knew the extreme difficulty of crossing the middle ranges of the Rockies this time of year, they were by no means sure a "practical route" could be found. Winter settled in, snow storms, piercing winds, deadly drops in temperature and deepening drifts.
Williams tried to lead the expedition toward the least arduous crossing but was halted by Fremont, who had already rejected this course. From then on Old Bill ceased to function as guide and his words of council were generally disregarded.
Finding a barely tolerable "wagon road" the group struggled inch by inch up the canyons and slippery mountainsides. Mules dropped dead and men became snow blind and badly frost bitten. Food for either had about vanished. With despair, Bill and three others were dispatched to seek help from settlements located about 170 miles away. On the eleven day struggle through bitter weather the men subsisted on a hawk, an otter parched boots and charred leather. Still they crept along until one of the group laid down and died. Meanwhile up in the mountains, tem men and 120 mules perished, twenty-three men were crippled, never to recover completely, and nearly all the equipment was lost. This Ended Fremont's Fourth Expedition, Surrounded by Controversy Over Responsibility For The Disaster.
During his lifetime of living in the outdoors, he made his way by his wits and prowess as a trapper. He was schooled in the ways of the Indians, a successful trapper and guide, a clever and cool-headed man in battle and a man who how to handle a rifle. He has been cited as being the greatest of all Mountain Men in the West. Historians record that Old Bill traveled alone much of the time. It is said that he met his death at the hands of a Ute Indian warrior in Southern Colorado, the Ute's did not recognize Old Bill in the heat of battle and killed him by mistake. They gave him a Ute Burial Ceremony due to Bill being a friend of the Ute Indians and was a great warrior.
Today William Sherley Williams-Old Bill- is remembered as a kind, honest and brave man, charitable toward the less fortunate, expert in the fur trading business. A river and a mountain and it's town, Williams, Arizona beside the Grand Canyon, have been named for him. Old Bill served America honoraby in the adventurous days of yore.
The Musicks and the Lewis's, Meriweather Lewis was a first cousin of Bill thru his mother, came to Virginia from Wales and lived there for awhile. They moved to the mountain district of North Carolina in the western part of North Carolina.
On the family farm, it was a religious home, the children were taught fundamental academics by a knowledgable mother, effectively so, for it is written that a sibling, Lewis Peter, went on to become a famous preacher and Bill was judged an educated man with appreciation for literature and understanding of history, politics and comparative religion. He also learned that a mans word was as good as a contract and Bill carried this his entire life.
About 1793 after the war, the Williams and Musick Clans packed their belongings and joined the flight of pioneers going west, eventually settled in Whiteside Station, Missouri which was a village on the east side of the Mississippi, opposite St. Louis, which was at that time was a territory ruled by Spain. The pioneers had to give up their citizenship and become Catholics. It was ironic for the men of the families who had fought so hard in the Revolutionary War.
Bill and his siblings grew up on the river and watched the keel boats and barges up and down the river. Trappers went past the Williams home with their packs of furs and hides. This was an exciting time, Indian tribes, Osage, Delaware, Shawnee and other tribes, were numerous. The Williams children learned their languages and learned how to hunt as the Indian's did. The Osage tribe were the ones Bill became most familiar with.
Bill grew up to be a large, rawboned youth with red hair and many freckles. He had many characteristics of his mother, tremendous confidence and his ability to believe he could do things better than anyone else. From here, Will, as the family called him, ranged widely and perfected the woodland skills that would earn him the admiration of his fellow mountain men many years later. One day, when he was only sixteen and hunting far from home, Will arrived at a village of Osage Indians. Captivated by their ways, he re-appeared at the farm shortly after and announced he would from then on live as an Osage. Will settled with the Osage, learned their language, married into their tribe and had considerable influence over them. Over the years two daughters were born to William, Mary and Martha, and he acquired two more wives. Will would remain with the Osage Indians for nearly a quarter of a century.
During the years Bill made excursions into the far west and learned much about the huge expanse between Osage Country and (in Missouri and Arkansas) and the Rocky Mountains. He knew his way around the mountains by 1810, long before organized brigades of hunters and government expeditions came into the area.
When the war of 1812 broke out on the Missouri frontier, Will volunteered as a scout to the region along the Mississippi. (Records confirm his service as official interpreter and guide for several army concerns near the Osage Villages prior to 1822). Bill was assigned to a region along the Mississippi as a scout for the Mounted Rangers.
In 1821 a band of missionaries arrived in Osage country. Old Bill aided the missionaries at first by furnishing practical information about the Osages and volunteering his services as interpreter and translator. His efforts produced material- a dictionary, grammar and familiar sentences-that was later made into a book "Osage First Line of Writing" Only five hundred copies were issued and the work is very scarce.
In the fall of 1824, Bill headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River, ran into a hostile party of Blackfeet Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon where he hid for two days. On the third day, he emerged and fashioned a crude craft and floated down the Columbia to the trappers camp.
Bill and his fellow travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man style. Bill was cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. Bill had skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is remembered as having an uncanny way with the American Indians and maintained comfortable relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill Williams acquired the nickname "Old Bill" by which he was known for the rest of his life.
Old Bill Williams Mountain Man:
William Sherley Williams was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Musick) Williams and the brother of Micajeh-born February 16, 1783-died 1825 , James- born March 27, 1778-died 1851, Lewis-born may 19, 1784-died 1838, John W.-born September 1795-died 1869, Benjamin Franklin-January 19, 1798, Mary-born September 15, 1800, Olivia-born January 1, 1803, Peter born 1806 and died in 1859, Arabella-born December 4, 1806-died September 24, 1890.
He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and became a Baptist preacher. He soon tired of preaching and began drifting further west. He married an Osage Indian woman and had two daughters. He became a trapper and a guide for early explorers of the West, which includes Meriweather Lewis who Old Bill was related to.
In the fall of 1824, Williams headed for the Rocky Mountains and working with a brigade of trappers near the Columbia River ran into a hostile party of Blackfoot Indians. Although fighting bravely, Bill nonetheless escaped by slipping into a side canyon, where he hid for two days while the Indians hunted for him. On the third day he emerged atop steep, ragged rocks in time to watch his enemies leave the vicinity. Fearing their presence still on the river banks, Williams fashioned a crude raft and quietly floated down the Columbia River back to the trappers camp.
Williams and his group of travelers preferred to associate with peaceful individuals, but if they encountered those otherwise inclined, they were prepared to deal with them in typical Mountain Man Style. Masterfull in snaking through dangerous Indian country Williams was assuredly cunning, unorthodox and effective in battle, a good man to have around in a tight spot. He participated in skirmishes with the Blackfeet, Apache, Comanche and Modoc Indians. He is, however, remembered as having an uncanny way with American Indians and maintained relationships with several tribes.
About this time Bill acquired the nickname "Old Bill: by which he was known the rest of his life.
Old Bill joined a government expedition soon after, to survey and mark the trade road from Fort Osage to Santa Fe, New Mexico. As interpreter, his main duty was to help negotiate treaties with tribal leaders. Williams lost his job, however, when he began gambling after a successful beaver hunt. Old Bill then made his new stomping grounds in Taos, New Mexico.
In 1826, as Bill trapped alone, in the "State of Sonora" (Arizona) he was surprised by Apaches, stripped of everything and turned loose in the desert. Naked and without a weapon he journeyed 160 miles northeast through mountains arid valleys and the desert before being picked up by the Zunis Indians. The Zunies took him to their pueblo and treated him with great honor, almost worship. Ultimately he returned to Taos, some two hundred miles away. A few years later Williams took up residence in an adobe with a Mexican widow and her three children. She came of good family and a son, Jose, was born to Antonia and Bill around 1834.
Williams had a pattern as a notoriously sharp trader of buying and selling furs promptly for an immediate cash profit. The fur trade was declining by 1840 and many trappers pursued other interests. In a carefully planned enterprise, Old Bill joined a mixed band of American and trappers, New Mexicans, French-Canadians and Indians intent on "collecting" abandoned horses in Southern California. Three thousand animals were gathered and driven on a hard journey of about 1000 miles, over half were lost before clearing the Mohave Desert. Bill's usual good business sense failed him in this instance, as he sold his share and settled for a barrel of whiskey.
It was November 1848, and Old Bill probably knew better than to attempt a mountain crossing this late in the season, already there were signs of extremely severe weather conditions ahead. Yet, Captain John C. Fremont This despite an incident of serious disagreement between these two only three years before.
Thirty-three men and 120 pack-mules left the Mountain Men's settlement in present day Colorado, steering directly southwest for California, but leaving the two previously known travel routes. Many, like old Bill, knew the extreme difficulty of crossing the middle ranges of the Rockies this time of year, they were by no means sure a "practical route" could be found. Winter settled in, snow storms, piercing winds, deadly drops in temperature and deepening drifts.
Williams tried to lead the expedition toward the least arduous crossing but was halted by Fremont, who had already rejected this course. From then on Old Bill ceased to function as guide and his words of council were generally disregarded.
Finding a barely tolerable "wagon road" the group struggled inch by inch up the canyons and slippery mountainsides. Mules dropped dead and men became snow blind and badly frost bitten. Food for either had about vanished. With despair, Bill and three others were dispatched to seek help from settlements located about 170 miles away. On the eleven day struggle through bitter weather the men subsisted on a hawk, an otter parched boots and charred leather. Still they crept along until one of the group laid down and died. Meanwhile up in the mountains, tem men and 120 mules perished, twenty-three men were crippled, never to recover completely, and nearly all the equipment was lost. This Ended Fremont's Fourth Expedition, Surrounded by Controversy Over Responsibility For The Disaster.
During his lifetime of living in the outdoors, he made his way by his wits and prowess as a trapper. He was schooled in the ways of the Indians, a successful trapper and guide, a clever and cool-headed man in battle and a man who how to handle a rifle. He has been cited as being the greatest of all Mountain Men in the West. Historians record that Old Bill traveled alone much of the time. It is said that he met his death at the hands of a Ute Indian warrior in Southern Colorado, the Ute's did not recognize Old Bill in the heat of battle and killed him by mistake. They gave him a Ute Burial Ceremony due to Bill being a friend of the Ute Indians and was a great warrior.
Today William Sherley Williams-Old Bill- is remembered as a kind, honest and brave man, charitable toward the less fortunate, expert in the fur trading business. A river and a mountain and it's town, Williams, Arizona beside the Grand Canyon, have been named for him. Old Bill served America honoraby in the adventurous days of yore.
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