Robert Williams, Sr., was born around 1812 in Maryland. He married a woman named Elizabeth, and they had at least nine children: John, born around 1833; Mary, born around 1835; Margaret, born around 1838; Robert, born on January 24, 1841; Sarah, born around 1844; Henry, born around 1845; Charles, born around 1848; Thomas, born around 1850; and James, born around 1853.
They lived in St. Thomas, Pennsylvania, and Williams worked as a cooper. By 1850, he owned $500 of real estate. They moved to Camden, Ohio, in the 1850s, and by 1860, Williams owned $1,000 of real estate and $600 of personal property. By 1870, he owned $600 of real estate and $800 of personal property. He died around 1893.