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The Ruoff family connects to the Williams Family through Katherine (Kate) Williams, wife of Carl August Ruoff SR. and daughter of John Fletcher Williams and Catherine Roberts. We are lucky in respect to the Williams Family Genealogy due to John Fletcher Williams interest in the subject. He was able late in his life to travel to Europe and Ireland and trace his family lineage, visiting the old family home in Monaghan County Ireland. He published this work under the title “Groves and Lappan, Monaghan County Ireland: An Account of a Pilgrimage Thither, in Search of the Genealogy of the Williams Family” (1889 St. Paul Minnesota). This account was updated a few years later by his cousin David Williams.
For now I will be dealing with the Williams line as it leads down to the Ruoff Family. As time permits I will be adding in more information and a Notes page to fill in information. We have a wealth of information on the Williams Family at another site, Williams and Associated Families. That is a private website and if you would like more information please contact me at genealogy@ruoffonline.com
The first Williams that we have in our line is Gwilym. John Fletcher talks of the origin of the name in his book.
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THE WILLIAMS FAMILY IN WALES--ITS ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE NAME
JOHN WILLIAMS, the "adventurer* was & descendent of one of the oldest families in the principality of Wales, and which had long resided near Heath, Glamorganshire. It is useless and unnecessary, therefore, to search; for the etymology of our name in the languages of any other race but the Cymbrian, The name “WiLLIAMS" is entirely Welsh (so far as our stirp is concerned), and the family are indubitably of ancient Briton or Cambrian stock for generations back. The name in the Cymbrian tongue, | is derived (says Dr. Alex Jones, an eminent Welsh scholar) from the verb "gwylio"--to watch. The noun of this verb is Gwllym (pronounced William) and would therefore mean-a watcher, a sentinel, a guard, a warder,' a patrol, etc. The name (as applied to a person) evidently arose from a military occupation, as it was one common in Wales at that period, and belonged to a large class, which can be readily understood by anyone who reads the history of Wales, its frequent and almost constant wars, its predatory raids from rival chieftains and princes, and foreign foes, together with frequent domestic broils. To give timely notice of these invasions, and collect the trusty men-of-anas who should repel the foe, the princes and military leaders were accustomed to have, on their towers, and other points, trusty sentinels. They were also stationed on mountain cliffs and summits, near the sea coast, and at the head of defiles to spy the advancing invaders, and signal the danger. Each Gwilym was to light a beacon fire on the first sign of alarm. This was answered from another mountain peak, and then another caught up the warning flame, until, from every hilltop over a whole country, blazed the signal: of danger, calling the men-of-arms to buckle on their swords and saddle their steeds, and rally at the accustomed rendezvous.
FURTHER NOTES ON THE NAME WILLIAMS
Though the Welsh, or original British race, are a very ancient people, and probably came from Asia many centuries ago, the exact tine when the word, or name "WILLIAMS", became a fixture among them, ls now only conjecture. In the Domesday surrey of England (1086), the word William, as a surname, occurs 68 times, but generally in such a form as this, “William filius Ricardi," or "William, son of Richard". Some centuries later this would become, "William Richardson". The names Willelmus and Willielmus also occur in the Domesday.
The name "WILLIAMS" (as we write it now) is not, however, of great antiquity, for it has been used as a surname only about four centuries. Its earliest mention in the records and archives of Great Britain was about the middle of the I5th century, I think that in every case, in that period, it referred to a native of Wales. Still, I find in the "Carew Manuscripts" (relating to affairs in Ireland), date 1571, the expression "WILLIAMS SEPT", indicating that there was a clan or tribe of the name there then, but it seems certain that they must have been incomers, and not natives of Ireland, as the name is not found in ancient Irish archives. A careful examination of Burked genealogical works, the "Peerage" and the "Landed Gentry" of Great Britain, seems to prove that but few of the oldest and most distinguished families of the surname "WILLIAMS" can trace farther back (under that name) than 1600. One lineage, in Burke speaks of a Williams born in 1473-(reign of Henry VII), but it is not certain that he used our surname as Burke, in another pedigree, mentions a Roger Williams in the time of Henry VIII, (I543),who, he says, "was the first of the family who. adopted a surname of any kind." In the lineage of another family, he speaks of a WILLIAM WILLIAMS, who was the first of the family who assumed the name of Williams." In I2 Edward IV (1472) a Sir David Williams Is recorded as living in 1490. Thus it can be seen that the surname "WILLIAMS", as a permanent family name, did not come into use much over 400 years ago. This was about the date that printing was invented. "WILLIAMS” is given as one of the characters in Shakespeare, in King Henry V, act 4, scene I (1415-1422).
The orthography of the name, at first, does not appear to have been well fixed. In an old pedigree in the Harleian MSS. (date about I620), the name is spelled GWILLYM. Burke, in his genealogical works, frequently spells it GWYLYM. GEO.T. Clark, a Welsh genealogist, in his great work on Glamorganshire pedigrees, always spells the name GWILIM. The family of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island (A.D. 1650), used to spell their name WYLLYAMS, and subsequently, WILLYAMS, Roger himself so writing it in his earlier life. Many families in England still spell the name thus.
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Generation One
Gwilym Williams born about 1550 in Glamorganshire Wales. Died abt. 1625. Wife unknown. Son John Williams.
Generation Two
John Williams born about 1620 in Glamorganshire Wales. Died about 1675 in Lappan, Parish of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland. Wife unknown. Son John Williams (II).
Generation Three
John Williams (II). Born 1653 in Lappan, Parish of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland. Died February 14, 1722 or 1723 in Lappan. Buried in Tyholland Church Yard. Married (Unknown). They had three sons. William Williams, Henry Williams and John Williams (III).
Generation Four
John Williams (III). Born 1675 at The Groves, Parish of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland. Died about 1755 at Lappan, Parish of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland. Married (Unknown). They had 9 children, 5 of which were girls whose names are not recorded and 4 boys. The boys were William Williams, Henry Williams, John Williams (IV) and Mathew Williams. William and Henry left Ireland for America and ended up in Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina. We have been looking for information on them to tie them in with another southern Williams line that we think is connected.
Generation Five
John Williams (IV). Born December 11, 1714 at The Groves, Parish of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland. Died March 09, 1795 at Lappan, Parish of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland. Married Elizabeth. Then married Sarah Hall about 1745. She died before 1745. They had 7 children; Harry, Ann, William, Mary, Jane, Mathew and Elizabeth.
Generation Six
William Williams. Born July 2, 1754 Lappan, Parish of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland. Died August 8, 1815 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. Married Margaret Widney in Ireland 1779. William and Margaret had 7 children; John, Henry, William, Samuel, George Young, Mary Ann and William (2nd son named that. The first died in infancy on the crossing to America).
Generation Seven
Samuel Williams was born October 16, 1786 in Carlisle, Cumberland County, PA. He died February 3, 1859 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. Samuel’s first wife was Elizabeth Armstrong. She was born July 1785 in Carlisle PA. She died March 3, 1820 in Hamilton County Ohio. The children of Samuel and Elizabeth were’ Mary Armstrong, Edward Tiffin, Margaret Widney and Elizabeth Jane.
Samuels second wife was Margaret Troutner. She was born July 17, 1787 in York County PA and died September 13, 1879 in Springfield, Clark County Ohio. The children of Samuel and Margaret were William George, Helen Maria, Samuel Wesley and John Fletcher.
Generation Eight
John Fletcher Williams was Born September 25, 1834 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died April 28th, 1895 in Saint Paul, Ramsey county, MN. John Fletcher married Catherine Roberts on July 16th, 1857 in Saint Paul. She was born November 24, 1834 in Utica, NY and died September 12, 1917 in Los Angeles, California. The children of John Fletcher and Catherine Roberts were Louis (adopted), Margaret Frances, Samuel Howell, Fletcher Roberts, Katherine Beatrice, William Troutner, Susanna Earhart and George Fahnestock.
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