Before moving in with her great-granddaughter last year, Williams had been living on her own in an apartment in Atmore, Ala., a small town on the border of Florida, where she'd resided since the age of 9. Her parents were farmers and grew sweet potatoes, peas, butter beans, and corn. They also raised hogs, chickens, and goats. Williams was educated in a one-room schoolhouse attended only by black children. She made it as far as the sixth grade.