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 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]

Charles G. Williams
Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
In office March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Samuel S. Cox
Succeeded by	Andrew Gregg Curtin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 1st district
In office March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Alexander Mitchell
Succeeded by	John Winans
President pro tempore of the Wisconsin Senate
In office January 1, 1871 – January 1, 1873
Preceded by	David Taylor
Succeeded by	Henry L. Eaton
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 17th district
In office January 1, 1869 – January 1, 1873
Preceded by	S. J. Todd
Succeeded by	Horatio N. Davis
Personal details
Born	(1829-10-18)October 18, 1829 Royalton, New York
Died	March 30, 1892(1892-03-30) (aged 62) Watertown, South Dakota
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery Janesville, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Harriet Gregg (died 1856) Mary Anna Noggle (died 1910)
Children	Kate Anna Williams (born 1861) Ward David Williams (b. 1864; died 1926)
Signature

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%