John R Williams was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soldier, merchant, and politician who is most well known for serving as the first mayor of Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

. In total, he served as Detroit's mayor for five other terms. He also was a brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during the Black Hawk War

Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....

.

Early life

Born in Detroit, he was baptized as John Williams (he later adopted the ‘R’ in his name to distinguish himself from another John Williams who was living in Detroit at the time). Raised in his mother's French Canadien community, he spoke and wrote fluently in both French and English. Williams married Mary Mott in 1804, and the couple had ten children together. One of them, Thomas Williams

Thomas Williams (general)

Thomas R. Williams was an antebellum United States Army officer and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was killed as he commanded the Union troops at the Battle of Baton Rouge....

, would later be killed in action as a Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 general during 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...

.

Williams served in the Territorial Militia from 1796 to 1799 at Fort Marsac in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. Upon leaving the army, he returned to Detroit and joined his uncle, Joseph Campau, in his successful mercantile business. During the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, Williams again served in the militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

, this time as the captain of an artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 company.

Political life

After the end of the war, Williams was appointed Associate Justice of the County Court for Michigan in 1815. He went on to serve as a County Commissioner and Adjutant General of the Territory, and at his death was the senior Major General of the state militia. In 1824, Williams wrote the City Charter and served as the first official mayor of the City of Detroit. He was also elected and served as the fourth and thirteenth mayor in 1830 and 1844–1846, respectively. Besides serving as mayor, Williams was a landowner, merchant, and bank president during his lifetime. He served as one of the first trustees of the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

, was president of the Detroit Board of Education, and was a delegate to the first Michigan Constitutional Convention.

Williams died at the age of seventy-two on October 20, 1854. He is interred at Elmwood Cemetery

Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)

Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit is one of Michigan's most important historic cemeteries. Located at 1200 Elmwood Street in Detroit's Eastside Historic Cemetery District, Elmwood is the oldest continuously operating, non-denominational cemetery in Michigan...

 in Detroit.

Today, a street in Metro Detroit

Metro Detroit

The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit which shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area...

bears his name. "John R" Road was named while John R Williams was still living, atypical to the way most roads obtain their name. In fact, Williams gave the road its name himself.