Date of birth: 06 May 1891
Date of death: 10 Jul 1976

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Burial Information

Section 01 (Click Here for Section Map)
Cemetery: Odd Fellows Cemetery
Plot: 0636-05
Status: Occupied

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Veteran Information

Branch: US ARMY - Field Artillery
Rank: LT - Lieutenant
War/Campaign: WORLD WAR I
Military Notes: Information supplied by Parham Williams, Jr.
My father, Parham Henry Williams, was a senior at Mississippi College when the Congress declared war on Germany, effective April 6, 1917. Impelled by a growing tide of patriotism, practically the entire MC student body tossed aside their school books and volunteered for military service. My father’s date of enlistment in the Army was May 5, 1917 — only six weeks shy of his scheduled graduation in mid-June! I asked him once why he didn’t wait, receive his diploma, and then volunteer. His reply: “Each man has a duty to defend his country; I wanted to be among the first to fulfill that duty!”

He excelled in math and chose the Field Artillery as his branch of service (proficiency in mathematics was useful in the computations — range, azimuth, etc. — involved in directing the fire of an artillery battery). After basic training he was assigned to the Field Artillery Central Officers Training School, Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky. He completed the School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on August 31, 1918. He then was assigned to the fabled School of Fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for specialized training in the operation of heavy artillery. He had almost completed this course when the Armistice was declared on November 11, 1918. The Army promptly began demobilization and my father was granted an Honorable Discharge on December 21, 1918. He returned to MC, completed his degree work, and received his diploma in June, 1919.

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Notes

Obituary
Former Chancery Clerk Dies
Parham Henry Williams, 85, retired Chancery Clerk of Holmes County, died Saturday morning at the Holmes County Community Hospital.

Funeral services were held at 4 p.m. Sunday, July from the First Baptist Church with the Rev. Leon Ballard, assisted by the Rev. Howard Allen and the Rev. Leslie Nabors officiating. Interment was in Odd Fellows Cemetery with Southern Funeral Horne in charge.

Mr. Williams was a native of Lincoln County, a son of James Parham Williams and Nancy Reeves Williams. He graduated from Mississippi College in a unique manner: teaching a year and returning to college a year. His college training was interrupted by World War I in which he served as an officer in the field artillery. Following his discharge as a Lieutenant, he returned to Mississippi College where he received his degree. He moved to Holmes County in 1919 to become Superintendent of Schools in Pickens.

In 1923 he married Mary Gladys Hoover. The two of them attended Cumberland Law School in Lebanon, Tenn., graduating in 1925. After moving to Lexington, he was elected Holmes County Superintendent of Education in 1928 and served in that capacity until he was elected Chancery Clerk in 1936 where he served until 1964.

Mr. Williams was richly endowed with a variety of talents and skills. He was a lifetime deacon in the First Baptist Church and taught the men's Brotherhood class for over thirty years. He held extensive farming interests in Holmes County and was a master craftsman.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Hoover Williams: a son, Parham Henry Williams, Jr., Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford; a daughter, Mrs. Nancy Murrill of Baton Rouge, La., whose husband is chancellor of Louisiana State University: seven grandchildren: two sisters, Mrs. G. T. Rawls of Mobile, Ala. and Mrs. J.E. Williams of Hernando.

Pallbearers were Parham H. Williams, III, Paul Whitfield Murrill, Jr., John Franklin Williams, John Parham Murrill, John Reele Hoover, James Emmett Williams, Edward Ellington, J.C. Patton, V.C. Fite, Dr. P. B. Brumby, Pat Barrett, Sr., Lewis Garrison, W.W. Holder and Mike Lammons.

The Holmes County Herald – Page 1
Lexington, MS
July 15, 1976

Family Relations of Parham Henry Williams

Spouse:
Mary Hoover Williams

Military Notes
Obituary states he served in... World War I in which he served as an officer in the field artillery.

More information, family relationships, and images may be found by CLICKING HERE (external link)

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