John Fitz Williams, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of John Fitz Williams
JOHN FITZ WILLIAMS was born in Charing Cross, St. Peters Port, on the Island of Guernsey, off the coast of France, February 22, 1828. His parents, John and Mary Fitz Williams, were also natives of the island. The parents came to New York in 1818, and were there naturalized, that the father might do business for the Hudson Bay Company in the Northwestern Territory, and was located in and near the State of Wisconsin. Mr. Fitz Williams never returned to his native country, but after quitting the employ of hte H. B. Company, engaged in farming in Wisconsin, and died there in about 1839. In 1827, Mrs. Fitz Williams went back on a visit to her native land, and, there in 1828, the subject of this sketch was born. In 1829, the mother and son came to America, and the mother died during the time her son - the only one - was fighting for the preservation of his adopted country. John Fitz Williams, subject of this memoir, in the fall of 1840, was bound out as an apprentice on board the bark "Enterprise," of St. Peters Port, Guernsey. After serving four and a half years he ran away, and found employment as cook on the lakes. In 1854, he came first to Valparaiso, but remained here only a short time, afterward going back to the lakes, where he remained till 1856, when he again came to Valparaiso and entered the employ of A. R. Gould, of the hotel "American Eagle." In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served with this company until 1862, when he became an orderly for Gen. Milroy, in West Virginia. In June 1863, he re-enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and promoted Orderly Sergeant, afterward being promoted to the Second Lieutenancy of his company. Owing to an accident which happened to him while on Hood's campaign, he was unable to act in the capacity of Second Lieutenant, and accordingly was discharged. Mr. Fitz Williams was in a number of skirmishes, and engagements, among them being Second Bull Run, and was also through the Atlanta campaign with Gen. Sherman. After the war, he started a restaurant in Valparaiso, and has every since been in business in the place. As a business man, he had been very successful, and today is worth a comfortable fortune, which he has acquired by his own efforts. He was married, in December, 1863, just previous to going out in the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, to Margaret McCarthy, and to their marriage were born five children - Annie, Fanny, Eliza, Fred and John. The parents are members of the Catholic Church.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 245
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook