When I first researched the details of the Williams family plot in Green-Wood Cemetery, one of the mysteries was the identity of a Sarah Williams buried there. The name stood out to me because that was also the name of my mother at the time. But who was this Sarah?
With the improved burial records now available on Green-Wood's website, I have an answer. Sarah Williams was first interred in our family plot in December 1886. She was moved the following year to another plot, co-owned (and later occupied) by two other Williamses, and they are a family group.
Sarah Dulany Addison was born in Nov 1805 in Maryland. In May 1836, she married Dr. Benjamin Franklin Williams, who went by the name Franklin. He was our Henry Clay Williams Sr's older half-brother.
Sarah and Franklin's children included Mary Florilla Williams, born in Ohio in Nov 1838, and Franklin "Frank" Ezra Williams, born in Ohio in Jul 1843.
Dr. Franklin Williams passed away in 1849 in Ohio, and was buried there. By 1880, Sarah, Mary, and Frank were listed in the census for Brooklyn, New York, living at 100 Clermont Ave. Frank worked as a banker.
Fred Williams (Henry's son, and our first family chronicler) recalled "cousins Frank and Mary Williams" occasionally joining his family for dinner. He also shared that Frank worked at his father's brokerage at 49 Wall Street in the early 1880s, and was in charge of the payroll there.
Sarah D. Addison Williams passed away of old age on 26 Dec 1886. As mentioned above, she was first buried in Henry C. Williams' existing plot in Green-Wood. The following July, her remains were moved to lot 25828, which was co-owned by Mary and Frank. As far as I can tell, neither Mary nor Frank ever married or had children. Frank passed away in 1911, followed by Mary in 1917. They were both laid to rest with their mother.
