John Green Williams (1796 – December 15, 1833) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia. He was the father of the missionary Episcopal Bishop for China and Japan, Channing Moore Williams.

Early and family life

Born near

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper Coun ...

to William Clayton Williams and Alice Grymes Burwell, Williams had several brothers (including Lewis Burwell Williams 1802–1880 who also became a lawyer and delegate for Orange County, Virginia in 1833) and sisters. He married Mary Ann Cringan (1797–1867) on February 28, 1821, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and was active in the Episcopal Church (particularly Richmond's Monumental Church) as well as the Common Hall. In 1830, the Williams family included six children and two slaves (a man older than 55 and a young woman between 19 and 23 years of age). Their children included the future Rev. William Clayton Williams (long-time rector in

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...

), Rt. Rev. Channing Moore Williams (1829–1910), attorney John Green Williams, Jr. (1823–1870), Robert Findlater Williams (1831–1893), Alice Burwell Williams (1827–1896, who married Carter Harrison and became a widow after the first Battle of Manassas in 1861) and Mary Ogilvie Williams (1826–1864, who married Hubert Pierre Lefebvre).

Career

Williams was admitted to the Virginia bar around 1820. He practiced law in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and the surrounding

Henrico County, Virginia Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

. Williams became a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1829, and served one term as representative from Henrico County alongside Jacqueline B. Harvie. He succeeded multi-term Democrat Edward C. Mayo (1791–1852). Although again elected in 1831 and 1832, Williams was declared ineligible and not allowed to assume his seat in either year. Both times he was replaced by Robert A. Mayo (1799–1872), who a decade later became one of the founders of the Richmond and Henrico County Society for the Protection of Slave Property.

Death and legacy

Williams died on December 15, 1833, in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

en route to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...

at just 37 years of age, leaving his widow to care for their six young children. His remains were returned to Richmond and interred in the newly established Hollywood cemetery. A nephew of the same name, John Green Williams (1843–1922), became a Confederate soldier and courier for Gen. Jubal Early, and after the American Civil War, Commonwealth's Attorney for

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John Green 1796 births 1833 deaths Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia lawyers People from Henrico County, Virginia People from Culpeper County, Virginia 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers