James Williams was a Republican politician in the U.S. State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 who was in the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

, and was Ohio State Auditor

Ohio State Auditor

The Ohio State Auditor is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Dave Yost....

 1872–1880.

James Williams was born in Prince Georges County, Maryland, and moved with his family to Mechanicsburg

Mechanicsburg, Ohio

Mechanicsburg is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,744 at the 2000 census.Mechanicsburg laid out in 1814 on the site of the Shawnee Indian Village of Chief Ohito...

, Champaign County, Ohio

Champaign County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,890 people, 14,952 households, and 10,870 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 15,890 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...

 in 1831. He was educated, studied medicine, and was admitted to practice in 1843. In 1849, he caught Gold Fever, and went to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

When Williams returned to Champaign County in 1851, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives for the 50th General Assembly in 1852–1853.

In 1856, Williams went to the State Capitol in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 with Ohio State Auditor Francis M. Wright, and served for sixteen years as clerk, chief clerk and deputy in the office. He was elected as State Auditor in 1871 and re-elected in 1875, serving eight years.

Williams died at his home in Mechanicsburg in November, 1892.