James Warren Williams
On March 25,1894, James Warren Williams was born in Screven County, GA. He was one of ten children born to A.W. and Margerette Evers Williams. Growing up, Warren assisted his family on their family farm. He attended Knights School and the high school in Brooklet, GA. His mother, Mrs. Margerette Warrens, described him as “ever brave, true, and obedient.” In 1916, Warren served on the Mexican border against the threat of Poncho Villa, who took to raiding American border towns which were former Mexican territories. Nothing is known of Warren’s time along the border; however, it lasted approximately one year. Warren registered for WWI as a private on June 5, 1917. A year later, he was stationed at Fort Screven Coast Artillery Corps and employed as a mechanic. Prior to his service, he was a successful farmer and mechanic and he was quickly promoted to Corporal.
On September 25, 1918, Warren deployed from New York to Europe on the HMS Otranto. However, the Otranto never made it to its destination as it was rammed by another troopship, HMS Kashmir, due to faulty navigation during severe weather conditions. He died at the age of twenty-five, in the sinking of the Otranto off the Scottish coast on October 6, 1918. Warren was one of 470 men to perish upon that coast along with three other soldiers from Bulloch County, GA. His death was officially reported to his father on November 25, 1918. In the June 5, 1919 edition of the Bulloch Times and Statesboro News, his heart-broken mother wrote a stirring lament praying to think of her son as “lying in a sweet sleep in a sunny coral grotto beneath the calm blue sea.” Originally buried with military honors in Kilchoman Islay Argylls, Scotland, Warren’s body was disinterred and returned to the U.S. in 1920. He now rests at Corinth-Leefield Cemetery in Brooklet, GA, alongside his mother, father, and several siblings.
Works Cited
Georgia Archives Virtual Vault. “World War 1 Casualties Scrapbooks Wall-Wilson”. Unit 16. Pg 300. https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/p17154coll7/id/20351/rec/16
Georgia Memorial Database. “Georgia World War 1 Centennial Commission.” https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/georgia-memorial-database.html
Hackle, Al. “Sinking of HMS Otranto hit Georgia hard 105 years ago.” Statesboro Herald. September 23, 2023. Sinking of HMS Otranto hit Georgia hard 105 years ago - Statesboro Herald
[James Warren Williams], folder 5, Box 1, American Legion Auxiliary, Dexter Allen Unit 90, records, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections
National Archives Catalog. Card Register of Burial Cards. 1917-1922 https://catalog.archives.gov/id/109146085?objectPage=983
Williams, James W. “1910 United States Federal Census.” 1910. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/146539527:7884
Williams, James W. “Find A Grave Index.”. August 1, 2011. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74281250/james-warren williams?_gl=1*rw5w2q*_gcl_au*MTMxOTMyMDIzMy4xNzExNTg4ODg1
Williams, James W. “Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty, 1917-1918.” https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/470109:4906?_phcmd=u(%27https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/categories/39/?name=James+Warren_Williams&event=_bulloch-georgia-usa_410&birth=1894&location=2&priority=usa&successSource=Search&queryId=1ce0b0ea-8a6a-4bfd-8133-4ae6f1427c03%27,%27successSource%27)
Williams, James W. “World War 1 Registration Cards.” 1917-1918. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/11799228:6482
Williams, James W. “World War 1 Service Cards.” 1917-1919. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/3200:3129
Williams, Margetette Evers. “In Memoriam.” Bulloch Times and Statesboro News. June 5,1919. Bulloch County Newspapers (Single Issues). 890. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/bulloch-news-issues/890