Samuel Cole Williams
Encyclopedia
Samuel Cole Williams was a noted 19th and 20th century Tennessee
jurist, historian, educator, and businessman.
. At the urging of family friend Horace Lurton, later a U. S. Supreme Court Justice, Williams pursued law training. He attended Vanderbilt University
's School of Law and graduated in June 1884. After a few years of legal practice in Jonesborough, Tennessee
Williams moved to Johnson City, Tennessee
in 1892.
Williams joined politician Walter P. Brownlow
in forming Watauga Light and Power Company and the Johnson City Transit Company (Johnson City Streetcar Company). In conjunction with John Cox he established the Banking and Trust Company which later became Unaka National Bank, Tennessee National Bank, and finally Hamilton National Bank. Judge Williams also had interests in Empire Chair Company and the John Sevier
Hotel.
. The next year he was elected to the court for a four year term. He was re-elected in 1918. He left the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve as first dean of the Lamar School of Law (also known as Emory University School of Law
) at, Emory University
, Atlanta, Georgia
from 1919 to 1924.
He was appointed to codify the laws of Tennessee in 1928 and again in 1938. His eight volume work, Williams Annotated Code of Tennessee, commonly known as "The Williams Code", became a model for other state revisions.
", at Johnson City, Tennessee
. The house, named after a Cherokee
word for "resting place" was modeled after a Maryland colonial home Williams had visited. His personal library was fashioned after the design of Sir Walter Scott's study at Abbotsford House
. The home is named on both the Tennessee Historical Register and the National Register of Historic Places
.
In his later years he devoted much of his time to writing. His history texts and articles carried his personal, if wordy, enthusiastic style which helped to popularize local history studies. Tennessee Governor Prentice Cooper
appointed him to head the rejuvenated Tennessee Historical Commission
in 1941. In that position he founded publications and arranged the 1944 purchase of a Johnson City farm which became the Tipton-Haynes Historic Site. During these years Williams founded the East Tennessee Historical Society and was also in part responsible for providing the land and financing of the public library in Johnson City named in memory of his son, Mayne Williams.
During his final years he helped prepare for the Tennessee Sesquicentennial in 1946 and was a member of the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure in the Federal Courts.
Judge Williams was an avid scholar and collector of Tennessee history and gave many items to libraries and museums. His papers are found in the East Tennessee State University
Archives of Appalachia, the University of Tennessee
's Frank H. McClung Museum
and in the Archives of Emory University
.
He died December 14, 1947.
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...
jurist, historian, educator, and businessman.
Early life
Samuel C. Williams was born January 15, 1864 near Humboldt, TennesseeHumboldt, Tennessee
Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 8,452 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1,015 in 2000. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Jackson,...
. At the urging of family friend Horace Lurton, later a U. S. Supreme Court Justice, Williams pursued law training. He attended Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
's School of Law and graduated in June 1884. After a few years of legal practice in Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The population was 4,168 at the 2000 census...
Williams moved to Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
in 1892.
Williams joined politician Walter P. Brownlow
Walter P. Brownlow
Walter P. Brownlow served Tennessee's First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1896 until 1910. Amazingly, a century after his service, the legacy established by Brownlow's Congressional work remains important in the First District...
in forming Watauga Light and Power Company and the Johnson City Transit Company (Johnson City Streetcar Company). In conjunction with John Cox he established the Banking and Trust Company which later became Unaka National Bank, Tennessee National Bank, and finally Hamilton National Bank. Judge Williams also had interests in Empire Chair Company and the John Sevier
John Sevier
John Sevier served four years as the only governor of the State of Franklin and twelve years as Governor of Tennessee. As a U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1811 until his death...
Hotel.
Government and public service
In 1912 he became Chancellor of First Chancery Division of Tennessee. In 1913 he was appointed to complete a vacated seat on the Tennessee Supreme CourtTennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the state of Tennessee. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the...
. The next year he was elected to the court for a four year term. He was re-elected in 1918. He left the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve as first dean of the Lamar School of Law (also known as Emory University School of Law
Emory University School of Law
Emory University School of Law is a first-tier US law school that is part of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. It is ranked #30 among ABA-approved law schools by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report...
) at, Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
from 1919 to 1924.
He was appointed to codify the laws of Tennessee in 1928 and again in 1938. His eight volume work, Williams Annotated Code of Tennessee, commonly known as "The Williams Code", became a model for other state revisions.
Historian and writer
In 1925 Judge Williams retired to his home, "AquoneAquone
Aquone is the name of the colonial revival home of Samuel Cole Williams, noted Tennessee jurist and historian. Located in Johnson City, Tennessee, the home is listed with the National Register of Historic Places....
", at Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
. The house, named after a Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
word for "resting place" was modeled after a Maryland colonial home Williams had visited. His personal library was fashioned after the design of Sir Walter Scott's study at Abbotsford House
Abbotsford House
Abbotsford is a historic house in the region of the Scottish Borders in the south of Scotland, near Melrose, on the south bank of the River Tweed. It was formerly the residence of historical novelist and poet, Walter Scott...
. The home is named on both the Tennessee Historical Register and the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
In his later years he devoted much of his time to writing. His history texts and articles carried his personal, if wordy, enthusiastic style which helped to popularize local history studies. Tennessee Governor Prentice Cooper
Prentice Cooper
William Prentice Cooper was an American politician and Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945.-Life and career:A native of Bedford County, Tennessee, he attended Vanderbilt University and then Harvard University...
appointed him to head the rejuvenated Tennessee Historical Commission
Tennessee Historical Commission
The Tennessee Historical Commission is a Tennessee state government agency, a division of the Department of Environment and Conservation, that has missions related to the state's history and historic preservation....
in 1941. In that position he founded publications and arranged the 1944 purchase of a Johnson City farm which became the Tipton-Haynes Historic Site. During these years Williams founded the East Tennessee Historical Society and was also in part responsible for providing the land and financing of the public library in Johnson City named in memory of his son, Mayne Williams.
During his final years he helped prepare for the Tennessee Sesquicentennial in 1946 and was a member of the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure in the Federal Courts.
Judge Williams was an avid scholar and collector of Tennessee history and gave many items to libraries and museums. His papers are found in the East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University is an accredited American university located in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is part of the Tennessee Board of Regents system of colleges and universities, the nation's sixth largest system of public education, and is the fourth largest university in the state...
Archives of Appalachia, the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
's Frank H. McClung Museum
Frank H. McClung Museum
The Frank H. McClung Museum is a general museum located on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Built in 1963, exhibits focus on natural history, archeology, anthropology, decorative arts, and local history...
and in the Archives of Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
.
He died December 14, 1947.
Works
- History of the Lost State of FranklinState of FranklinThe State of Franklin, known also as the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland , was an unrecognized autonomous United States territory created in 1784 from part of the territory west of the Appalachian Mountains that had been offered,...
(1924) - Lieut. Henry Timberlake's Memoirs, 1756-1765 (editor, 1927)
- Early Travels in the Tennessee Country, 1540-1800 (1928)
- Adair's History of the American Indians (editor, 1930) (see James Adair (historian)James Adair (historian)James Adair was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, who came to North America, and became a trader with the Native Americans of the southern states...
) - Beginnings of West Tennessee: In the Land of the Chickasaws, 1541-1841 (1930)
- General John T. WilderJohn T. WilderJohn Thomas Wilder was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As an industrialist, he was instrumental in developing the natural resources of the State of Tennessee.-Early life and career:...
, Commander of the Lightning Brigade (1936) - Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History (1937)
- History of Johnson City and its Environs (1940)
- Phases of Southwest Territory History (1940)
- The Lincolns and Tennessee (1942)
- Tennessee During the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
(1944) - Phases of the History of the Supreme Court of Tennessee (1944)
- The Admission of Tennessee into the Union (1945)
- William Tatham, Wataugan (1947)
External links
- Johnson's Depot - The History of Johnson City, Tennessee - Relocation Guide at www.johnsonsdepot.com Johnson's Depot History Site
- History of the Lost State of Franklin by Samuel Cole Williams at www.overmtn.com Review of Williams' History of the Lost State of Franklin
- Finding Aid : 0 : Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Library at marbl.library.emory.edu Williams Papers at Emory
- JUDGE SAMUEL C. WILLIAMS COLLECTION at www.etsu.edu Williams Papers at ETSU
- Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site : Home of Col. John Tipton, Landon Carter Haynes, and John Tipton, Jr : Located in Johnson City, TN at www.tipton-haynes.org Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site
- Historical Commission Page at www.vic.com Tennessee Historical Commission