1781-1849
North Carolina - Kentucky - Indiana
I have only 2 solid pieces of evidence about Susan Hudson, her marriage license and her cemetery listing. Everything else is pure speculation, so be warned.
She was married to William Williams on 3 Jan 1817 in Butler County, Kentucky.
Jan 3, 1817 William Williams - Susan Hudson - Ben'm McReynolds.
Butler County, Kentucky marriages, 1810-1865. (Madisonville, Ky. : Hopkins Co Gen Soc, 1974)
So that's where her Hudson name comes from.
However, the DAR file for William Williams says his second wife was Susannah
McDonald, and that both are buried in Wesley Cemetery, Warrick County, Indiana.
DAR file by Genivieve M. Williams of Dubois Chapter in Huntingburgh, Ind.
(included in They Came to Warrick County . . .)
So that's where her McDonald name comes from.
The cemetery listing:
Wesley Chapel Cemetery - Boon Township
Williams, William - - 18 Aug 1846 Pvt; Edmond's Co; Jones Va Regt; Rev War
Williams, Susannah 12 Mar 1781 2 Nov 1849 w/o Wm D; WOW
Warrick County, Indiana, cemetery inscriptions [by Kristie Manley and Sharon Patmore] (Chrisney, Ind. (Box 134, Ind. 47611) : K. Manley, S. Patmore, 1990-)
So that's where her dates come from.
The assumption is that she was born Susannah McDonald and married (1st) William Hudson (the name comes from the Internet, and I have no documents to support it) and (2nd) William Williams.
From the Hudson Family GenForum, I have cobbled together the following:
Susannah was the daughter of William McDonald and Amelia Retherford.
There were supposedly 5 children in the family, 2 boys & 3 girls
William - moved to Clermont County, Ohio - m. Mary Polly Higbee
John - died at the Alamo (no proof of this)
Elizabeth - married Joseph Pearson, moved to Warrick County
Susan "Sukey" - married Unknown Hudson, moved to Warrick County
b. ~1775 NC (doesn't match with cemetery listing, but)
Unknown other girl
Tracy McDonald, Hudson Family GenForum, Message #4809, 30 Oct 2001
An old family letter written by her nephew says that he went to Warrick Co. to find out
about his father's family (the McDonald's) and found two aunts, Susan Hudson and
Elizabeth Pearson. He also mentions meeting a cousin DANIEL HUDSON who was deaf
from the noise of the gunfire he experienced at the Alamo.
Tracy McDonald, Hudson Family GenForum, Message #1523, 22 June
1999.
DJ Melton, in response to Tracy (Message #2456, 18 Feb 2000) said that there
was no Daniel Hudson on the
list of people at the Alamo, but also said it was possible that people were left off.
Susannah supposedly was listed as the mother on the marriage licenses of Amelia and
Rebecca Hudson when they married in Butler County, Ky. (I have not seen this myself -
the book I looked at did not include this info.) She and William Williams are buried next to
William M Hudson. The family letter mentions a cousin Daniel Hudson. So . . . one jumps
to the conclusion that Susannah and William Hudson had at least 4 children:
Rebecca Merritt Hudson b. 6 Oct 1797, NC - d. 27 Nov 1857 Warrick Co, Ind
m. Francis Shrode - 16 Nov 1816 - Butler County, KY
Amelia Hudson b. ~1798, NC? - d aft 1840 Il or Ky
m. Henry Deweese - 12 Feb 1816 - Butler County, KY
Daniel G (or T or Y) Hudson b. ~1803 - d. aft 1851?
m. Margaret Knox - 18 Aug 1834 - Warrick Co, Ind (divorced 1845)
William M Hudson b. ~1805 - d. 11 Mar 1844
m. Polly Hudspeth - 25 Feb 1830 - Warrick Co, Ind
I also include another "unattached" female, simply because Rebecca named a child after her
eventual husband:
Margaret Hudson b.6 Oct 1805 NC - 17 June 1878
m. Ezekiel Perigo - 7 Mar 1822 - Warrick Co, Ind
There are no William Hudsons in Butler County in 1810, but there are 3 in Ohio County,
William, William E, and William P.
William E is a male 26-45 living alone.
William and
wife are in the over 45 age group, with 1 son and 1 daughter in the 16-26 age group (or
else they are in the 16-26 age group, with a pair of aged parents living with them).
William
P has 2 sons and 2 daughters under 10, and both he and his wife are in the 26-45 age
group. It seems like a pretty good fit, if you squidge the daughters' ages some - and if you
leave out the totally presumptive Margaret.
William Hudson presumably died between 1810 and 1817 (maybe even slightly earlier) and Susan Hudson married William Williams on January 3, 1817 in Butler County, Ky.
William Williams was born 1760 in Brunswick Co, Va. He married twice, 1st wife unknown. According to Boonville Standard 7-13-1923 in an article written by Thomas Downs a great grandson, he left a number of children by a former wife in Ky. Many years a tombstone crudely lettered lay across his grave. The DAR dedicated his present stone. His mother's maiden name was Denton . . . . His 2/m was to Susannah McDonald. She was b. 3-12-1781 and d. 11-2-1849. Both are buried Wesley Cem. William Williams served as a minute man for twelve months under Capt. Peter Pelleson. Enlisted in Virginia State Militia April 1777 under Capt Thomas Edmonds, Also served under Capt. Ephraim Peoples and Capt. John
Hackling.
According to the DAR file, Susannah and William had 5 children:
Calvin McDonald Williams b. 11 Aug 1816 (before they were married?) - d. 9 Dec
1861
m. Sally Ann Day - 8 children
James Loveless Williams b. 1 Jul 1819
m. Elizabeth Lynn (19 Jan 1838)- 4 children
Henry M Williams b. 26 Apr 1821
m. Priscella A Kimmel, in Ky - 8 children
Rachel H Williams b. 16 Sep 1823 - d. 9 Mar 1901
m. Richard R Purdue (18 Jul 1841)- 6 children
m. Rufus R Roberts - 1 child
Isabel P Williams b. 29 Jan 1826
m. James Stevens (11 Nov 1841) - 9 children (maybe more)
Susannah's daughters moved away from Butler County not long after their respective
marriages - Amelia and Henry Deweese to Hickman County, Kentucky (in about 1825),
Rebecca and Francis Shrodes to Warrick County, Indiana (before 1820). Son William
Hudson (if he was in fact her son) also moved to Warrick before 1830. There was a
William Williams in Butler County in 1820, but with many many people with him:
1820 Kentucky, Butler, Morgantown 174 (stamped 333)
Ben Williams 300010 // 11010
William Williams 321211 // 12210
3m, 1f under 10 b. 1810-20 Calvin 1816, James 1819, unknown male
and female
2m, 2f 10-16 b. 1804-10
all unknown - ?William Hudson 15?
1m 16-18 b. 1802-4
Daniel G Hudson 17?
2m, 2f 16-26 b. 1794-1804 all unknown
1m, 1f 26-45 b. 1775-1794 Unknown male, Susannah 1781 (39)
1m over 45 b. bef 1775
William 1760 = 60
Susannah and William eventually made it to Warrick County, but they don't show up there
until the 1830 census, when they are listed right next to Francis Shrodes, husband of her
probable daughter.
1830 Indiana, Warrick, Campbell p. 264
Williams, William 0120000001 (70-80) // 11000001 (50-60) - next to Francis Sroads
1 female under 5 b. 1825-30 Isabel 1826
1m, 1f 5-10 b. 1820-25
Rachel 1823, Henry 1821
2m 10-15 b. 1815-20
Calvin 1816, James 1819
1m 70-80 b. 1750-60
William b. 1760
1f 50-60 b. 1770-80
Susannah b. 1781
1840 Indiana Warrick p. 93
Williams, William D 0001000001 // 00100001 - Rev War soldier, William age 85yr
1f 10-15 b. 1825-30 Isabel 1826
1m 15-20 b. 1820-25
Henry 1821
1m 70-80 b. 1760-70 William b. 1760 = 80
1f 50-60 b. 1780-90
Susannah b. 1781
Calvin is on the 1840 census as well, on the same page
Williams, Calvin H 00001 // 2001
I don't know where the other children are.
William died in 1846, and Susannah in 1849, so there is no further trace of them in the censuses. They are buried in Wesley Chapel Cemetery, Boon Twp, Warrick County, Indiana, where so many of their kin are also buried. William M Hudson is buried next to them.
Abstracts of Rev War Pension Files
Williams, William, VA Line, S32597, sol was b in 1760 in Brunswick Co VA & he lived
there when he enl & later moved to Henry Co VA & also enl there in 1782 & he lived
there for some 2 yrs after the Rev then returned to Brunswick Co VA for 4 yrs then moved
to Stokes Co NC for 8 yrs then moved to Hawkins Co TN for 10 yrs then moved to KY
for 10 yrs then moved to Warrick Co IN where he lived when he appl on 8 Oct 1833, sol
d 18 Aug 1846 leaving a widow Susannah
To Children of Susanna and William
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contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
page last updated 2 September 2004