Edward Wynne Williams - Gold miner in Colorado

[Nigel Porter]

Many thanks Shellesq for this constant flow of wonderful information and I think we'll have to make you an honorable member of the Williams family.

[Nigel Porter]

It says that Edward had married Clara Breckenridge for 6 years on the 1910 census, so this leads me to conclude that his first wife died in between arriving in the UK on the SS Eturia in 1902 and sometime in 1904.  I have a likely candidate who died in Liverpool in the last quarter of 1904, so I'll need to get the death certificate to confirm.  He has travelled back from Liverpool with Clara on the SS Campania in September 1906, so presumably ;

a) He travelled back to USA in late 1902, following his earlier arrival on the SS Etruria in 1902
b) He travelled to the UK in the summer of 1906
c) He married Clara Breckenridge when back in the USA in 1904 and brought her over to meet the Welsh family in 1906.

Can any one confirm any of this please?

Thanks in anticipation

[shellyesq]

The brother-in-law in the 1910 Census had Breckenridge as a first name, not surname.

I found an article in the Decatur, Illinois Daily Review from 3 Jun. 1904 that says the Denver Post of May 29 has an account of the romantic marriage of Miss Clara Irwin, who lived in Decatur up to several years ago, and Edward W. Williams, a wealthy mining man.  It says that they had offices on the same floor in the Equitable building in Denver and Clara did Edward's stenographic work.  It says that Edward's first wife became ill about a year ago and Clara helped to care for her, so it was the late wife's dying wish that Edward marry Clara. 

[shellyesq]

I found an obit for Clara in the Decatur, Illinois Daily Review.  It says she died 25 Oct. 1919 in Denver.  She was listed as the widow of the late Edward Wynne Williams.  It says that she had a sister named Mrs. Lucy I. Harrington and her brother Breckenridge Irwin died last summer in Denver.  It said Clara lived in Decatur nearly all her life until 10 or more years ago, when she went to Denver, and she had charge of the musical college in Decatur and belonged to the musical club.

This seems to mention Clara and her siblings:  http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/ILROOTS/2004-11/1099343766

There's an Annie Williams buried here who seems to match the age of Edward's wife on the 1880 Census and the death date would be before the time that he married Clara:  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~codenver/Fairmount/W_3.htm

This seems to mention your E.W. Williams - http://files.usgwarchives.org/co/denver/directories/1911-denverwz.txt

There's a possibly obituary index listing for Edward here:  http://history.denverlibrary.org/research/trail/obits.pdf

[shellyesq]

On findagrave.com, it says Edward died 1915 and there are pictures of Annie & Clara's gravestones and a large Williams family monument.