Benjamin Franklin Williams
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Benjamin Franklin Williams | |
|---|---|
| Texas State Representative from District 53 (Fort Bend and Waller Counties) | |
| In office January 13, 1885 – January 11, 1887 (died while in office) | |
| Preceded by | George W. Wyatt |
| Succeeded by | James Wesson Parker |
| Texas State Representative from District 37 (Fort Bend, Waller, and Wharton Counties) | |
| In office January 14, 1879 – January 11, 1881 | |
| Preceded by | Henry S. Sneed |
| Succeeded by | George W. Wyatt |
| Texas State Representative from District 25 (Colorado and Lavaca Counties) | |
| In office February 9, 1870 – January 14, 1873 | |
| Preceded by | Josiah Shaw |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1819 Virginia, USA |
| Died | 1886 (aged 66–67) |
| Resting place | Kendleton, Fort Bend County, Texas |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Caroline Williams |
| Children | Thomas Williams |
| Occupation | Clergyman |
Benjamin Franklin Williams (1819–1886) was a Methodist minister and Republican politician who served three terms in the Texas Legislature, served as a delegate to two Texas Constitutional Conventions, and helped found the freedmen's community of Kendleton.
Benjamin Franklin Williams was born into slavery in Brunswick County, Virginia in 1819, and brought to Colorado County, Texas in 1859.[1]
Work as a Methodist Minister
Following the American Civil War and news of emancipation reaching Texas, Benjamin Franklin Williams became active in Reconstruction Politics and the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Following emancipation, Williams became a Methodist minister, ultimately becoming the founding pastor of the Columbus’ Methodist Episcopal Church for freedmen. Some accounts also indicate Williams was presiding minister when Wesley Chapel Methodist Church, now Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, in Austin, was established on March 4, 1865.[2][3] Williams reportedly forbade blacks from attending his Austin church if they were not Republicans.[4]
Williams was both admitted to the Texas Mission Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church as a minister, “on trial,” and named the first pastor of the church that would become St. Paul's United Methodist Church of Columbus at the 1867 Annual Conference of the Texas Mission Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church June 3–5, 1867 in Houston.[5] He was listed as “remaining on trial,” in 1868.[6] In 1869, Williams was “admitted in to full connection,” as a minister with the Texas Mission Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[7]