Sampson Williams

Sampson Williams (December 2, 1762 - February 1, 1841) was a lawmaker, militia captain, farmer, and prominent settler of the area now known as Jackson County.McBride, Robert and Dan M. Robison. Biographical Directory of the Tennessee General Assembly, Volume I: 1796-1861. Nashville: The Tennessee State Library and Archives, and the Tennessee Historical Commission, 1975.
==Early life==
Williams was born December 2, 1762 in the Laurens District of South Carolina, the son of Daniel and Ann (Echols) Williams."Finding Aid for the Sampson Williams Letter MS.1959." Web. Accessed 31 January 2018. In his youth, he had little in the way of formal education. As a young man, he served in the Revolutionary War.
==Relocation to Tennessee==
=== Davidson County ===
Sampson and his father Daniel were among a group of South Carolinians who emigrated to the Cumberland Settlements (now known as Nashville) in 1779. On Christmas Day of that year, they crossed the iced-over Cumberland River (that winter was unusually cold) and built cabins atop the bluff overlooking the river. On May 1, 1780, the two Sampsons joined their neighbors in signing the Cumberland Compact, an attempt to establish a government in the wilderness area.
In 1784, the North Carolina legislature granted him 640 acres in Middle Tennessee for "defending the country through all its dangers". In 1790 he was elected Sheriff of Davidson County. Williams operated a ferry across the Cumberland River beginning in 1791, and was authorized by Governor Blount to raise men to defend the crossing the following year. He also served as a Justice of the Peace.
=== Jackson County ===
In 1793, he acquired a 220-acre tract of land along the Cumberland River in what is now Jackson County (then Sumner County), which he farmed. On May 10, 1797, Williams was commissioned a captain in the state militia's Sumner County unit, along with his brother Oliver. They were both stationed at Fort Blount, adjacent to the Williams farm on the Cumberland. As a member of the militia, Sampson Williams was involved in several campaigns against the Creek Indians in Middle Tennessee, during which he became friends with future President Andrew Jackson.
The militia presence at Fort Blount did not last long. Williams unsuccessfully lobbied his friend (then serving as a U.S. Senator) Andrew Jackson to prevent the Federal Government from removing the garrison and making the fort a trading post, arguing that the Cherokee were still a threat, being provoked by numerous settler violations of treaties signed with the tribe.
Sometime before 1806, Williams joined with Moses Fisk to donate land for the establishment of Hilham College, in present-day Overton County. He served as a trustee for the institution which in 1806 was renamed Fisk Female Academy.
== Family ==
Sampson Williams married Margaret Young (February 7, 1780 - June 19, 1852), also of South Carolina. They had the following children:
# Oliver D. Williams: Born 1817 in Jackson County, TN. Married Asametta M. Hudson (1822 - ?) August 14, 1851. Died sometime before 1874 in Tennessee.
# Margaret Y. Williams: Born July 14, 1818 in Tennessee. Married Andrew McClellan (1812 - September 1, 1850). Died August 22, 1859.
# Daniel Williams: Born in Tennessee.
# Jefferson Williams: Born in Tennessee. Died sometime before 1874 in Tennessee.
# Elizabeth Williams: Born in Tennessee. Married a Johnson. Died sometime before 1874 in Tennessee.Pierce, Bob. "Daniel Williams of Davidson Co., Tennessee." Web. Accessed 31 January 2018. 
== Williamsburg ==
In recognition of Sampson Williams' prominence as a leading citizen of that section, when Jackson County was erected by the state legislature, its county seat was named Williamsburg, and located at Smith Bend where his farm and ferry were.
In 1817, the county seat was relocated to Gainesborough, and the Williams family moved into the former courthouse.
==Legislative service==
Sampson Williams was elected to the state Senate three times.
===3rd General Assembly===
In the Senate, Williams represented a district composed of just Sumner County from 1799 to 1801.
===6th General Assembly===
In the Senate, Williams represented a district composed of Jackson, Smith, Sumner, and Wilson counties from 1805 to 1807.
===9th General Assembly===
In the Senate, Williams represented a district composed of Franklin, Jackson, Overton, Smith, Warren, and White counties from 1811 to 1813.
==Later life and death==
Sampson Williams died February 1, 1841 in Jackson County. He was buried in the family cemetery near his home at the town of Williamsburg.
==References==
Category:Smith County State Senators
Category:Sumner County State Senators
Category:Jackson County State Senators
Category:Wilson County State Senators
Category:Franklin County State Senators
Category:Overton County State Senators
Category:Warren County State Senators
Category:White County State Senators
Category:Jackson County settlers
Category:Law enforcement officers
Category:State militia members
Category:People born in South Carolina
Category:Fisk Female Academy
Category:Revolutionary War veterans