Norman Williams (October 6, 1791 – January 12, 1868) was a

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served as Vermont's Auditor of Accounts and Secretary of State.

Early life

Norman Williams was born October 6, 1791 in

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Chart ...

son of Jesse Willams (1761-1842) and Hannah Palmer (1769-1837) and graduated from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

in 1810. He then studied law, attained admission to the bar in 1814 and established a practice in Woodstock. Williams served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and afterwards continued his military service as a member of the militia. Following his military service Williams resumed practicing law.

Politics

Williams served as Register of Probate for the

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

district in 1814 and from 1820 to 1822 and 1834 to 1835.University of Vermont Obituary Record
published by University of Vermont Alumni Association, Volume 1, 1895, page 25 In 1819 Williams was elected Auditor of Accounts, serving until 1823. Williams was elected Secretary of State in 1823 and served until 1831. From 1836 to 1840 Williams was Secretary of the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

. Originally a

National Republican 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 later a Whig, Williams was an editor of the ''Vermont Mercury'', a newspaper that advocated Whig policies. Williams succeeded

Benjamin Swan Benjamin Swan is a former American state legislator who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and represented the 11th Hampden District from 2009 to 2016. On February 6, 2014, Swan was one of five members of the legislative body ...

as Clerk of the Windsor County Court, and served from 1839 until his death in Woodstock.The Wentworth Genealogy
by John Wentworth, Volume 1, 1878, page 512

Business career

From 1831 to 1834 Williams lived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and pursued a business career with his

brother in law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred ...

. In 1834 Williams returned to Woodstock and resumed practicing law.

College administrator

Williams was an incorporator of the Vermont Medical College and served for many years as dean of the faculty. In addition, he served as a member of the University of Vermont's

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

from 1849 to 1853.

Personal life

In 1817, Williams married Mary Ann Wentworth Brown, a member of the Appleton and

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

families. They had seven children, Henry Brown Williams, Mary Ann Wentworth Williams,

Edward H. Williams Edward Higginson Williams (June 1, 1824 – December 21, 1899) was an American physician and railroad executive known for his philanthropy. Early life and medical career Williams was born on June 1, 1824, in Woodstock, Vermont to Vermont Secret ...

Charles Storrow Williams Charles Storrow Williams (December 25, 1827 – June 20, 1890) was an American civil engineer who managed the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad and Southern Railway in Mississippi. Early life Williams was born on December 25, 1827, in Woodstock, ...

, Louisa Jane Williams, Norman Williams Jr., and Susan Arnold Williams. In 1883, Edward H. Williams led an effort to remove from the Williams homestead the main house and surrounding outbuildings, which had fallen into disuse, and erect a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. The facility, named the Norman Williams Public Library, is still in existence and continues to serve the citizens of Woodstock.Home page, Norman Williams Public Library web site
accessed November 19, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Norman 1791 births 1868 deaths American military personnel of the War of 1812 University of Vermont alumni Vermont National Republicans Vermont Whigs 19th-century American politicians State Auditors of Vermont Secretaries of State of Vermont Vermont lawyers People from Woodstock, Vermont