Alpheus F. Williams, son of Oliver and Mary Williams, was born in Concord, Mass, Nov. 12, 1812; married Miss Ann K. Simpson at Saginaw City in 1836, and was a resident of that city several years. He went to California at an early day, in 1850. A California paper contained the following.

"Death of Col. Williams. The peaceful termination of an adventurous career.--Shortly after 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon Col. Alpheus Fuller Williams, of Oakland, breathed his last. Col. Williams was a remarkable man. He was essentially a pioneer. The thirst for adventure which dominated his character in youth clung to him to the last. He was born in Massachusetts in 1812 and reared in Michigan. His parents moved to the latter state, the then far west, when he was an infant in arms, and his boyhood days were passed amid those stirring scenes of early frontier life that live in history and tradition.

In 1849 Col. Williams caught the gold fever and left his Michigan home for California. He was then, at the age of thirty seven, a man of large stature and herculean strength, a fine shot, excellent horseman, and thoroughly versed in wood craft.

The long and dangerous journey across the plains was one round of pleasure for him and he took kindly to the rough life of the early Californians. He was one of the first men to build mining ditches in this state, and was also an original owner in the Blue Gravel company. He acquired a fortune in mining and returned to Michigan to lead a life of ease.

He soon tired of the older civilization and taking his family moved back to California. He engaged in mining in Nevada, Sierra and other northern counties, but made his home in Oakland. He was one of the earliest residents of the latter city and contributed materially to its development. Two years ago, at the age of seventy, Col. Williams formed a party to prospect Alaska for the precious metals--not only formed a party but assumed its leadership. A more striking illustration of the restlessness of the typical American pioneer could not be cited than this incident in the career of Col. Williams--a man seventy years old leaving a pleasant and attractive home in the garden spot of California to prospect the sterile and rugged mountains of the frozen north, not as a matter of necessity, but from choice.

His surroundings were so delightful that any man might have envied him. A loving and devoted wife and affectionate children and grandchildren were ever ready to anticipate his desires. And yet he wanted to get into a new country and rough it. So he went to Alaska with his party in a small schooner, was wrecked, Suffered greatly from exposure, and never fairly recovered from the effects of the journey. Last year he wanted to visit Alaska again, but was deterred by ill health. His company sent up a schooner, however, and as yet nothing has been heard of her. Six months ago Col. Williams was taken ill and began to fail. His death yesterday was due to a complication of diseases, the heart and lungs being mostly affected. He leaves a wife, two sons and two daughters, all of whom are well known in San Francisco and Oakland. The sons are Gardner F. and Robert N. Williams, and the daughters are Mrs. E. B. Clement and Mrs. T. C. Van Ness. Col. Williams was a man of rugged integrity and leaves behind him a stainless name. Col. Williams was a Mason--a thirty second degree member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry for the state of California."

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(Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. 10, pp.198-199)