Williams Family

Williams Way Boulevard, the southeastern road into Richmond, is named for the Williams family, who shaped the area's history. Joseph Crawley Williams, Sr., born in Louisiana in 1838, came to Fort Bend County in 1860 after earning a law degree in Tennessee. He was a captain in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and later served the county as justice of the peace from 1869 to 1878, county judge from 1878 to 1880, and county attorney from 1886 to 1888. He married Annie L. Collins, with whom he had one son, and after her death married Anna Maria Calder, daughter of Battle of San Jacinto hero Robert Calder, with whom he had four daughters. Williams, Sr. purchased hundreds of acres of land near Richmond that later passed to his descendants. After his death in 1888, his son Joseph Crawley Williams, Jr. expanded the land holdings and worked as an agent and chief dispatcher for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He married Lola Nation, stepdaughter of Carrie Nation, and they had three sons and one daughter. After Joseph, Jr. died, his son Manford Nation Williams took over the family property and continued ranching and farming. He served on the area school board for 26 years beginning in 1930 and helped develop and expand the local school system. Manford Williams Elementary School was named for him in 1985. He married Margaret Steed in 1943 and had one daughter, whose daughters manage the Williams family interests. Members of the Williams family are buried in Morton Cemetery in Richmond.

Richmond, Texas · United States