John Williams was born on September 15, 1805, and was married to Eliza Wood Williams who was born January 17, 1807. To this couple was born a son named John C. Williams, a Civil War veteran, who wrote many letters to his mother when she lived in what is now known as Arlington. The couple also had three daughters named Sophia, Eliza W., and Nancy. Sophia married an Estes, Nancy married a Slaton, and Eliza Wood married George W. Goin. Eliza W. Goin died near the age of 38, while her mother that received the Civil War letters from John C. Williams lived to be 111 years old.

My great-grandmother who lived to be 104 was very much a historian during almost all of the 1800's. I have documentation that has been passed from her that indicates that John C. Williams was the last known Civil War soldier that was killed as the Civil War ended. He was killed near Waco and was killed by Indians of that neighborhood.

When the war ended, the news of the end of the war traveled very fast, however, the farther west the news had to travel meant that some fighting was still going on even though the war had ended in the east. John Williams’ burial place is not known. The mother of these four children outlived all of her children, and she was able to help raise orphaned grandchildren here in Onega and Arlington.

The accumulations of historical documented facts from family and friends tell me that she was an old Choctaw-Cherokee and could not reveal her true heritage because her offspring were having to fight to survive the war with Mexico and the liquidation of the Cherokee nation. In order to survive the liquidation of the Cherokee tribe, it was a common practice to change their ancestry to Black Dutch.

I receive the Newsletter from the Chief of the Cherokees of Texas, Chief D.L. Hicks. His favorite line is "No one has to tell me who I am because I know." Another well earned phrase that he uses is "We are here because we never left." A paragraph in the Chief’s newsletter this past week reminds us that the tribe of Texas is needing many more members. If you are a descendant from the tribe, I would ask you to come in and pick up an application, fill it out, and become active in our organization. We are in need of members who belong to the Texas Tribe. The more you are involved with the tribe, the more you will receive from the tribe. Some are suggesting that there are two million Cherokees in Texas. I have no doubt of this estimation.

Rosia Atherton, one of the local Texas Tribe members and a historian for the Northern Towns District is accumulating books about the Cherokee Tribe. She is in the process of establishing a small library for the Cherokee readers in our area. I have designated a small room in the back of the hardware store for her to set up this library.

Rosia will be here during the Peanut Festival, if you happen to make your way around to her booth, talk to her about her plans for the local book display.

I receive many phone calls about statements I have mentioned in previous "Talk From Under the Tipi" columns. I am always glad to hear from the readers. I received a nice letter from Millie Carrol who currently lives in Denton. Her husband is W.D. Carrol. They are both from Aubrey and went to school in Aubrey. Mildred was a Howell when she was in school and W.D. is the son of Ed and Coleta Carrol. Mr. and Mrs. Carrol were Aubrey residents for many years.

It seems that as the years progress, people are growing out of my realm of immediately identifying them, but after they tell me who they are, it is a very welcome pleasure to greet people that have made Aubrey a part of their lives.

Another family came in and wanted to know what the original school in Aubrey looked like. I made a fast reference to the Denton County History and Reminiscences that was written by Ed F. Bates. There was a photo of the old log house that served as the first school which was a free school. It was one of the three free schools in Denton County. Even though the state had appropriated funding for state-supported schools, this funding had not reached Aubrey. This log house was built by George Key who was an early day teacher and Methodist pastor. The log house was used by the Methodist church when it organized its first Sunday school class back in 1858.

I am looking forward to the Peanut Festival and fund raising for the Aubrey Area Library.