Thomas Hickman Williams (January 20, 1801 May 3, 1851) was a United States Senator from Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. Born in Williamson County, Tennessee

Williamson County, Tennessee

Williamson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010 US Census, the population was 183,182. The County's seat is Franklin, and it is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is named after Hugh Williamson, a...

, he attended the common schools, moved to Mississippi and settled in Pontotoc County

Pontotoc County, Mississippi

-National protected area:* Natchez Trace Parkway * Tombigbee National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 26,726 people, 10,097 households, and 7,562 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 10,816 housing units at an...

, and engaged in planting. He was appointed and subsequently elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James F. Trotter

James F. Trotter

James Fisher Trotter was a United States Senator from Mississippi.Born in Brunswick County, Virginia, he moved to eastern Tennessee, attended private schools, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1820 and commenced practice in Hamilton, Mississippi in 1823...

 and served from November 12, 1838, to March 3, 1839. After his time in the Senate he was secretary and treasurer of the University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...

 at Oxford

Oxford, Mississippi

Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....

from 1845 to 1851m and was known as "Father of the State University," being the first to propose it and also aiding to secure it.

Williams died on his plantation south of Pontotoc in 1851; interment was in the private cemetery on the family estate.