Representative Benjamin Williams

Benjamin Williams (January 1, 1751 – July 20, 1814) was an American planter, Revolutionary War officer, legislator, member of the United States House of Representatives, and the 11th and 14th Governor of the State of North Carolina, serving from 1799 to 1802 and again from 1807 to 1808. He was the first of two North Carolina governors since the American Revolution to serve nonconsecutive terms. As a member of the United States Congress representing North Carolina, Benjamin Williams contributed to the legislative process during one term in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a formative period in American history.

Williams was born in Johnston County, North Carolina, on January 1, 1751. He became a farmer and planter, establishing himself in what would become a long-standing agricultural and political career in the state. On August 10, 1781, he married Elizabeth Jones; the couple had one son, also named Benjamin. Williams was active in civic and fraternal life and was a Mason, belonging to St. John’s Lodge in New Bern, North Carolina.

Williams’s public career began on the eve of the American Revolution. In 1774 he served as a member of the revolutionary convention in Johnston County, and he subsequently sat in the North Carolina Provincial Congress, which functioned as the revolutionary legislature, as well as serving two terms on the Provincial Council, the executive body of the revolutionary government. In 1775 he also served in the Province of North Carolina House of Burgesses, the last colonial legislature, reflecting his early involvement in both colonial and revolutionary political institutions.

During the Revolutionary War, Williams held a series of military commissions in North Carolina forces. In 1775 he was appointed to the 2nd North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Line, serving first as a lieutenant from 1775 to 1776 and then as a captain from 1776 to 1779. In the later stages of the conflict he served as lieutenant colonel or colonel in the Johnston County Regiment of North Carolina militia from 1780 to 1781, and as lieutenant colonel or colonel over the North Carolina State Regiment (State Troops) in 1781. He was promoted to the rank of colonel and saw active service, including participation in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781, one of the pivotal engagements of the Southern campaign.

Following the war, Williams embarked on a long legislative career at the state and national levels. Over the next three decades he served in both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly, holding seats in the state House of Commons and the state Senate at various times. At the federal level, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives from 1793 to 1795, representing North Carolina during the early years of the federal government under the Constitution. As a member of the Unknown Party representing North Carolina, Benjamin Williams contributed to the legislative process during this single term in Congress, participating in debates and votes that helped shape the young republic.

Williams also pursued the state’s highest executive office. He was a candidate in the 1792 North Carolina gubernatorial election, finishing fourth. In 1799 he was first elected governor by the North Carolina General Assembly to fill the unexpired term of Governor William R. Davie, who had resigned. Williams was then elected twice more to full one-year terms, serving continuously from 1799 to 1802. His tenure was governed by the provisions of the North Carolina Constitution of 1776, which limited governors to three one-year terms within any six-year period. During his time as governor he dealt with the administrative and political challenges of a growing state in the early national period.

After sitting out the required interval, Williams sought to return to the governorship. In 1805 he again offered himself as a candidate but was defeated by Nathaniel Alexander. In 1807, however, the General Assembly once more elected him governor, making him the 14th Governor of North Carolina and marking the beginning of his nonconsecutive second tenure. His final year in office was notable for his decision to pardon Congressman John Stanly, who had killed former Governor Richard Dobbs Spaight in a duel, an act that drew considerable public attention. In 1808 the General Assembly elected David Stone as governor, ending Williams’s gubernatorial career. Williams was elected one last time to the North Carolina Senate in 1809, after which he retired from active politics.

In his later years, Williams returned to his agricultural pursuits and private life. He died on July 20, 1814, and is buried in what is now Moore County, North Carolina. His residence, known as the “House in the Horseshoe,” located near the Deep River, later became a historic site and tourist attraction operated by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, preserving the memory of his role as a Revolutionary officer, legislator, congressman, and twice-serving governor of North Carolina.