He was a member of the
Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Society in 1854. (The Emigrant Aid Society financed the settlement in
Kansas Territory of farmers opposed to slavery as an attempt to prevent Kansas from being settled by slave owners.) Williams served as member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1856, and the
Massachusetts State Senate in 1858. Williams was elected as a
Republican to the
Forty-third Congress (March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875). He was defeated for reelection in 1874 to the
Forty-fourth Congress, and resumed his former business pursuits. == Death ==