In 1883, Thomas Whitton Williams and his wife, Phoebe, (4) moved their young family to Perth, Western Australia. Their second-oldest child, Arthur Bakewell (5) Williams, my next direct ancestor, was then nine years old.

When Arthur was 22, he sought his fortune at Kalgoorlie, a gold-mining boomtown some 370 miles (600 km) east of Perth. There he read some literature published by the International Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known. He also subscribed to Zion’s Watch Tower. Fascinated by what he read, Arthur began sharing his newfound knowledge with others and holding meetings for Bible study. From those humble beginnings sprang the modern activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Western Australia.

Arthur also told his family about what he was learning. His father, Thomas Whitton, supported Arthur’s association with the Bible Students but died soon afterward. His mother, Phoebe, and his sisters, Violet and Mary, also became Bible Students. Violet became a full-time evangelizer, or pioneer. Arthur said that she was “the finest and the most zealous and earnest pioneer Western Australia produced.” Arthur was probably biased, but Violet’s zealous example greatly influenced the next Williams generation.

In time, Arthur married and moved to Donnybrook, a fruit-growing town in southwest Western Australia. There he was nicknamed “Old Mad 1914!” because of his zealous proclamation of Bible prophecies pointing forward to that year. The teasing stopped when World War I broke out. Arthur regularly witnessed to customers in a store that he owned, where he displayed Bible literature prominently in the window. The window also displayed a sign that offered 100 pounds to anyone who could prove the Trinity —an unscriptural doctrine that Arthur firmly rejected. No one ever collected the money.

The Williams’ home became a focal point for group Bible study and congregation meetings in Donnybrook. Later, Arthur built a Kingdom Hall, or meeting place, in town —one of the first in Western Australia. Well into his 70’s, he would don a suit and tie, saddle up his old horse named Doll, and go preaching far and wide throughout the Donnybrook district.

Arthur’s children were deeply affected by their father, who was quiet and dignified, yet zealous. His daughter Florence (6) served as a missionary in India. His sons, Arthur Lindsay (7) and Thomas, like their father, served as longtime congregation elders.