Thomas Hill Williams (January 14, 1773 – December 7, 1850)H.B. Faint, "Thomas Hill Williams," in William S. Powell (ed.), ''Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: Vol. 6.'' (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1979–1996. was a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, one of the first two senators from that state. He served two terms of office, from 1817 to 1829, retiring to Tennessee after his retirement from politics.

Biography

Thomas Hill Williams was born in

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 ...

, growing up just east of the

Pee Dee River The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River The Uwharri ...

in rural

Anson County Anson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,055. Its county seat is Wadesboro. History The county was formed in 1750 from Bladen County. It was named for George Anson, Ba ...

. He appears to have inherited some wealth at an early age, appearing on county tax rolls in 1795 as the owner of 681 acres of land. It is believed that he entered politics at an early age and was elected clerk of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1796 and 1797. Williams completed preparatory studies, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and became a lawyer. In 1803 he made his way to the

Territory of Mississippi The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the History o ...

, soon becoming the private secretary to Territorial Governor

William C. C. Claiborne William Charles Cole Claiborne ( 1773–1775 – November 23, 1817) was an American politician, best known as the first non-colonial governor of Louisiana. He also has the distinction of possibly being the youngest member of the United State ...

. Williams was appointed register of the

land office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

for the Territory of Mississippi in 1805 by Secretary of State

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

. He was recognized as a popular and qualified appointee and named Acting Governor of the Mississippi Territory on July 1, 1805 in a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...

by President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. Williams was reappointed secretary in 1807, and was again Acting Governor in 1809. In 1810 he was collector of

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, and was a delegate to the state constitutional convention. Upon the admission of Mississippi as a state into the Union in 1817, Williams was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the U.S. Senate, one of the first two senators from Mississippi."Thomas Hill Williams," in James Grant Wilson and John Fiske (eds.), ''Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Vol. 6: Sunderland—Zurita.'' New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1889; p. 534. He was reelected as a

Jackson Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

(later Jacksonian) in 1823, leaving the body with the expiration of his second term on March 3, 1829. While a member the Senate Williams was a member of the Naval Affairs committee in five of his six Congresses and of the Public Lands committee in three of them. He was chairman of the Committee on Public Lands (Sixteenth Congress). He was a supporter of the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...

during the session of 1820-21. Williams moved to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

after he left the Senate, declining a chance at reelection or any form of public office. He died of

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

in Robertson County on December 7, 1850.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Thomas Hill 1780 births 1840 deaths People from Surry County, North Carolina American people of English descent Mississippi Democratic-Republicans Mississippi Jacksonians Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from Mississippi Jacksonian United States senators from Mississippi