Samuel Williams (American politician)

Samuel Wardell Williams (February 7, 1851 – August 5, 1913) was an American judge who is best known for being the Populist Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in the election of 1908.[1]

Samuel Wardell Williams
Majority Leader of the
Indiana House of Representatives
In office
1885
Member of the
Indiana House of Representatives
from Knox County
In office
1882–1886
Personal details
Born(1851-02-07)February 7, 1851
Mount Carmel, Illinois, United States
DiedAugust 5, 1913(1913-08-05) (aged 62)
Vincennes, Indiana, United States
Political partyDemocrat
Populist

Biography

Williams was born in Mount Carmel, Illinois in 1851. At some point, he moved to Indiana and became a judge.

In 1904, he was one of the candidates for the Populist Party's nomination for President and served as chairman of the Populist Committee.[2] He came in third place at the convention, receiving 45 votes on the first ballot. Thomas E. Watson received 698 votes, and William V. Allen received 319.[3]

Williams served in the Indiana House of Representatives and was a Democrat at the time of his election to the Indiana General Assembly.[4][5]

In 1908, Williams was the vice presidential nominee of the Populist Party, running with Thomas E. Watson.[6][7] They received 28,862 votes (0.19%), performing best in Watson's home state of Georgia, where they received upwards of 12%.[8]

Williams died of appendicitis on August 5, 1913, in Vincennes, Indiana, at the age of 62. He is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery in Vincennes.[2][9]

References
  1. "Public Offices held by Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates". US Election Atlas. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  2. Thomas Edward Watson (1913). Watson's Magazine. Jeffersonian Pub. Co. p. 350.
  3. "US President - Pop Convention 1904". Our Campaigns. November 26, 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  4. 'Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the State Bar Association of Indiana 1914,' Harrington & Folger Press, Indianapolis, Indiana: 1914, Biographical Sketch of Samuel W. Williams, pg. 238
  5. "History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present; with Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc.; Together with an Extended History of the Colonial Days of Vincennes, and Its Progress Down to the Formation of the State Government". 1886.
  6. The Independent. Independent Corporation. 1908. p. 774.
  7. "S. W. Williams, Populist Leader, III" (PDF). The New York Times. December 26, 1909. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  8. Leip, David. "1908 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  9. "S. W. Williams Dies in Indiana". August 6, 1913. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Thomas Tibbles		 Populist Party Vice Presidential candidate
1908 (lost)		 Succeeded by
None
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