{"id":1501,"date":"2026-02-28T02:36:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T02:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/?page_id=1501"},"modified":"2026-02-28T02:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T02:37:06","slug":"williams","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/families\/williams\/","title":{"rendered":"Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Williams Family of Teas: A Cornerstone of Early Rye Valley History<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The story of Teas\u2014one of Rye Valley\u2019s most enduring communities\u2014cannot be told without the Williams family. Their roots in the valley stretch back to the 1760s, when Jenkin Williams arrived and \u201ctook up a corn title just below Sugar Grove,\u201d establishing one of the earliest Williams homesteads in the region. Over generations, the family shaped the civic, educational, and spiritual life of what would later become known as Teas, leaving a legacy still visible in the landscape and in the families who remain.<\/p>

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Early Settlement and the Griffitts Connection\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By the time Smyth County was formed in 1832, the Williams family had already become firmly established. Jenkin\u2019s descendants purchased land on the north side of the South Fork of the Holston River from John Griffitts, who had settled both sides of the river in 1776. This tract eventually passed to Jenkin\u2019s grandson, Rufus K. Williams (1806\u20131860).<\/p>

Rufus married Elizabeth Thomas (1819\u20131878) in 1837. Elizabeth came from one of the most prominent families of Royal Oak\u2014her parents, John and Margaret Irons Thomas, were so respected that county court was held in John\u2019s home until the first Smyth County courthouse was built.<\/p>

Rufus and Elizabeth built their home \u215c of a mile from the present Teas Bridge*, anchoring the Williams presence in the valley for generations to come.
*The Teas Bridge was originally across the road from Elizabeth UMC<\/em><\/p>

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Building a Community: School, Church, and Service\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Rufus served as constable for the district, but it was Elizabeth whose influence shaped the heart of Teas. When their children reached school age, she persuaded Rufus to build the Williams Schoolhouse on their property. Elizabeth taught not only her own children but also those of neighboring families until the community could afford a hired teacher. The schoolhouse stood for more than a century before a windstorm destroyed it in 1970.<\/p>

Elizabeth also organized Sunday church services in the schoolhouse, a tradition that continued until 1899. She became known for caring for the sick throughout the community\u2014an early example of the valley\u2019s tradition of neighborly care.<\/p>

Of their nine children, three died young. Two remained in the Teas area and became central figures in its development:<\/p>