Vera Braxton, Raymond Williams

It is with great sadness that I announce the deaths of two members of the Williams-Rivers Family. Vera Braxton and Raymond Williams, both well-loved Descendants of Mandi

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Raymond H. Williams, son of R T Williams, died on 03/01/09. Raymond was the grandson of Dennis Williams and Luella Short and great grand son of Harriet Elizabeth Rayner and great great grand son of Mandi Williams.

Here is the announcement that was published after Raymond's death:

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Raymond Harold Williams
Born in St. Louis, Missouri on Dec. 10, 1942
Departed on Mar. 1, 2009 and resided in St. Louis, MO.

Raymond Harold Williams was born on December 10, 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the ninth child born to the union of R.T. and Ina Elizabeth Williams. Raymond was educated in the St. Louis Public Schools and specialized in auto mechanics, and related fields. He also dedicated his work to the Terminal Railroad for 17 years.

Raymond accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour at an early age at Cleaves Chapel C.M.E. Church, now know as Murchison Tabernacle. He was also a member of the youth choir.

On August 25, 1973, Raymond married Delores Thompson. To this union a daughter was born, Joy. Raymond was a loving husband and devoted father to Joy, Franklin, Gerald, and Sharman. Raymond enjoyed spending time with his family and traveling.

The Lord called Raymond home early Sunday morning, March 1, 2009. His parents, three brothers, Roy, Wilbert, and Ronald Williams; and three sisters, Geraldine and Helen Williams, and Mildred Williams Mosley all preceded him in death.

He leaves to cherish his memory: a devoted and loving wife of 35 years, Delores; two sons, Franklin (Veronica) Terry of Arlington, TX; Gerald (Crystal) Terry of St. Louis, MO; two daughters, Sharman Terry and Joy Raenell Williams of St. Louis, MO; four grandsons, Joshua (Loriann), Jerald (Shemekia), Caleb, and Jerome; three granddaughters, Ashlei (Brandon), Harmony, and Frangelica Christina; four great grandchildren; two sisters, Eloise Tolbert of Atlanta, GA, and Ethel Brown of St. Louis, MO; one aunt, Albertha Williams of Tennessee; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, as well as his church family.

Everyone loved Raymond. He was a very kind, loving outgoing man. He will be truly missed and remembered by all who knew and loved him.

Services were held at the
Austin A Layne Mortuary in St. Louis, Missouri

Layne Renaissance Chapel
7302 West Florissant Avenue St. Louis, MO US 63136
314-381-6900

Visitation to be held on
Sunday, Mar. 8, 2009
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Service to be held on
Monday, Mar. 9, 2009
12 Noon

Friedens Cemetery
8941 N. Broadway St. Louis, MO US 63137
314-867-5126

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Vera Braxton, daughter of Cullen Caldwell died on Thursday February 10, 2009 in Saint Louis Missouri. She had a daughter Valerie Braxton. Vera is the grand daughter of Albertine Williams, great grand daughter of Dennis Williams and Ella Woodson, and great great grand daughter of Harriet Elizabeth Rayner and great great great grand daughter of Mandi Williams.

Here is the announcement that was published after her death:

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Vera Celestine Caldwell
 was born on March 30, 1945 to Cullen and Greetel Caldwell in St. Louis, Missouri.

She received her education in the St. Louis Public Schools graduating from McKinley High School. Vera retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and was employed part-time as a Tax Professional at H & R Block.

Vera was born of the spirit of God on April 4, 1954 under the leadership of the late Rev. Sherman Glover. She joined the Rising Star M. B. Church and was baptized in the Mississippi River in August of the same year. She sang with her sisters in a group called The Caldwell Sisters and in the Young Adult and Junior/Intermediate Choirs. Vera was a very lively and talkative person and met no strangers. She always had a smile and was willing to help a person in need. She was well loved by her family and friends. She was preceded in death by her father, and sister, Sharon Gilmore.

Vera passed away at her home Tuesday evening, February 10, 2009 after a lengthy illness. She leaves to cherish her memory: a daughter ~ Valerie Braxton; her mother ~ Greetel Caldwell; one sister ~ Marilyn Jordan; two brothers-in-law ~ Conrad Jordan and Jimmie Gilmore; two aunts ~ Alfreda Burtis and Thelma Caldwell; four nephews ~ Michael Jordan, Darryl Gilmore, Anthony Gilmore and D-Juan Gilmore; one niece ~ Celeste Jordan; two grand-nephews; three grand-nieces; two play sisters ~ Valerie Farwell and Derilyn Williams; five God-daughters ~ Lana, Sue, Mattie, Kim, and Pam; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Services Entrusted To:

Granberry Mortuary, Inc.
8806 Jennings Station Road
Jennings, Missouri 63136
(314) 867-8837

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Please remember our beloved family members and their immediate families in your prayers tonight.

Early Caldwell, Jr 1919-2007

Early Caldwell, Jr.
April 19,1919-November 14, 2007

This year the Thanksgiving season has been tinged with sadness for the Williams-Rivers Family, at the Passing of another elder among the Descendants of Mandi, Early Caldwell Jr.

Early was born on April 19, 1919 in Haywood County Tennessee. He made his transition on Wednesday November 14, 2007 in Gary Indiana where he had lived for more than 30 years.

Early married Celestine Carney in 1951. They had four children named Ronald Caldwell, V-Ester Caldwell, Sisilla Caldwell, and Toni Caldwell.

Early Caldwell, Jr. was the son of Early Caldwell and Minnie Williams (1884-?). His siblings were Joel Caldwell, Veatrice Caldwell, Theola Caldwell, Mattie B. Caldwell.

His mother Minnie Williams was the daughter of Dennis Williams (1862-1947) and his first wife , Ella Woodson (b?-1899). Dennis Willams was the son of of Harmon Williams and Harriet Elizabeth Rayner (1827-1918). Harriet Elizabeth Rayner was the daughter of Mandi Williams.

We had the honor of attending Early Caldwell's funeral (with full military honors) earlier today along with nearly a hundred other family members. The service was very moving and the warmth of freinds and family for the man they called "the Master Story Teller", "Early Bald," "Little Early" and dozens of other terms of endearment was evident throughout the many tributes and remarks.

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The following text is from the obituary produced for the Saturday's Services at Carter Memorial CME Church, 635 West 49th Avenue, Gary Indiana, 46408.

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On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Early Caldwell, Jr., (the master story teller), went to sit at God's table wit his parents, the late Minnie Williams Caldwell and Early Caldwell, Sr., his sisters Veatrice Brown, Theola Caldwell and Mattie B. Jackson and his brother Joel. He was born on Aril 19, 1919 in Haywood county Tennessee.

Early professed hsi belief in Jesus Christ at an early age, and was an active member of Carter Memoial CME Church until his failing health prohibited him form attending. During hsi early tenure at Carter "Chapel" CME Church he served as Sunday School Superintendant, Sunday School Teacher, Chior member and member of the Male Chorus.

Early served his country in the Korean conflict where he was stationed in the Solomon Islands and recieved an honorable discharge with the rank of Sargeant. Early was the recipient of the War II Victory Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Wrold Conflict Infantryman Badge-First Award, American Defense Service Medal, Honorable Service Lapel Button-World War II, and the Good Conduct Medal.

After his discharge, Early enrolled in Lane College in jackson Tennessee, where he recieved his BA in History, and went on to become a teacher in the Haywood County School System, where he met his future wife.

With his bride Celestine, he relocated to Mansfield OH, and later moved to Gary Iniana to be closer to his brother Joel. He retired after thirty-three years of employment at the Coke Plant at U.S. Steel.

He leaves to Cherish his memory, his wife of 56 years, Clestine (Carney) Caldwell, one son Ronald (Gary IN), three daughters, V-Ester Caldwell (Coasta Mesa, CA), Sisilla Yolanda Rucker (Gary IN), and Toni Denise (Chris) Grant (Riverside CA), three grandchildren, Juanita J. Caldwell (Las Vegas NV), Vancell V. McClinton (Dubuque, IA), and Taylor B. (Keith) Arnold (Moreno Valley, CA), five great grandchildren, one aunt, Albertha Williams (Stanton TN), five sisters-in-law, Mattie Cannon, Mildred Sweet, Annie Miller, Cosetta Miller and Varah Caldwell, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Interment
Oak Hill Cemetery
4450 Harrison Street
Gary IN

Pallbearers
John Johnson
Anton Titus
Russel Williamson
REginald Carney
Michael Cannon
Troy Washington

Honorary Pallbearers
carlton W. Brown
Joel Caldwell, Jr.
Willie Titus
Jules Carlos
Billy Carney
Charles Hardiman

Trim the Tree and Fill in the Family Tree

The Holidays are here and it is time to gather together sharing gifts and fellowship. It is also the perfect time to begin or add to the information on your family tree. Why? Because everyone is there-- usually several generations of family members are present at once and Christmas also puts many people in the mood to talk about memory and family members from "Christmas' Past." Take a digital recorder with you to your holiday gatherings and ask a few questions. You never know what clues you may discover, clues that may set the direction of your genealogy searches for the new year.

It's also a time when estranged family members think about reconnecting. How many times has that call come in from a distant cousin wishing "holiday cheer" or wanting to "get back in touch." These are perfect opportunities to get more information on a part of the family tree that hasn't been updated in ages. We had the web version of one of these "getting back in touch calls" happen just a week ago when a descendant of uncle Jerry Williams found us on the web and made contact through our family email list. Her letter to the egroup began:

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Hello All:

I am happy to say that I am truly in awe that I "stumbled" upon the
site which traces my family history. I want to tell everyone hello
and that I look forward to speaking to you all and keeping in touch as
our family should. I am Kimberly Claxton (32 years old), daughter of
Calvin Claxton Sr. (82 years old)-Memphis, TN.

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The response was immediate as family members reached out to welcome her and to find out where she fell in the Descendants of Mandi Tree. Here's a sample:

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Hello Kimberly! Glad you connected! Keep in touch. SMILE!

Rachel D Washington

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This is so great...and demonstrates the improved power of modern technology to help us re-connect and stay connected. And to think, Kimberly's family is in/from Memphis - the geographic nucleus of the family and where I was born and raised. Until now, the only descendents of Uncle Jerry I knew were the Jones', from Memphis, too. This proof that we can no longer take for granted that traditional modes of communication are the best and most effective ways for us to keep in touch. We're too large a family for that.

Great to meet you Kimberly,

Your cousin Nicole

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"Who is your fathers immediate descendant? I take it you didn't make it
to St. Louis for the famiy reunion this summer."

Donna Washington descending from Dennis Williams

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I asked cousin Kimberly to take a look at her family's branch of the tree and tell us if it needed updating. She said that it was very outdated, as her siblings now had children, meaning that there were probably a dozen or more family members missing from their part of the tree. She has promised to get all the details as her family gathers for Christmas this year. We will all look forward to the additions to the family tree.

I hope we all are able to have a wonderful Holiday and to gain more wonderful details about our family's rich heritage. Remember all the Descendants of Mandi in your Christmas prayers. Peace on Earth and to you all.

My daughter Chelsea's Family Report

Part of the fun of this genealogy stuff is getting to share it with your kids. My wife Kelly and I were thrilled last week when our daughter, Chelsea, was assigned the task of interviewing us for a report on her family and culture. When the dust cleared, Chelsea had produced a 2-page report that was packed with all kinds of information...probably more than her teacher had bargained for... and we were just getting started!

With Chelsea's permission, I'm reproducing it here because quite a bit of it repeats the History of Grandma Mandi...Oral History....PRICELESS!

Cross your fingers that she gets an A+
_____________________________________________________

11-15-06

Chelsea Williams

Rm 202, Ms Conley Dunbar

My Family History and Culture

1. Does your name have any special meaning?

My name was given to me while my parents were in San Francisco, CA in Oct. of 1996, the weekend they learned they were expecting me. My Mom and Dad spent an afternoon at a bookstore near Embarcadero Center researching names and decided to name me Chelsea because one of my Dad's favorite songs is "I don't want to go to Chelsea" By Elvis Costello. and Chelsea is also one my Mom's favorite neighborhoods in New York --because of the art and culture in the area. Chelsea in New York was named after the same area in London that the Costello song was written about. CHELSEA's meaning in Old English is a Port of Ships or a "landing place for ships [on the river] marked with chalk or limestone"

I have two middle names. I was given McCOY because it is my mother's maiden name and my Mom said she thinks it is important to pass along family names because when people ask you about your name it is an opportunity to tell your family story.

My father added Alexandra because he liked the meaning. ALEXANDRA is a feminine form of ALEXANDER (it is from Greek) and means "Defender or Protector of Men"

2. Where are your ancestors from?

My ancestors come from West Africa primarily, and I have ancestors from other places too, including Native Americans (Cherokee, Shawnee and Choctaw) and a few of my ancestors were European (including French, English, Scottish and Irish), also one of my great-great grandmothers was from New Giunea.

3. Did your family migrate to Chicago Illinois from another state?

My family arrived in Illinois by way of four different paths. My mother moved to Chicago when she finished college in 1988 to work for an advertising agency. She met my father here in Chicago. She was born in Ohio and her family has lived there since 1817. Her mother's family is from the south and moved north during the Great Migration in 1919.

My father was born in Chicago but his father was born in western Tennessee . The Williams' moved north in the 1950's from Brownsville, Tennessee. My father's mother's family are also Williams' and they migrated to Chicago by way of New Orleans and Houston, Texas. They have been here for over 100 years.

4. Name something that is a significant part of your culture.

Oral history is a significant part of our culture. Oral history is described as an account of something passed down by word of mouth from one generation to another. People of African descent have always been story tellers and in West Africa the Griot is the repository or keeper of the oral tradition.

Much of what we know today about my mother's family (the Tyler family) is a combination of written, documented history and oral history that was passed from generation to generation. An example of this is the story of my great-great-great-great-grandmother Ann Fowler. The story was passed down that she was brought to Ohio from a small town in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in New York at the age of 5 by a family named the Kelley's in 1817. She grew up, married a man by the name of William McAfee and they had 5 children, one of whom was my great-great-great grandmother Maria McAfee Tyler.

We also know that Ann's mother was captured in West Africa, sold into slavery in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil) and then sold again and taken to North America to the slave markets of Rhode Island. She was bought by a family that lived in Connecticut and it was there that she had a child whom they named Ann.

When my mother was a girl not much older than me, she remembered her great uncle telling the story of Ann Fowler. When my mother grew up she used technology to help her authenticate the story of Ann Fowler. She was able to learn of other family members who descend from Ann fowler and used the internet to research my family's history. My mother was able to make a connection with living descendants of the Kelley family who owned my great-great-great-great grandmother and there was a book written about the Kelley family and they mention Ann in the book. It confirms her age, the year she was born and the circumstances under which they became her owners.

Because Ohio was a free-state, once she came to Ohio she was no longer a slave and her children were born free. We are lucky to have a picture of Ann Fowler and I have brought a copy of it to class.

The Tyler family has been written about in Newspapers and recognized in other ways. "The Tylers... have the longest lineage of any black families with roots still in place in Columbus, Ohio," wrote Bob Thomas, in the Columbus Dispatch, on April 3, 1994. A historical marker was dedicated to the Tyler Family Legacy in 2005 and also in 2005 the Ohio Historical Society developed an exhibit based on the history of the Tyler family. It is the featured topic of Ohio's 2007 National History Day Project "Triumph and Tragedy in History. This part of my family History can be found at the website http://www.tylerfamilylegacy.com.

My father's family traces its origins to several family's of former slaves in Haywood County near Brownsville Tennessee. I went to Tennessee with my grandfather just two weeks ago. This part of my family also has a lot of oral history which has been confirmed by historical records.

My great-great-great-great Grandmother from my dad's family was a woman named Mandi Williams. We know that she was born free in Africa some time around 1805. We know that she was the product of a large African family of 13 brothers and sisters, but we do not know where she fell in this family, the exact composition of the family, the surname of this family or in what exact area of Western Africa they lived. We do, however, know that they (and she) were of the Mende Tribe, and that her tribe's name was the source of her own first name. The year of her abduction, transport and sale into slavery was 1821 after the end of the legal slave trade. She was 16 years old.

We have been able to locate her name in the slave records of the Rayners, of Charleston, South Carolina as well as those of the Williams and Thum families in Tennessee. She was listed along with the cattle and livestock of their farms. She told her daughter, Harriet Rayner, and grandson, Dennis Williams, that upon her arrival in America, she was sold in the slave markets of Charleston, South Carolina for $250.00. After the Civil War, Mandi moved to Western Tennessee and took the name Williams after family of one of her former owners. She lived there for 36 years. At the time of the Emancipation, in 1863, Mandi was 58 years old. Mandi Williams died in 1899, in Haywood County near Brownsville Tennessee. She was 94 years old. No known pictures of her survive. This part of my family history can be found at the websites http://www.descendantsofmandi.com and http://www.shortaustinfamilytree.com.

I am thankful that my family continues to pass down our oral history because I know where my family comes from and I am proud of my ancestors and what they endured.

Our Family's Loss

The joy of the 2005 Holiday Season has been dampened for the Williams-Rivers Family with the sad news of the passing of Helaine Henning in California (after a batttle with cancer). She passed on Thursday December 8, 2005. Helaine is the daughter of Garnett Henning and Ernestine Darnester Lee , the granddaughter of Robert Edward Lee and Alversa Williams , great-granddaughter of Dennis Williams and Luella Short , great-great granddaughter of Harmon Williams and Harriet Elizabeth Rayner and great-great-great granddaughter of Mandi Williams.

Her name, Helaine translated from Greek means "the bright one" and there could be no better phrase to describe her attitude and personality. I met Helaine, her sister Carma and brother Garnett in the late seventies and early eighties at some of the very first Williams-Rivers Family Reunion gatherings. As we saw each other again and again at reunions, we became friends--her strength and positive attitude were her hallmark and a source of inspriation throughout our family. The importance of family for Helaine was obvious, as she attended family reunions over the years and when she was unable to attend for health reasons in 20o4, she still sent her daughter Jahbrielle Henning-Rayford (who won the award that year for Williams-Rivers family member who had traveled farthest to attend the reunion).

We learned of Helaine's battle with cancer from Carma last summer and have added her to our prayers on a regular basis. Even knowing of her battle, her passing brings great shock and sadness. We will all miss her. We will continue to pray for her and her family. Please remember Helaine in your family's prayers this Holiday Season.