William W. Williams was born on August 25, 1835, in Ohio to William and Margaret Williams. His parents were Welsh immigrants, and his father earned a living as a farmer. He grew up and attended school in Troy, Ohio.
He supported the Democratic Party in the 1850s, but he voted for Republican candidate John C. Frémont in the presidential election of 1856. As he later explained, he believed that Democratic candidate James Buchanan “was for the extension of slavery” and therefore “did not vote for him.” He supported Democratic candidate Stephen Douglas in the election of 1860. Four years later, however, he cast his ballot for Abraham Lincoln’s reelection.
He corresponded with
Eliza R. Lewis throughout the Civil War, and the couple got married around 1865. They had at least two children: Eliza, born around 1869; and William, born around 1877. They lived in Troy, and Williams worked as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $8,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. He travelled to England and France in 1870. His passport that year described him as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with “light, sandy” hair and light blue eyes. Williams died on February 17, 1907.