Career
Southeast of Warsaw, in Green Plains, Williams became a farmer and a cooper. He also occasionally worked as a Baptist minister. Williams served as a county commissioner to establish roads.
In 1835, he was commissioned a captain in the 59th Regiment of the Illinois militia and in 1840 was commissioned colonel and commanding officer of the same regiment.
Williams was a veteran of the War of 1812, and was the son of a veteran of the American Revolutionary War who served in Virginia. At trial, Williams and four other defendants were acquitted by a jury of the murders. the old settlers had no chance".
Killing the Smiths, Williams claimed, "was the only way they could get rid of them."
Williams served as postmaster of Green Plains, Illinois, after his acquittal. He died of a stroke on November 20, 1860, at his farm in Green Plains.