Ron Williams, Historian and Author
By Program Chair, Charles Powers
The Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society would like to extend a warm welcome to the public to attend our quarterly meeting on Sunday, July 25th, at 2:00 PM Central (3:00 PM Eastern). Our presenter will be Ron Williams, a Valley area historian and author of several noteworthy books. His presentation will be on an early settler to the Valley area John Parnell and prominent members of his family.
Unlike our previous three quarterly meetings, which were virtual on ZOOM, this will be our first “in-seat” meeting since January of 2020. Unfortunately, we will not be meeting in the Bradshaw Library as we have in the past. For this meeting, Point University in West Point, Georgia. was gracious to offer to us the use of one of their upstairs classrooms in their Academic Center in downtown West Point. The Academic Center is located in the building that once housed the corporate office of West Point Home, and its address is 507 W 10th Street, West Point. In order to find the classroom in question, we are asking that you please park on the western side of the building (with a student parking lot immediately across the street, in which you can also park if need be). The western door will be open for you and you will be directed upstairs to Room 219. If anyone is unable to use the stairs, there is an elevator directly across from the door you will be entering.
Ron Williams’ topic for Sunday, July 25th, will be John Howard Parnell, the famed peach grower, who came to Chambers County after the Civil War. Parnell, an Irishman, is said to have started the first commercial peach orchard in America, and to be the father of the Georgia peach. Neither claim is true but he certainly is an interesting character in local history.
While living in Chambers County, John was visited by his brother, Charles Stewart Parnell, known as the “uncrowned King of Ireland.” Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish nationalist politician who
served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1882 to 1891. His party held the balance of power in the House of Commons during the Home Rule debates of 1885–1886.
Prior to the Charles’ political fame, he visited his brother John in the Valley in 1872. He pondered remaining here and growing peaches. It was said that in Chambers County the future of Ireland hung in the balances. Charles did return to Ireland and became world famous. At our meeting, Ron will discuss Charles’ visit and his comical interactions with the “common American people” of Chambers County. Charles did not think John should be on such familiar terms with the locals or their pigs, according to one story. Ron will also describe other members of the Parnell family. Did you know that John H. Parnell’s mother was American and the daughter of Admiral Charles Stewart, the famed captain of the USS Constitution, known as Old Ironsides? Or that the Parnell’s mother lived as practically a pauper in her old age? We will also discuss the affair that led to Charles Stewart Parnell’s fall from grace.
Charles Stewart Parnell died in 1891 and John sold the Peach Farm and returned to Ireland bringing an end to an interesting commercial venture in Chambers County, Alabama.
The presenter, Ron Williams, grew up in the old Williams Homeplace on Hopewell Road in the southeast corner of Chambers County, Alabama. He is descended from Chambers County pioneers and his children are the 8th generation of his family to call Chambers County home. He currently lives in Valley with his wife, Jennifer, and two sons, Aaron and Kaden. His oldest daughter, Aubrey, lives in Auburn. Growing up in the Old Williams Homeplace fostered his love for family and local history. This old home was built by his 3rd great grandparents, David S. and Nancy Woodall Williams in 1839.
Ron has written and compiled the following books on Chambers County history: When the Dinner Bell Rang: A History of the Hopewell Community, On Railroad Street: The Story of Carrie Hanson Breedlove and her Family, Past Times, which is a collection of historical articles about East Alabama and West Georgia, and Fieldstone Pillars: Remembering the Older Communities in the Southeast Corner of Chambers County, Alabama. Additionally, he has assisted in compiling Aaron Williams and his Descendants, detailing the descendants of this Chambers County pioneer.
If anyone is interested in further information, please contact me at ccpowers02@point.edu for more information.
Remember that this is an in-person meeting and will be held at Point University, Academic Center Room 219. (This is the old West Point Home building.) Parking on the Western side of the building is best as the door you should enter is on that side.
Please plan to attend this wonderful program, which is also our first in-person meeting since January of 2020!