Abraham J. Williams

In 1820 Williams moved a few miles away to Nashville, Missouri, a small community in Boone County where he and business partner James Harris ran a tobacco warehouse.

[2] Within a few years, Williams was on the move again, this time to Columbia, Missouri, where he established one of the first dry goods stores in the town, also providing services as a boot and shoe maker.

[2] At the time of Governor Frederick Bates's death in office on August 4, 1825, Missouri had no Lieutenant Governor—the elected one, Benjamin Harrison Reeves, having previously resigned.

[1] One of the few official documents he signed was to offer the then-large reward of two hundred dollars ($200) for the apprehension of escaped prisoner John Patterson, convicted of murder and sentenced to death by St. Francois County jury.

[2] The aforementioned special election was held on December 5, 1825, with voters choosing John Miller, who assumed the office from Williams on January 20, 1826.