He left school at age thirteen to enlist as a private in Company C, 3rd United States Cavalry during the American Civil War.

[1] After the war, Williams attended Newcomerstown High School and Allegheny College of Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1873.

[1] Williams studied law in the office of Judge J.C. Pomerene of Coshocton, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1875.

[1] He edited the three-volume "Revised Statutes of Ohio" in 1883, which was adopted by the General Assembly, and distributed about the state.

He drafted the 1885 constitutional amendment that was adopted by the public that changed state elections from October to November.