3552 N. Salem: Viola Gertrude Williams’ last residence:

In 1964 Mr. Williams's mother, Viola, was staying with her daughter Lora Murray (formerly Williams-Montgomery) when she died of a heart attack brought on by a myocardial infarction. Viola was the widow of Walter Alvin Williams who had died in 1930. Viola re-married after the death of Walter.

At this point I cannot determine who else was living at this residence in 1964, but so far this is the earliest, still standing, residence of the Montgomery-Williams family I can find.

I have discovered 27 addresses in Indianapolis where the family has lived since 1880. I've visited most of them and only three are still standing; this one and the last two locations that Mr. Williams lived at in the 70s and at the time of his death in 1999.

In the case of two houses, churches now stand on the property (N. West Street and N. Columbia). Two more would have been in the general area of the end zone of the Crispus Attucks High School's football field. As for the remainder most of them were located in areas where the entire neighborhood is gone, such as Lockfield Gardens and the surrounding area.

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Who’s who in this article:

• Viola Gertrud (Bell-Williams) Langford is the mother of James Francis Williams. (Walter Alvin Williams was his father.)
• Lora (Williams-Montgomery) Murray is the daughter of Viola and sister of James. Lora was married to James R. Montgomery, the brother of  Myrtle Montgomery, the wife of James Williams.
• The descendants of James & Myrtle Williams and the descendants of Lora & James R. Montgomery are what’s called ‘double-cousins’.
• James and Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams are the focal point of this project.