Clara Tear Williams

Williams, Mrs. Clara Tear. (Painesville, Ohio, September 22, 1858--July 1, 1937, Houghton, New York). As a young woman she was a school teacher. She suffered an attack of tuberculosis but fully recovered from it and for a number of years engaged in evangelistic work in several North Central states. In 1895 she married the Reverend W.H. Williams, a Wesleyan Methodist minister, and until his death thirty years later labored with him in serving churches in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Commission of her church which compiled Sacred Hymns and Tunes, 1897.

--Robert G. McCutchan, DNAH Archives. Photocopied photos (uncited) of Clara Tear Williams and pages from a manuscript family history by Frank W. Tear are also available in the DNAH archives.

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Rev. Mrs. Clara Tear Williams was a pastor and evangelist. From what records are available, it appears that she affiliated with the Wesleyan Methodist Church in the 1880s. The information suggests that she was a Licensed Minister, but never ordained. She served on the Committee to compile the WMC hymn book, "Sacred Hymns and Tunes" in 1897. She married William H. Williams in 1895 whom she had met while conducting meetings in Middlefield, Ohio. He had been widowed in 1881. He joined her in the ministry, the first mention of him in the Pastoral Relations Report being in 1901. He died May 17, 1934 in Houghton, New York.

According to Mrs. Williams' obituary, she was connected with the Allegheny and Lockport Conferences of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. No reference was found to her in the Minutes of the Lockport Conference, but she was mentioned in the Minutes of the New York Conference. Though there is no body of minutes available for the early years of the Allegheny Conference, Mrs. Williams can be found in the Statistical and Pastoral Relations reports sent to The Wesleyan Methodist. The following information is taken from those sources.

Allegheny Conference/New York Conference, WMC:
1886-1887: Clara Tear is assigned by the Allegheny Conference to serve as Evangelist at Large, and to Concord, Ohio.

1888: No mention found at either Conference.

1889: Clara Tear is on the Licentiate List for the Allegheny Conference, no assignment; she is present at this year's session of the New York Conference and introduced as being from the Allegheny Conference.

1890: Listed as an Evangelist at Large for the Allegheny Conference; present at the New York Conference and listed as a lay delegate and General Missionary.

1891: On the Licentiate List for the Allegheny Conference but no assignment given; present at the New York Conference, her name was called, character passed, and License renewed; she reported she had been in evangelistic work, then had taken charge of the work at Lake Hill for the remainder of the year; she is listed as a General Evangelist and was elected as a lay delegate to the 1891 General Conference.

1892: General Evangelist for the Allegheny Conference.

1893 Assigned to supply the pulpit at Keepville, Pennsylvania and General Evangelistic work.

1894: Assigned to care for Middlefield, Ohio; General Evangelist.

1895: General Evangelist; elected as a lay delegate to the General Conference.

1896-1899: General Evangelist.

1900: Assigned to Pine Grove, Pennsylvania.

1901: Clara T. and W.H. Williams to supply Indiana, Pennsylvania.

1902-1904: Joint assignment to Pine Grove, Penn.

1905-1907: Joint assignment to Canton, Ohio.

1908-1916: Joint assignment to Massillon, Ohio.

1917: Both to supply Middlefield, Ohio.

1918-1919: Join assignment to Pine Grove, Penn.

1920- : Both are listed as Superannuated.

--Information supplied by The Wesleyan Church Archives and Historical Library, 26 February 1996. Also includes photocopy of obituary from The Wesleyan Methodist 28 July 1937. DNAH Archives.