<p>John Williams, Sr. was born in Hanover County, VA in either 1746 or 1747.  In the 1760's  he came to Surry (Now Yadkin) County, NC with his brother Thomas working as scouts and trading furs with local Indians until they could acquire land. In 1766 he joined Captain William Linville and his son John , who owned thousands of acres of land in NC,  on an expedition to the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Linville Gorge area, which was later named for them.  The group was ambushed by Indians &amp; the Linvilles were  killed, but John Williams Sr., wounded in the thigh, escaped  on a packhorse and traveled east 4 days, until he got  to the Hollows Settlement near present day Mt. Airy, where he got help. Daniel Boone , a friend of the Linvilles, went back to what later became known as Linville Gorge, and found and buried the Linville's mutilated bodies, probably based on info told him by John Williams.   John recovered but walked with a limp the rest of his life. William Linville's wife presented him with the fine horse that had delivered him home from the massacre at Linville Gorge, of which he was the lone survivor.  Later he acquired land and slaves, and was known as "Captain"  or "Squire" because he was a constable.  Near his death he owned 850 acres on Little Forbush Creek in present-day Yadkin County. In his will he leaves  his wife Elizabeth with slaves Frank, Nancy, and  Philis. It is believed by some that  John's mother and his wife, Elizabeth, were Indians.</p><p>References:</p><p>The Architectural History of Yadkin County, North Carolina , by Yadkin Co. Historical Society,  Pgs. 150 &amp; 152</p><p>Surry County, North Carolina Wills 1771-1827: Annotated Genealogical Abstracts ,by Jo White Linn, Pgs. 144 &amp; 145</p><p>Personal Knowledge</p><p> </p>