William Brewster Williams (July 28, 1826 – March 4, 1905) was a politician and judge from the

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Williams was born in

Pittsford, New York Pittsford is a town in Monroe County, New York. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census. The Town of Pittsford (formerly part of the town of Northfield) was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1796. The ...

. He attended the

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...

s, received an academic education, and graduated from the

State and National Law School The State and National Law School was an early practical training law school founded in 1849 by John W. Fowler in Ballston Spa, New York ( Saratoga County). It was also known as New York State and National Law School, Ballston Law School, and Fow ...

Ballston Spa, New York Ballston Spa is a village and the county seat of Saratoga County, New York, United States, located southwest of Saratoga Springs. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler, ...

in 1851. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

the same year and commenced practice in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

. He moved to

Allegan, Michigan Allegan ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 5,222 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Allegan County. It lies within Allegan Township but is administratively autonomous. History The men after whom Allegan's ...

in 1855. Williams was a probate court judge from 1857 to 1865 and a member of the Michigan Senate from 1866 to 1870, serving as president pro tempore in 1869. He was also a member of the State constitutional convention in 1867, and a Michigan delegate to 1868 Republican National Convention. In 1871, he was appointed by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Henry P. Baldwin to serve as a member of the State board for the supervisory control of the charitable, penal, and beneficiary institutions, which position he resigned upon his election to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

. After the death of

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

Wilder D. Foster Wilder De Ayr Foster (January 8, 1819 – September 20, 1873) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Biography Foster was born in Orange County, New York where he attended the common schools. He moved to Michigan in 1837, and engaged ...

on September 20, 1873, Williams was elected November 4, 1873 as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to fill the vacancy. Williams was elected to represent

Michigan's 5th congressional district Michigan's 5th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The district is represented by Republican Tim Walberg. Predecessors From 1873 to 1993, the 5th was based in the Grand Rapids a ...

in the

43rd Congress The 43rd 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 Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873, ...

, serving from December 1, 1873 to March 3, 1877. He was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1876. William B. Williams served as railroad commissioner of Michigan from 1877 to 1883 and resumed the practice of law. He died in Allegan and is interred there in Oakwood Cemetery.

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, William Brewster 1826 births 1905 deaths Michigan state court judges Republican Party Michigan state senators State and National Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges