Fentress Historical Member Honored With Award

Fentress County Historical Society Director Kathy Williams honored with a lifetime achievement award from the East Tennessee Historical Society.

Williams said she was nominated by other members of the Fentress County Historical Society. She said she handles most of the organization’s research efforts.

“I just feel honored that, and I feel like that there’s other people here in Fentress County that have helped me that know a lot more about the history and the genealogy of the families, and there’s a lot of people that I could name that I feel like helped me to be able to do what I’m doing,” Williams said.

Williams said the society gets calls from people across the country asking for information about various records dating back to the 1830s. She said the award inspires her to work even harder.

“I want the next generation to who their families are or know something about Jamestown and Fentress County,” Williams said.

Williams said she receives the award on Saturday. She also serves as the county archivist.

“My son said, ‘Mom, do you know you’ve got an award?’ And it’s like, ‘Oh, really? What kind of award?'” Williams said. “And he hold me and I looked it up on the computer.”