Israel Williams was born on November 30, 1709 in Hatfield, Massachussets, the son of the Rev. William Williams and the great-grandson of Robert Williams who emigrated to Roxbury, Massachussets, from Norfolk County, England, in 1637. Elisha Williams was a half-brother, Ephraim Williams, a cousin, and William Williams, 1731-1811, a nephew. His mother is said to have been Christian, the daughter of Solomon Stoddard of Northampton and the aunt of Jonathan Edwards and Joseph Hawley.
He graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1727, where his father graduated in 1683.
He returned to Hatfield, became a selectman in 1732 and was reëlected annually until 1763. Amassing considerable wealth through trading, farming, and land speculation, he was able by the middle of the century to build a great house at Hatfield and to own one of the few wheeled carriages in that section of the province.
His influence in arousing enmity against his cousin, both in Northampton and among the ministry of Hampshire County, was important in Jonathan Edwards' dismissal from the Northampton church in 1750.
In 1744 Williams became second in command of the militia of Hampshire County and four years later was made colonel of the county's regiment. Throughout the French and Indian War he was responsible for the defense of western Massachusetts, a work in which he was distinguished for ability and foresight, although his tactlessness and arrogance made him unpopular with his fellow officers. Meanwhile he was winning recognition in the civil service of the county and province.
He was long a justice of the peace and clerk of the county court, while from 1758 to 1774 he was a judge of the Hampshire County court of common pleas. He represented Hatfield in the Massachusetts legislature, with but few interruptions, from 1733 to 1773 and was a member of the governor's council from 1761 to 1767. The years gave him complete political power in his county so that he was called the "monarch of Hampshire"; at Boston he was a supporter of the conservatives and for a decade or more before the Revolution was a close ally of Thomas Hutchinson. But, as in military matters, his autocratic, domineering manner did not make for popularity and, added to his haughtiness and conservatism, caused him to lose political influence in Hampshire County to his more radical cousin, Joseph Hawley.
In 1762 he sought to found a college in the Connecticut Valley, but, largely through the opposition of Harvard College, the attempt was frustrated, although Gov. Francis Bernard was at first ready to grant a charter. Later, as executor under the will of Ephraim Williams, he was instrumental in founding the "free school" that became Williams College. With the approach of the Revolution Williams was forced into political retirement.
In August 1774 he was made a mandamus councillor but never took the oath.
In 1777 Williams spent several months in jail for his Loyalism and was deprived of his citizenship until 1780. Thereafter he lived quietly in Hatfield until his death.
About 1731 he married Sarah, the daughter of John Chester of Wethersfield, Connecticut. They had seven or eight children.
