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Charles K. Williams

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American judge

Charles K. Williams
20th Governor of Vermont
In office
October 11, 1850 – October 1, 1852
LieutenantRobert Pierpoint
Preceded byCarlos Coolidge
Succeeded byErastus Fairbanks
Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office
1833–1845
Preceded byTitus Hutchinson
Succeeded byStephen Royce
United States Collector of Customs for the District of Vermont
In office
1826–1829
Preceded byJames Fisk
Succeeded byArchibald W. Hyde
Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office
1822–1824
Preceded byWilliam Brayton
Succeeded byAsa Aikens
State's Attorney of Rutland County, Vermont
In office
1814–1815
Preceded byRollin Carolas Mallary
Succeeded byRollin Carolas Mallary
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Rutland Town, Vermont
In office
1820–1822
Preceded byRobert Pierpoint
Succeeded byEdmund Douglass
In office
1814–1816
Preceded byJames D. Butler
Succeeded byWilliam Denison
In office
1811–1812
Preceded byChauncey Thrall
Succeeded byJames D. Butler
In office
1809–1810
Preceded byEzekiel Porter
Succeeded byChauncey Thrall
Personal details
Born(1782-01-24)January 24, 1782
Cambridge, Massachusetts
DiedMarch 9, 1853(1853-03-09) (aged 71)
Rutland, Vermont
Political partyWhig
Other political
affiliations		Liberty
SpouseLucy Langdon
Children9
EducationWilliams College
ProfessionLawyer
Signature

Charles Kilbourne Williams (January 24, 1782 – March 9, 1853) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1834 to 1846 and as 20th governor of Vermont from 1850 to 1852.

Biography

Williams was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Middlesex County to Samuel Williams and Jane Kilbourne Williams. He moved with his family to Rutland, Vermont in 1790. He graduated from Williams College in 1800. In 1834, he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Middlebury.

Williams was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives and served from 1809 to 1810, 1811 to 1812, 1814 to 1816, and 1820 to 1822. He served in the Vermont Militia as a major during the War of 1812. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and became commander of a division. He was again elected to the Vermont House of Representatives and served from 1814 to 1815, 1820 to 1821 and in 1849.

He served as Rutland County State's Attorney from 1814 to 1815, and as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1822 to 1823, succeeding William Brayton. He was Vermont's US Collector of Customs from 1826 to 1829. In 1827 he was State Commissioner for common schools. He served as chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1834 to 1845. Williams was the author of a precedent setting opinion on the unconstitutionality of legislative acts passed to nullify judicial decisions.

Williams ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Vermont in 1842 as an abolitionist candidate. He served as President of the Council of Censors in 1848. Elected as a Whig, Williams served as Governor of Vermont from 1850 to 1852. While in office, the Habeas Corpus Act was passed, showing the strong anti-slavery sentiments in Vermont. He was reelected in 1851 and did not seek reelection to a third one-year term in 1853.

He served as a Trustee of Middlebury College and as President of the Williams College Alumni Association.

Family life

Williams married Lucy Green Langdon, and they had nine children together.

Williams was the son in law of Congressman Chauncey Langdon.

Death

Williams died in Rutland on March 9, 1853, and is interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Rutland, Vermont.

References

  1. "Vermont Governor Charles Kilborn Williams". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  2. "Williams, Charles Kilborn (1782-1853)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  3. "Rutland County Selected County Officials". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  4. "Justices of the Supreme Court". Office of the Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  5. "The History of Rutland County". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  6. "Governor of Vermont". NDDB. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  7. "HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY". Middlebury College. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  8. "Langdon, Chauncey (1763-1830)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  9. "Evergreen Cemetery, Rutland". Vermont Old Cemetery Association. Retrieved November 13, 2017.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded byTitus Hutchinson Liberty nominee for Governor of Vermont
1842, 1843 		Succeeded byWilliam R. Shafter
Preceded byCarlos Coolidge Whig nominee for Governor of Vermont
1850, 1851 		Succeeded byErastus Fairbanks
Political offices
Preceded byCarlos Coolidge Governor of Vermont
1850–1852 		Succeeded byErastus Fairbanks
Governors of Vermont
Vermont Republic
(1777–1791)
State of Vermont
(since 1791)
Italics indicate acting governor
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