Lewis Williams (February 1, 1782 – February 23, 1842) was a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

between 1815 and 1842. Born in

Surry County, North Carolina Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,359. Its county seat is Dobson, and its largest city is Mount Airy. Surry county comprises the Mount Airy, NC Micropolitan St ...

(present-day Forsyth County), Williams attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, graduating in 1808. He was first elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1812, serving for a single term (1813-1814) before being elected to the

14th United States Congress The 14th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in the Old Brick Capitol in Washingto ...

as a (Jeffersonian) Republican in 1814. Williams was re-elected to successive Congresses before his death in 1842. In keeping with the turbulent times in which the parties realigned, he served under five different party labels: as a Republican, as a

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

Republican, as a supporter of John Quincy Adams, as an "

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

," and finally as a Whig. During his time in Congress, he chaired the

Committee on Claims The United States Senate Committee on Claims was among the first standing committees established in the Senate. It dealt generally with issues related to private bills and petitions. After reforms in the 1880s that created judicial and administra ...

in the 15th through 21st Congresses, and the Committee on Territories during the 23rd Congress. Williams also introduced the resolution creating the

United States House Committee on Agriculture The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of s ...

. He died in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, while in office in 1842 and is buried in Panther Creek Cemetery near

Lewisville, North Carolina Lewisville is a town in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States of America. The population was 13,388 at the 2020 census, up from 12,639 in 2010. It is a Piedmont Triad community. Geography Lewisville is located in western Forsyth Count ...

. Williams is the brother of Robert Williams, a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina, and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

, a U.S. Senator from Tennessee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Lewis 1782 births 1842 deaths Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni North Carolina National Republicans North Carolina Whigs Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American legislators People from Forsyth County, North Carolina Deans of the United States House of Representatives

See also

References