Thomas Williams was born in
Mayville, Wisconsin, in March 1849. As a child, his parents moved from Mayville to the town of
Portland, Dodge County, Wisconsin, in 1853, and then to the town of
Dell Prairie, Wisconsin, in
Adams County, in 1856. They finally moved to
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1863, when Thomas was 14 years old. He attended high school in Eau Claire, and then attended
Cornell University for three years. In 1873, he moved to the neighboring city of
Augusta, Wisconsin, where he served as superintendent of schools for eleven years. He moved back to
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1883 and opened a furniture store. He was elected to the
Wisconsin State Assembly in 1884, and represented Eau Claire County in the
37th Wisconsin Legislature. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1886. He moved to
Aurora, Nebraska, in 1888. After a period of poor health, Williams planned a trip to
California to try to improve his condition. He died at
Fontana, California, in January 1931. ==Personal life and family==