I recently met my cousin who is the daughter of Opal Estelle Holmes and William Don Morris and the grand daughter of Emma Estelle Williams Holmes.

I have been trying to find out who the wife of David Painter is. I've found through talking to family members that David MAY have been married to a Dossey. I understand that the Dossey families were coming to Texas from Tennessee about the same time as David and that David married in TN before coming to TX.. I know that David was in Coryell County before their first child, Mary Elizabeth, was born on 1 Nov 1854. David Painter died from a "fever" contracted while in the Confederate service in 1862.

The following were written by my Great Uncle submitted to the Coryell County Website.

THE Painter FAMILY

Great grandfather, David Painter came from Scotland to the United States in the year 1840. He first came to TN, then married and came to Coryell County. They lived for a while at old Fort Gates, near Gatesville, TX, then bought a farm later on the Leon River about two miles from Gatesville. They had four children. The oldest was Mary Elizabeth, then Emily, George and Robert Davis. George was named for his uncle, who was a Presbyterian minister in Scotland. Robert Davis was named for Robert E. Lee, as he was born during
the Civil War.
David Painter had a good education for his day. He went to fight in the Civil War, but the second year, in 1862, he took a fever, probably malaria, but Texas doctors knew little of medicine and less about surgery. They called it brain fever, and operated on his head, removing a round piece of skull to
let the fever out. He died and was buried on his farm. Grandmother couldn't finish paying for the farm, so moved to Straw's Mill.
Mary Elizabeth, the oldest child, was then ten (10). One day she took a bucket to the river for water, her small brother George went along. They were leading a horse to turn into another pasture. When they got to the river she told George to stay there until she had let the horse loose, and when she
returned her brother was gone. She went home thinking he had gone and when she returned without him her mother knew what had happened. His body was recovered the next day, drowned in the Leon River.
The youngest boy, Robert Davis, had a disease that caused him to be lame in one leg. He lived to be seventy-five years old and owned two farms located between Gatesville and Turnersville.
Mary Elizabeth married Uriah Deloy Williams in 1870. They bought a farm six miles north of Gatesville and reared four sons and four daughters, Clara, Elizabeth, Emma, Robert, Willis and Walter (twins), Bert and Lannie. Through
the encouragement of Mary Elizabeth, Uriah solicited money from friends and neighbors in the community to build the first school building. It was built at the site of the cemetery on Coryell Creek and was called the Coffey School.
Mary Elizabeth died in 1892. She was 38 years old and died of blood poisoning after childbirth. Uriah then married Nancy Coskrey, who also preceded him in death. She died of cancer. He passed away in 1929, all are buried in the cemetery on Coryell Creek east of the home place.
The oldest child Clara died in 1894 at the age of nineteen. She left a husband, named Shipman and a daughter, "Little Clara." She married a man named Burl Teague. They had one son, Orvis and then moved to California."

Uriah Deloy Williams & Mary Elizabeth (Painter) Williams
(1848-1929) (1854-1892)

Early in Uriah's life he lost both of his parents. He was placed with a family named Holloman, who operated a sheep ranch in Angelina County, Texas. It was the period of the Civil War and the Holloman boys who were older than Uriah went into the Army and Uriah we left to do the chores and herd the sheep. This he did until the return of the Holloman boys. Uriah then moved to Coryell County, married, and started a family of his own.

Mary Elizabeth (headstone shows "L" as middle initial) Painter was the oldest child of David Painter, who died from a fever contracted while in Confederate service in 1862. The family lived near Old Fort Gates and later Straws Mill in Coryell County. The origin was Scotland. Mary and Uriah were married in 1870. They purchased a farm near Coryell Creek and lived there the remainder of their lives. Unfortunately, Mary's last child, a son, died at childbirth. Mary died one week later.

The children of Uriah and Mary were all born in Coryell County and are listed below:

Clara (Williams) Shipman 1874 - 1893
Elizabeth (Williams) Meharg 1875 - 1959
Emma (Williams) Holmes 1879 -
Robert (Bud) Williams 1882 - 1958
Willis Williams & 1884 - 1974
Walter Williams (Twins) 1884 -
Bert Williams 1887 - 1973
Lanie (Williams) Morris 1889 -

A younger brother of Mary, Robert Davis, lived nearby in the White Hall area all of his life. His descendants are still worthy residents of that area.

Texas was still frontier country during the early years of the family. Uriah bought his first farm on 274 acres for a dollar per acre. Later, he bought 26 acres more, for which he traded a horse, saddle, and a pair of boots. The Indians were gone by that time, but there were numerous rough characters. It was not too long after the Civil War and times were hard. The country was restless, but at the same time there was a sense of growth. Settlers were coming in not only from nearby states, but also from abroad. As measured by present standards life was hard and reward low and unpredictable. Nevertheless, they persisted, and with a sense of good humor and neighborly helpfulness which
would be very hard to match today.

Educational opportunities were very limited - generally a month or two per year. It is greatly to the credit of the Williams family that they were in the fore front of education whenever possible. Uriah collected money and helped
build the first school house on Coryell Creek. If you learned to read, write, and do simple addition and subtraction, that was about all you could expect. Additional education, if any, was up to you. Yet by diligent reading and study it was possible to become an educated person, and some did.

In addition to farming, Uriah was a fiddler and often played for nearby dances. After his fiddling days were over, he grew a long white beard which his grandchildren loved to admire. He was fond of sitting in a rocking chair on his front porch and stroking that long white beard - a patriarch in this time.

I have a keen recollection of the first William home. It was of logs, the cracks being filled with some sort of clay or plaster. How the family fit into it will always be a mystery to me - four boy and four girls with their parents!

Getting back to the meeting, my aunt and cousin started talking about how we were related to the Graves family, but they didn't have any detail that I can remember. Oh, for a tape recorder! I also know that we are related to the McCallister family but don't know the details other than they are "cousins." Some of the people in Virgil's stories are buried in Coffey Cemetery. When we visited last year I noticed that there are also Dossey, MacAllister, & Graves buried there.

I have obtained Uriah Williams' homestead paperwork from the State and also have his will and probate records, plus the records from the Coryell County Land & Abstract Company. Robert Davis Painter (youngest son of David Painter) was named the Administrator of Uriah's estate. The estate was finally settled in 1931. The beneficiaries were:

Mary Elizabeth Williams Meharg, wife of Samuel Yongue Meharg
Emma Estelle Williams Holmes, wife of Trank Hunt Holmes
Lannie Morris, wife of Ernest B. Morris
Clara Teague, wife of Burl Teague
Bert Williams
Walter A. Williams
Willis W. Williams
R. P. Williams (this must be Robert "Bud" Williams who I have no info on other than he died in 1958 - wonder what the "P" stands for.... Painter???

It goes on to say that R. P. Williams conveyed, subject to the rights of the Administrator, his interest in the Estate to A. B. Sheppard (I have no idea who this is?? his wife was named Edna according to the land abstract records - according to a 1980 newclipping an Alvin Sheppard attended the Williams Reunion) and that Walter A. Williams, conveyed, subject to the rights of the Administrator, his interest in the Estate to his wife, Ethel Williams. This was filed March 14, 1931. The Estate was finalized on June 9th, 1931. Note that in 1936 there was a survey of all of Uriah's land and that "Cecil Dixon and Weldon Dossey" are listed as Chain Carriers. Thomas F. Dossey signed as a witness on the land records for Uriah. (These are the only reference "Dossey" that I have found in the land records.)

Edna could have been a grand niece of Uriah's? Uriah was the only son of a family of six siblings. Lots of sisters, some who came and lived with him, probably after they were widowed.

Does anyone know if the Williams Reunions are still being held?

Looking at the photos I have of headstones at the Coffey Cemetery my guesstimations are:

W. A. (William Allen??) Painter 1820-1904 was the first Painter (guessing) from our line.
Rebecca is W. A.'s wife 1839 - 1923 (maybe second wife - she could have been a Dossey, Graves or McCallister) and Jim (maybe actually James McCallister or James ??.... really pushing it here!) Painter could be their son, making him David's half-brother or cousin). Considering David came to the States in 1840 these may be his parents or his uncle and aunt or even an older brother. Either way they both outlived him due to the war.

Robert Davis Painter 1861 - 1937 was Mary Elizabeth Painter Williams youngest (and only living) brother. His wife was obviously Lettie as they are buried together.

Since Jim Painter was born in 1871 maybe Mittie could have been a Dossey, Graves or McCallister.

Since Thomas F. Dossey is buried in Coffey with his wife Elizabeth and was born in 1839 (Eliza 1844) they seem more likely to be Mittie's parents (wonder what Mittie is a nickname for?). Also, Thomas was a witness on Uriah Williams' land papers. Also, the Williams' homestead bordered Dossey land on one side if I'm reading this certificate right. It's too bad we couldn't take pic's of all the headstones in the cemetery. Could save a lot of speculation. Think I'm going to have to make a trip up there with the digital and take a photo of every grave in the cemetery.

Last, but just as important, are the McCallister's buried in Coffey. I only have a photo of A.M. (Tub) and Esther O. Both passed away in the late 1970s, but I remember there were more.

I apologize for this being so long. I'm just putting the info I have out there and hoping SKS's will be able to add to it! Thanks for taking the time to read this book!

PS I plan on going back to the Coffey Cemetery and taking pics of all the graves there. I will post when I have the pictures. Also, to anyone who is completing the "Gone To Texas Pioneer Certificate," and is an ancestor of Uriah Williams, I'll be glad to send you copies of the land records. AND please no complaints because this is so long!!!!! THANKS!!!