Eli & Adelle (Cattron) Williams By Louise A. Schmidt Eli and Adelle Cattron Williams left their farm near Westville, [La Porte County] Indiana on May 26, 1901. They carried all they could take in two covered wagons. The trip lasted 2 1/2 months. They arrived on August 6, 1901. They filed on a homestead 13 miles southeast of Velva. The first winter the family lived in a neighbor's house built in a hillside.  The next May, Mr. Williams died of a ruptured appendix, leaving the mother with 14 cents and seven children to care for. Mrs. Williams was trained in home nursing so she was able to earn enough to provide the clothing and food for her young family.
Eli Lansing Williams lived December 16, 1860 to May 8, 1902.
Adelle Grace Cattron Williams lived January 16, 1862 to July 7, 1955. They were both born in Westville, Indiana and were married there April 5, 1883.
They had nine children: Hallie Hortense, Edith Viola, Millican Caleb, Lawrence, John Wesley, Ruby Mary, Mary Oral, Ira and Austin. Hallie and Ira died in infancy.
John Wesley Williams was a Private in the 159th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces and was killed in action October 18, 1918, in the Argonne Forest Battle near the Belguim border of France in World War I. In June 1931, Adelle Williams was with the
group of Gold Star Mothers and Widows who were guests of the War Department to make a pilgrimage to the battlefield and American Meuse Argonne Cemetery where their men had fought and were buried.
The Cattron family can be traced back to their coming to America in 1772. The Williams roots were established in this country in 1640. Mrs. Williams was an intensely patriotic woman and reared her children to be respectable law-abiding citizens.
Eli's Burial, Tombstone Photo, Links to Some Family Members Adelle's Burial, Tombstone Photo, Links to Some Family Members Son of Eli and Adelle John Wesley was born on 8 January 1891 in Westville, La Porte County, Indiana and moved with his parents to McHenry County in 1901.
On 5 June 1917 John was in Miles City, Custer County, Montana when he decided to enlist in the U. S. Army for World War I. Initially he was sent to Camp Lewis, Washington, then served in the 23rd Company,  6th Battalion, 166th Depot Brigade to 11 July 1918, then Supply Company, 159th Infantry to 20 September 1918 when he went overseas on 8 August 1918. John was serving as a Private in Company D, 77th Division, 307th Infantry Regiment when he was killed by hostile action on 16 October 1918 during the Argonne Forest Battle near the Belguim border of France in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and World War I Victory Medal.
Burial, Tombstone Photo, Links to Some Family Members Click on Pictures for Larger View
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