[1] He was educated at Deerfield Academy, Harvard and at Trinity College, Hartford, where he graduated in 1835.

[2] Although his parents were Unitarian, Williams's time at Harvard convinced him to join the Protestant Episcopal Church.

[2] Williams held the rectorship of St. George's Church, Schenectady, New York, from 1842 to 1848, after which he became president of Trinity College, and at the same time professor of history and literature there.

[4] On the death of Bishop Brownell in 1865, Williams succeeded him in the sole charge of the diocese, remaining Dean of Berkeley Divinity School also.

[4] Williams succeeded Alfred Lee of Delaware as presiding bishop in 1887, and earned the reputation of a wise conservative leader in ecclesiastical affairs.