CHAMBERS - WILLIAMS REUNION

The third annual Chambers and Williams reunion was held at Bright's Grove on July 6th, with 125 present. Dinner was served at 12:30, and after taking family group pictures, Mrs. John Fraleigh, of Jeddo, Mich., presided over an interesting program, which included Canadian and American National Anthems and the Lord's Prayer in unison. The financial report for the year, and the minutes of the previous gathering were read and approved, and the same officers were retained in service for another year. $5 was voted the Queen's Canadian Fund for war victims.
A history of the Chambers pioneer family was very ably read by Mrs. Edgar Kerton of Adelaide, and Mrs. R. Smith gave a reading "Betty at the Ball Game".
Mr. W. A. Williams, of Hamilton, gave the history of the Williams family and two minutes of silence was observed in memory of those who are now on higher service.
An appropriate reading, "The Stick-Together Family" by Mrs. Stanley Woods of Detroit, was much enjoyed.
The singing of "Till We Meet Again" and "Blest Be the Tie That Binds" started many from a distance on their way homeward, but a number lingered behind to renew old acquaintances.
Honored guests included Sapper C.J.R. Smith, of the Royal Canadian Engineers, Petawawa and Gunner Ivan H. Williams, C.A.T.C., Hamilton.
Members of the families were present from Detroit, Bad Axe, Saginaw, Kinde, Port Austin, Hamilton, London, Petawawa, Kerrwood and Watford.

Watford Guide-Advocate 11 Jul 1941

CHAMBERS-WILLIAMS FAMILY REUNION

The annual reunion of the Chambers and Williams families was held at Bright's Grove, July 5th, with an attendance of over 90 present from Bad Axe, Kinde, Harbor Beach, Jeddo, Detroit, Port Huron, Sarnia, London, Kerrwood and Watford district.
It was decided to send $5 of the collection to the Michigan Red Cross Unit, and the secretary was instructed to send parcels to the two Canadian boys overseas connected with the reunion, namely, Sapper Russell Smith, R.C.E. and Pte. Ivan Williams, R.C.O.C.
The next reunion will be held on July 4th, 1943 at Bright's Grove. The meeting closed with the singing of "God Be With You" and "Till We Meet Again".

Williams Chambers Reunion at Canaterra Park, Sarnia.
1 July 1945

Watford Guide-Advocate Jul 1999

WILLIAMS FAMILY REUNION

1999 marked the 60th anniversary of the first reunion held of the descendants of Thomas Cuthbert Williams and his wife Mary Ann Tanner of the Egremont Road, Warwick Twp. Nearly 200 descendants from eight generations of this couple gathered in Warwick Township and Sarnia on the weekend of July 10-11 for a special get-together.
In 1837 Thomas Cuthbert Williams married Mary Ann Tanner and settled on Lot 26, Egremont Road. Thomas was the son of Rev. William Williams and his wife Anne Flower of Bishopstrow, Wiltshire, England and Mary Ann was the daughter of John Tanner and his wife Hannah Tanner of Warwick Village.
Eight sons were born to Thomas and Mary Ann Williams. Henry, the eldest, married Mary Chambers of Adelaide Township and eventually farmed near Harbor Beach, Michigan. Thomas married Elizabeth (Ross) Harvey and settled in Sarnia. Frederick died young. Alfred married Matilda Hipkins of Warwick Township and farmed on the homestead. John Y. married Martha Phillips of Warwick Township and farmed on the homestead. Charles married Anna Crocker and farmed on Lot 15, Egremont Road, Warwick. Arthur Septimus married Emma Ann Smith of Warwick Township and died in 1882 leaving a widow and two young sons. His wife remarried Robert Faulconer and the family eventually homesteaded in the Miniota area of Manitoba. Joseph Octavius, the youngest son, married Mary Harrison and left Warwick in 1884, and after a brief period in South Dakota returned to farm in the area of Caseville, Michigan.
On Saturday, July 10, from 1-5 p.m. an open house was held at St. Paul's, Wisbeach, the family church and burial location for many family members. The open house featured a display of family memorabilia, a highlight being the large family tree wall chart designed and created by Jai Williams of Ardrossan, Alberta which listed more than 1,600 known family members. Richard Oliver, an English cousin living in Madrid, Spain gave a lively talk on the early history of the Williams family in England, including excerpts from Rev. William Williams' original sermon books and a letter dated 1793 from William asking Anne Flower's guardian for her hand in marriage.
Eleanor Nielsen, well-known Lambton County historian, set the stage for the arrival of Thomas Williams in Warwick with an interesting talk about the early settlement of the Egremont Road and the Wisbeach area. Group photographs were then taken of the descendants of each of the above sons. After the open-house, the family gathered at the home of Sue and Sherman Williams, owners of the original Williams homestead. A delicious meal was served and the evening was spent in meeting new cousins and reminiscing with old.
Sunday, the traditional picnic was held in Canatara Park, Sarnia, organized by Shirley Fraser of Brigden. The large potluck meal at noon was followed by games for the children and more time for the adults to share family stories and trade addresses.
Those attending the reunion were present from Madrid, Spain, Edinburgh, Scotland, British Columbia, Alberta, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and many locations in Michigan and Ontario.