Although he passed the bar in 1879, Williams began an extensive career in the Episcopal Church, having positions in Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Detroit before becoming a bishop.

His father, Thomas Williams, served as a Civil War general and died in the Battle of Baton Rouge (1862).

[7] Josepha was a physician and like her mother, Mary Neosho Williams, a significant landowner in Evergreen, Colorado.

[4] Josepha was married in 1896 to Canon Charles Winfred Douglas,[8] Following his father's death in 1862, Williams lived in Newburgh, New York, where he was confirmed by the Rt.

[3][10] Williams received a Master's Degree in 1889 and a Doctor of Divinity in 1895 from Hobart College.

[3][9] He was ordained a deacon by Bishop Harris on December 26, 1880, and served at St. John's in Detroit.

He had positions at St. Paul's in Buffalo and All Saint's in Milwaukee before becoming administrator and archdeacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan in 1891.

[1] He was on the commission appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in pursuance of resolution 74 of the Lambeth Conference of 1908[11] on the relation of the Anglican Communion to the Church of Sweden.

[15] He also sat on commissions to revise the hymnal and to create a Swedish version of the Prayer Book.

[18] Williams played a key role in Michigan's statehood as the president of the Constitutional Convention of Assent.

[9] He was chaplain to the Fourth Regiment (Detroit) of the Michigan state troops for four years,[3][19] beginning December 18, 1883.