[1] Fairly active in local affairs, he played a role subordinate to that of his elder brother, Sir Henry Williams, alias Cromwell.
[1] With his brother's support, as sheriff, he was returned as junior knight of the shire for Huntingdonshire in 1572.
[1] He stood again in 1584, but then the sheriff was Sir Henry Darcy, a fierce opponent of his brother, who ensured that Francis was defeated and his own candidate, John Dorrington, was elected.
[2][3][4] He complained to the House of Commons, who appointed the Recorder of London and the solicitor-general to investigate the matter, but it was decided that the dispute lay outside its jurisdiction.
[1][2][4] Francis Williams, alias Cromwell married, by 1565, Margaret Mannock, daughter of Henry Mannock of Hemingford Grey, by whom he had a son: He was estranged from his wife by 1586 when he provided her with an annuity.