About Us
Our Founder
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Mandaville Williams is the original founder of the Williams Family Historical Cemetery. Traveling to Arizona in 1872, her hard work and Pioneer spirit left an impression on her friends and neighbors. To read her biography, please click below.
Our Mission:
To keep cemetery history free and accessible to the public, bring attention to an important part of Phoenix Pioneer history, and preserve the legacy of Mandeville Williams through improvements to the condition of the Williams Family Historical Cemetery grounds.
Our Story.
Preservation and History
Discover how our cemetery carefully preserves history and honors the legacy of those interred here. Through dedicated internal services like photo restoration and genealogical research, we ensure that the stories of the past are not forgotten.
FAQs
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The cemetery was founded in 1884 when the Williams family purchased the land. The land was then re-purchased solely by Mandaville during a dispute with a neighbor on March 28, 1925. The first people to be buried here were Mandy’s three children between 1884-1887.
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Due to the condition of the cemetery, we do not have normal public visitation hours at this time. If you have relatives buried there and would like to visit the cemetery, please contact us to arrange a visit.
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We currently have a list of 83 interred here, including children. To learn more about these residents, please visit our headstones page.
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Yes! We are a non-profit public charity that appears on the IRS list of 501(c)(3) organizations. This means that any contributions made to our foundation can be claimed on taxes. To make a contribution, please visit our donation page.
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Unfortunately, due to vandalism and theft, we are missing a majority of the headstones at the cemetery. To honor the deceased, we are currently in the process of fundraising for a large granite memorial slab with all of the resident’s names. To help fund this project, please visit our donation page.
Family Newspaper Clippings
Some fun and informational clippings, from our family, during Mandy Williams’s lifetime.
Excerpt mentioning Vernon Avery Thompson (brother-in-law of Evelyn Mae, daughter of Mandy Williams) - August, 22nd 1921.
Clipped by Evelyn Mae Williams (daughter of Mandy Williams) around 1918. A similar article was found in the Arizona Republic from 1918, linked here.
Article featuring James Bernard Thompson, son of Evelyn Williams. Printed in the Tombstone Epitaph, February 14th, 1915.