Jeremiah Norman Williams (May 29, 1829 – May 8, 1915) was a two-term Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. His election marked the return of Democratic control of the Alabama's 2nd congressional district

Alabama's 2nd congressional district

Alabama's 2nd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives...

, after a brief period of Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 control during the early years of Reconstruction.

Biography

Williams was born May 29, 1829 near Louisville, Alabama

Louisville, Alabama

Louisville is a town in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 612.-Geography:Louisville is located at 31°46'49.112" North, 85°33'26.629" West .According to the U.S...

, to Judge Stith and Euphemia Williams. After attending the preparatory schools of Barbour County

Barbour County, Alabama

Barbour County, Alabama is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of James Barbour, who served as Governor of Virginia. As of 2010 the population was 27,457. Its county seat is Clayton.-History:...

, he was graduated from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1852.

He studied law in Montgomery and Tuskegee and was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1855. He commenced practice in Clayton, Alabama

Clayton, Alabama

Clayton is a town in and the county seat of Barbour County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,475 at the 2000 census.-History:County Seat of Barbour County...

.

Civil War service

When the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 broke out he volunteered for service in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 and was made captain of the Clayton Guards, later becoming major of the First Regiment, Alabama Infantry, before resigning due to illness. During the war he married Mary Eliza Screws. Together they had five children.

Postbellum

After the war Williams was elected a member of the Alabama House of Representatives

Alabama House of Representatives

The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...

 in 1872, but was not allowed to take his seat.

In 1874 he was elected as a Democrat to represent Alabama's 2nd congressional district in the 44th United States Congress

44th United States Congress

The Forty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875 to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and...

. After redistricting

Redistricting

Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

, he won a second term representing Alabama's 3rd congressional district

Alabama's 3rd congressional district

Alabama's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It encompasses Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, and Tallapoosa counties...

 in the 45th United States Congress

45th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:-Leadership:-Senate:*President: William A. Wheeler *President pro tempore: Thomas W. Ferry -House of Representatives:*Speaker: Samuel J. Randall -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

. Williams served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department in the Forty-fifth Congress. He served two full terms, from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1879.

After leaving office he resumed his law practice in Clayton. He served as Chancellor of the third division of the chancery court

Chancery Court

The Chancery Court of York is an ecclesiastical court for the Province of York of the Church of England.The presiding officer, the Official Principal and Auditor, has been the same person as the Dean of the Arches since the nineteenth century . The Court comprises the Auditor, two clergy and two...

from 1893 to 1899. In 1901 he served as member of the State constitutional convention.

He died in Clayton on May 8, 1915, and was interred in the City Cemetery.