Guinn Terrell Williams (April 22, 1871 – January 9, 1948) was an American banker and politician. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he served in the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate is made up of 31 members, where eac ...

, and is most notable for his service as a

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Texas. His son was the actor

Guinn "Big Boy" Williams Guinn Terrell Williams Jr. (April 26, 1899 – June 6, 1962) was an American actor who appeared in memorable western (genre), Westerns such as ''Dodge City (film), Dodge City'' (1939), ''Santa Fe Trail (film), Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), and ''The ...

Early life

Born near

Beulah, Mississippi Beulah is a town in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 242. Beulah is served by Mississippi Highway 1. Lake Beulah, an oxbow lake formerly connected to the Mississippi River, is west of the tow ...

, Williams was the son of farmer and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

veteran William Washington Williams and Minerva Jane (Thompson) Williams. He moved with his parents to

Nocona, Texas Nocona is a city along U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 175 in Montague County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,002 at the 2020 census. History The city is named for Peta Nocona, the Comanche chief. The area was first known to ...

in 1876, and they soon relocated to Decatur in Wise County. He attended the public schools of Wise County, and then received his qualification as a school teacher. He taught for several terms, and attended Transylvania College in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

Start of career

After his 1890 graduation, Williams became active in ranching and farming, and also pursued a career in banking. After gaining his initial experience as cashier of the State National Bank in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, he was an incorporator of Decatur's City National Bank, and served as its vice president. His later ventures included establishing and serving as president of banks in cities and towns including

Mineral Wells Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto and Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 14,820 at the 2020 census. The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly popular in the early 1900s. History In 1919, ...

, Perrin,

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

, and

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

. A

, Williams served as Wise County Clerk from 1898 to 1902. In 1919, he was elected to the

, and he served from 1920 to 1922.

U.S. Congressman

In 1922, Williams was elected to the 67th Congress, filling the vacancy caused by the death of

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Lucian W. Parrish Lucian Walton "Father" Parrish (January 10, 1878 – March 27, 1922) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Texas, and a star college athlete and coach. Born in Sister Grove, near Van Alstyne, Texas, Parrish move ...

. He was reelected to the 68th Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, and served from May 22, 1922 to March 3, 1933. During his U.S. House tenure, Williams served on the Insular Affairs, Expenditures in the Executive Departments, and

Territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

committees. Williams was chairman of the Committee on Territories in the 72nd Congress. He was an advocate of independence for the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and statehood for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Later career

Williams did not run for reelection in 1932. After leaving the House in March 1933, he was appointed to manage the Regional Agricultural Credit Corporation in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...

. In addition, he was active with the Texas Production Credit Corporation, Texas Goat Raisers Association, and Texas Wool and Mohair Company.

Civic involvement

Williams was active in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

churches of Decatur and San Angelo, and was an officer of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers that commemorates these ancestors, funds and dedicates monuments to them, and promotes the pseudohisto ...

of Texas. He was also a 32nd degree Mason, and his Masonic activities included creating an educational fund that enabled six to ten male residents of the Masonic Orphanage in

to attend college each year.

Retirement and death

Williams died in

on January 9, 1948. He was interred in Decatur Cemetery in

Decatur, Texas Decatur is the county seat of Wise County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,538 in 2020. History Wise County was established in 1856, and Taylorsville (in honor of Zachary Taylor) was made the county seat. Absalom Bishop, an early s ...

Legacy

A street in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

is named for Williams in recognition of his work on the Committee on Territories.

Family

In 1893, Williams married Minnie Leatherwood (1873-1966). They were the parents of three daughters and one son, actor

References

Sources

Books

Internet

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Guinn 1871 births 1948 deaths Democratic Party Texas state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Methodists from Texas People from Bolivar County, Mississippi People from Decatur, Texas Members of Sons of Confederate Veterans 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives