Changes

==Background==

==Background==

Williams was the fourth child of Oscar Waldo Williams, a [[Harvard University]]-educated lattorney]] who would serve for a decade as the Pecos county judge, and the former Sallie Wheat, hence his middle name. Williams was born in an officers’ building of the former Fort Stockton [[United States Army|Army]] base, which had housed the Buffalo soldiers of the American West from 1867 to 1886.<ref>Mike Cochran, ''Claytie: The Roller-Coaster Life of a Texas Wildcatter'' (biography of Clayton Williams, Jr.) (College Station, Texas|College Station]]: [[Texas A&M University]], 2007), pp. 30, 381; hereinafter cited as Claytie.</ref> O. W. Williams had prospected for [[gold]] and [[silver]] in Silver City, [[New Mexico|New Mexico Territory]], before he came to Fort Stockton. O.W. was in New Mexico during the heyday of Chief Geronimo and [[Billy the Kid]]. He was also a suspect in the shotgun death of a "rogue" sheriff named A. J. Royal, but the killer was never apprehended, and Clayton Williams, Sr., insisted that his father was not the culprit.<ref>''Claytie,'' p. 15.</ref>​

Williams was the fourth child of Oscar Waldo Williams, a [[Harvard University]]-educated lattorney]] who would serve for a decade as the Pecos county judge, and the former Sallie Wheat, hence his middle name. Williams was born in an officers’ building of the former Fort Stockton [[United States Army|Army]] base, which had housed the Buffalo soldiers of the American West from 1867 to 1886.<ref>Mike Cochran, ''Claytie: The Roller-Coaster Life of a Texas Wildcatter'' (biography of Clayton Williams, Jr.) (College Station, Texas|College Station]]: [[Texas A&M University]] Press, 2007), pp. 30, 381; hereinafter cited as Claytie.</ref> O. W. Williams had prospected for [[gold]] and [[silver]] in Silver City, [[New Mexico|New Mexico Territory]], before he came to Fort Stockton. O.W. was in New Mexico during the heyday of Chief Geronimo and [[Billy the Kid]]. He was also a suspect in the shotgun death of a "rogue" sheriff named A. J. Royal, but the killer was never apprehended, and Clayton Williams, Sr., insisted that his father was not the culprit.<ref>''Claytie,'' p. 15.</ref>​

After attending Fort Stockton public schools, Williams enrolled in 1911 at [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], then an all-male institution with a military bent. To reach TAMU, he travelled by [[stagecoach]] north to Monahans in Ward County (known for its sand dunes) and then took the [[railroad]] nort-east to [[Dallas]] and south to College Station. In 1915, Williams received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.<ref name=handbook>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwi77|author=[[Ernest Wallace]]|title=Williams, Sr., Clayton W.|publisher=Texas State Historical Association: ''The Handbook of Texas''|accessdate=November 17, 2019}}</ref>​

After attending Fort Stockton public schools, Williams enrolled in 1911 at [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], then an all-male institution with a military bent. To reach TAMU, he travelled by [[stagecoach]] north to Monahans in Ward County (known for its sand dunes) and then took the [[railroad]] nort-east to [[Dallas]] and south to College Station. In 1915, Williams received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.<ref name=handbook>{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwi77|author=[[Ernest Wallace]]|title=Williams, Sr., Clayton W.|publisher=Texas State Historical Association: ''The Handbook of Texas''|accessdate=November 17, 2019}}</ref>​