Revolutionary War Veterans in Pike County: Jonathan Williams

Jonathan Williams was born in 1764 in the colony of Connecticut. He was
apprenticed to a mechanic, but in 1778, he ran away and made his way to Danbury,
Connecticut. There, he enlisted in Colonel Beardsley’s regiment of the Colonial
Army.
Williams served in the Patriot forces until the end of the war. He served largely
in the South with General Greene’s Army. It is possible that Williams fought at the
Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield. In 1780, George Washington
appointed Major Nathanael Greene as the new Southern Commander. This
promotion proved an excellent decision, and Greene helped turn the tide of the war.
Under Greene’s Army, Williams would have served at the Battle of Guilford
Courthouse, Hobkirk Hill, the Siege of Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs.  
After the war, Williams remained in North Carolina. There, he first married
Frances Cowart in 1787. After her death in 1812, he married Sarah Bond Clarke in
1815.
Williams and his family were among the earliest settlers in Pike County,
arriving two or three years after the county was created in 1821. They settled at
Bear Creek. In 1824, after he had become more established, Williams returned to
North Carolina to bring his daughter Elizabeth, her husband Richard Bowden, and
their children to Alabama.
Two of Williams’ sons, Simeon and Elisha, both became Methodist ministers.
They, along with Williams, founded Williams Chapel near Jonathan Williams’
home. Williams Chapel is the oldest Methodist Church in Pike County. They also
founded several other churches in the county, including Friendship, Sardis, and Old
Dothan.
Williams died in 1836 and is buried in Blanton’s Field. In 1958, the Oliver
Wiley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a bronze
marker to Revolutionary War soldier Jonathan Williams. In 2012, the Wiregrass
Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution held a grave dedication for
Williams.