Charles G. Williams

Charles Grandison Williams (October 18, 1829 – March 30, 1892) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Janesville, Wisconsin. He served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1873 to 1883. He was chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the 47th Congress. Before his election to Congress, he represented Rock County for four years in the Wisconsin Senate, and was president pro tempore of the Senate for the 1871 and 1872 terms.

Biography

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. He was also a presidential elector for Ulysses S. Grant in the 1868 United States presidential election.

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.

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 Anna Noggle, daughter Judge David Noggle, his early law partner and one of the founding fathers of Janesville. They had a daughter, Kate Anna Williams (1861–1924), and a son, Ward David Williams (1864–1926).

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1868, 1870)

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

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