Levi Williams (1794–1860) was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister and a member of the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. He was active in opposing the presence of the

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

s in

Hancock County, Illinois Hancock County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a population of 17,620. Its county seat is Carthage, Illinois, Carthage, and its largest city is H ...

, during the 1840s. He is one of five defendants who were tried and acquitted of the 1844

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

. In the early 1830s, Williams, his wife (Mary "Polly" Reid), and three sons John Reid Williams, Henry Clay Williams and Rice Williams moved from Kentucky to Hancock County, Illinois. Southeast of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, in Green Plains, Williams became a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

and a cooper. He also occasionally worked as a Baptist minister. Williams served as a county commissioner to establish roads. In 1835, he was commissioned a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 59th

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the Illinois militia and in 1840 was commissioned

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and commanding officer of the same regiment. Williams was a veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and was the son of a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

who served in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. When

s began settling in Hancock County in the late 1830s and early 1840s, Williams became a fierce opponent of their presence. In 1843, Williams led a militia that captured

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

Daniel Avery and his son and threatened them with guns and knives before releasing them in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Murder trial

After

and his brother Hyrum were killed at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844, Williams was accused of having ordered his 59th Regiment to take part in the storming of the jail. At trial, Williams and four other defendants were acquitted of the murders by a jury. According to "Wild Bill" Hickman, Williams told him that because the Mormons "ruled the county ndelected whom they pleased ... the old settlers had no chance". Killing the Smiths, Williams claimed, "was the only way they could get rid of them."Bill Hickman (1872). ''Brigham's Destroying Angel'' (New York: George A. Crofutt), p. 39. Williams served as postmaster of Green Plains, Illinois, after his acquittal. He died of a stroke on November 20, 1860, at his farm in Green Plains. Previously a member of the Whig Party, Williams joined the Republican Party before his death.

Notes

References

* Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill (1975). '' Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith''. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press) * Marvin S. Hill
"Carthage Conspiracy Reconsidered: A Second Look at the Murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith"
''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'', Summer 2004.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Levi 1790s births 1860 deaths Farmers from Illinois People from Hancock County, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Mormonism-related controversies People acquitted of murder Place of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Baptist ministers from the United States American military personnel of the War of 1812 Illinois postmasters Illinois Republicans Illinois Whigs 19th-century American clergy