Charles G. Williams

This article is about the U.S. Congressman from Wisconsin. For other people called Charles or Charlie Williams, see Charles Williams.
Charles G. Williams
Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
In office
March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883
Preceded bySamuel S. Cox
Succeeded byAndrew Gregg Curtin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1883
Preceded byAlexander Mitchell
Succeeded byJohn Winans
President pro tempore of the Wisconsin Senate
In office
January 1, 1871 – January 1, 1873
Preceded byDavid Taylor
Succeeded byHenry L. Eaton
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 17th district
In office
January 1, 1869 – January 1, 1873
Preceded byS. J. Todd
Succeeded byHoratio N. Davis
Personal details
Born(1829-10-18)October 18, 1829
Royalton, New York
DiedMarch 30, 1892(1892-03-30) (aged 62)
Watertown, South Dakota
Resting placeOak Hill Cemetery
Janesville, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Harriet Gregg
  • (died 1856)
  • Mary Anna Noggle
  • (died 1910)
Children
  • Kate Anna Williams
  • (born 1861)
  • Ward David Williams
  • (b. 1864; died 1926)
Signature

Charles Grandison Williams (October 18, 1829 – March 30, 1892) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He represented the state of Wisconsin for ten years in the United States House of Representatives, from 1873 to 1883, and was chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.[1]

Biography

Charles G. Williams c.1870

Born in Royalton, New York, Williams pursued an academic course and studied law in Rochester, New York. He moved to Wisconsin in 1856, after the death of his first wife, and settled in Janesville, in Rock County.[1] He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Janesville, where he would form a law partnership with David Noggle and Henry A. Patterson.

He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1868 and re-elected in 1870. He was chosen as President pro tempore of the Senate for the 1871 and 1872 sessions.[2] He was also a presidential elector for Ulysses S. Grant in the 1868 United States presidential election.[3]

In 1872, Williams was elected to represent Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, and was subsequently re-elected four times, serving from March 4, 1873, until March 3, 1883. In the 47th Congress (1881-1883), he served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

He was defeated in the 1882 election while seeking a sixth term in Congress. After his defeat, he was appointed register of the land office for the Dakota Territory, and moved to Watertown, Dakota Territory, where he remained for the rest of his life. He died there on March 30, 1892.[4]

He was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Personal life and family

His first wife, Harriet Gregg, died in 1856.

His second wife was Mary M. Noggle, daughter Judge David Noggle, his early law partner and one of the founding fathers of Janesville. They had a daughter, Kate Anna Williams (born 1861), and a son, Ward David Williams (born September 4, 1864, and died March 28, 1926, in Baltimore, Maryland).

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1868, 1870)

Wisconsin Senate, 17th District Election, 1870[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 1870
Republican Charles G. Williams 3,402 75.05%
Independent Republican E. P. King 1,131 24.95%
Plurality 2,271 50.10%
Total votes 4,533 100.0%
Republican hold

U.S. House of Representatives (1872, 1874, 1876)

Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1872[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 5, 1872
Republican Charles G. Williams 15,666 62.55% +20.03%
Liberal Republican Ithamar Sloan 9,380 37.45%
Plurality 6,286 25.10% +10.14%
Total votes 25,046 100.0% -13.06%
Republican gain from Democratic
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1874[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1874
Republican Charles G. Williams (incumbent) 12,568 56.87% −5.68%
Democratic Nicholas D. Fratt 9,532 43.13%
Plurality 3,036 13.74% -11.36%
Total votes 22,100 100.0% -11.76%
Republican hold
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1876[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 7, 1876
Republican Charles G. Williams (incumbent) 18,206 59.33% +2.47%
Democratic H. G. Winslow 12,478 40.67%
Plurality 5,728 18.67% +4.93%
Total votes 30,684 100.0% +38.84%
Republican hold

U.S. House of Representatives (1878, 1880, 1882)

Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1878[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 5, 1878
Republican Charles G. Williams (incumbent) 14,629 59.52% +0.19%
Greenback Charles H. Parker 9,949 40.48%
Plurality 4,680 19.04% +0.37%
Total votes 30,684 100.0% -19.90%
Republican hold
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1880[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 2, 1880
Republican Charles G. Williams (incumbent) 19,014 61.74% +2.22%
Democratic Clinton Babbitt 11,782 38.26%
Plurality 7,232 23.48% +4.44%
Total votes 30,796 100.0% +25.30%
Republican hold
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District Election, 1882[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 7, 1882
Democratic John Winans 12,307 46.66% +8.40%
Republican Charles G. Williams (incumbent) 11,853 44.94% −16.81%
Prohibition Charles M. Blackman 2,207 8.37%
Greenback William L. Utley 10 0.04%
Scattering 1 0.00%
Plurality 454 1.72% -21.76%
Total votes 26,378 100.0% -14.35%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing 25.20%

References

  1. ^ a b "Williams, Charles Grandison (1829-1892)". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2019). "Statistics and Reference: Historical lists" (PDF). Wisconsin Blue Book 2019-2020 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 486–487. ISBN 978-1-7333817-0-3. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Official Vote of the State on Presidential Electors". Semi-Weekly Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. December 5, 1868. p. 1. Retrieved July 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Paid Loving Tribute to Hon. C. G. Williams". Janesville Daily Gazette. Janesville, Wisconsin. April 2, 1892. p. 4. Retrieved July 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Official Directory: Wisconsin Legislature". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. 1871. p. 367. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  6. ^ Turner, A. J., ed. (1874). "Official Directory: Congressional Delegation". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 444. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  7. ^ Bashford, R. M., ed. (1876). "Official Directory: Congressional Delegation". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 446. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  8. ^ Bashford, R. M., ed. (1878). "Official Directory: Members of Congress". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 450–451. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Warner, Hans B., ed. (1880). "Biographical Sketches: Members of Congress". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 491–492. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  10. ^ Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Biographical Sketches: Members of Congress". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 521. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  11. ^ Heg, J. E., ed. (1883). "Election Statistics". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 521. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 17th district
1869 – 1873 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President pro tempore of the Wisconsin Senate
1871 – 1873 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district
March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1883 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883 		Succeeded by