Colonel in the Illinois militia, farmer, cooper, postmaster, and sometimes Baptist minister. Col. Williams was active in opposing the presence of the Mormans in Hancock County, Illinois during the 1840s.
He was indicted and tried, along with four others, for the June 27, 1844 murders of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith at the county jail in Carthage, Illinois. In May 1845, all five defendants were acquitted on all charges. Because of numerous conflicting witnesses testimony at trial Col. Williams' level of complicity by action or inaction was never clearly defined.
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford had placed Col. Williams and his company of "Carthage Greys" in charge of protecting the Smith brothers. The Smiths were being held without bail in the Carthage jail after voluntarily submitting to arrest. They were charged with inciting a riot that destroyed a Nauvoo newspaper published by fellow Mormon William Law who opposed polygamy and Joseph Smith's growing theocratic power.
On that fateful summer evening, while the "Greys" were encamped nearby, an armed mob of some 200 blackened-faced men overwhelmed the eight guards in the jail and murdered the Smiths in a "tornado of lead". The "Greys" arrived at the jail as the mob fled the scene and no attempt was made to apprehend any of the fleeing men.
In his early years, Levi Williams was a veteran of the War of 1812, and is a direct descendant of numerous veterans of the American Revolutionary War who served in Virginia.
By the early 1830s, Williams and his wife (Mary "Polly" Reid), and their three sons John Reid Williams, Henry Clay Williams and Rice Williams had moved from Kentucky to Hancock County, Illinois settling southeast of Warsaw in the little town of Green Plains.
Levi Williams was twice chosen as the County Commissioner of Roads and was commissioned as a Captain in the 59th Regiment of the Illinois Militia in 1835. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Illinois militia and assumed the position of Commanding Officer of the 59th Regiment in 1840 when he was promoted to Colonel. In his later years, he served as Postmaster for Green Plains and died in 1860 as a respected member of the community.
He and his wife are buried in the extreme southwest corner of Green Plains Cemetery which lies a half mile north of the former location of the village of Green Plains.
He was indicted and tried, along with four others, for the June 27, 1844 murders of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith at the county jail in Carthage, Illinois. In May 1845, all five defendants were acquitted on all charges. Because of numerous conflicting witnesses testimony at trial Col. Williams' level of complicity by action or inaction was never clearly defined.
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford had placed Col. Williams and his company of "Carthage Greys" in charge of protecting the Smith brothers. The Smiths were being held without bail in the Carthage jail after voluntarily submitting to arrest. They were charged with inciting a riot that destroyed a Nauvoo newspaper published by fellow Mormon William Law who opposed polygamy and Joseph Smith's growing theocratic power.
On that fateful summer evening, while the "Greys" were encamped nearby, an armed mob of some 200 blackened-faced men overwhelmed the eight guards in the jail and murdered the Smiths in a "tornado of lead". The "Greys" arrived at the jail as the mob fled the scene and no attempt was made to apprehend any of the fleeing men.
In his early years, Levi Williams was a veteran of the War of 1812, and is a direct descendant of numerous veterans of the American Revolutionary War who served in Virginia.
By the early 1830s, Williams and his wife (Mary "Polly" Reid), and their three sons John Reid Williams, Henry Clay Williams and Rice Williams had moved from Kentucky to Hancock County, Illinois settling southeast of Warsaw in the little town of Green Plains.
Levi Williams was twice chosen as the County Commissioner of Roads and was commissioned as a Captain in the 59th Regiment of the Illinois Militia in 1835. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Illinois militia and assumed the position of Commanding Officer of the 59th Regiment in 1840 when he was promoted to Colonel. In his later years, he served as Postmaster for Green Plains and died in 1860 as a respected member of the community.
He and his wife are buried in the extreme southwest corner of Green Plains Cemetery which lies a half mile north of the former location of the village of Green Plains.
Colonel in the Illinois militia, farmer, cooper, postmaster, and sometimes Baptist minister. Col. Williams was active in opposing the presence of the Mormans in Hancock County, Illinois during the 1840s.
He was indicted and tried, along with four others, for the June 27, 1844 murders of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith at the county jail in Carthage, Illinois. In May 1845, all five defendants were acquitted on all charges. Because of numerous conflicting witnesses testimony at trial Col. Williams' level of complicity by action or inaction was never clearly defined.
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford had placed Col. Williams and his company of "Carthage Greys" in charge of protecting the Smith brothers. The Smiths were being held without bail in the Carthage jail after voluntarily submitting to arrest. They were charged with inciting a riot that destroyed a Nauvoo newspaper published by fellow Mormon William Law who opposed polygamy and Joseph Smith's growing theocratic power.
On that fateful summer evening, while the "Greys" were encamped nearby, an armed mob of some 200 blackened-faced men overwhelmed the eight guards in the jail and murdered the Smiths in a "tornado of lead". The "Greys" arrived at the jail as the mob fled the scene and no attempt was made to apprehend any of the fleeing men.
In his early years, Levi Williams was a veteran of the War of 1812, and is a direct descendant of numerous veterans of the American Revolutionary War who served in Virginia.
By the early 1830s, Williams and his wife (Mary "Polly" Reid), and their three sons John Reid Williams, Henry Clay Williams and Rice Williams had moved from Kentucky to Hancock County, Illinois settling southeast of Warsaw in the little town of Green Plains.
Levi Williams was twice chosen as the County Commissioner of Roads and was commissioned as a Captain in the 59th Regiment of the Illinois Militia in 1835. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Illinois militia and assumed the position of Commanding Officer of the 59th Regiment in 1840 when he was promoted to Colonel. In his later years, he served as Postmaster for Green Plains and died in 1860 as a respected member of the community.
He and his wife are buried in the extreme southwest corner of Green Plains Cemetery which lies a half mile north of the former location of the village of Green Plains.
He was indicted and tried, along with four others, for the June 27, 1844 murders of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith at the county jail in Carthage, Illinois. In May 1845, all five defendants were acquitted on all charges. Because of numerous conflicting witnesses testimony at trial Col. Williams' level of complicity by action or inaction was never clearly defined.
Illinois Governor Thomas Ford had placed Col. Williams and his company of "Carthage Greys" in charge of protecting the Smith brothers. The Smiths were being held without bail in the Carthage jail after voluntarily submitting to arrest. They were charged with inciting a riot that destroyed a Nauvoo newspaper published by fellow Mormon William Law who opposed polygamy and Joseph Smith's growing theocratic power.
On that fateful summer evening, while the "Greys" were encamped nearby, an armed mob of some 200 blackened-faced men overwhelmed the eight guards in the jail and murdered the Smiths in a "tornado of lead". The "Greys" arrived at the jail as the mob fled the scene and no attempt was made to apprehend any of the fleeing men.
In his early years, Levi Williams was a veteran of the War of 1812, and is a direct descendant of numerous veterans of the American Revolutionary War who served in Virginia.
By the early 1830s, Williams and his wife (Mary "Polly" Reid), and their three sons John Reid Williams, Henry Clay Williams and Rice Williams had moved from Kentucky to Hancock County, Illinois settling southeast of Warsaw in the little town of Green Plains.
Levi Williams was twice chosen as the County Commissioner of Roads and was commissioned as a Captain in the 59th Regiment of the Illinois Militia in 1835. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Illinois militia and assumed the position of Commanding Officer of the 59th Regiment in 1840 when he was promoted to Colonel. In his later years, he served as Postmaster for Green Plains and died in 1860 as a respected member of the community.
He and his wife are buried in the extreme southwest corner of Green Plains Cemetery which lies a half mile north of the former location of the village of Green Plains.
Inscription
LEVI WILLIAMS
DIED
NOV 27, 1860
AGED
66 Y. 7 M. 9 D.
