Thomas Hill Williams was born in North Carolina, growing up just east of the Pee Dee River in rural Anson County.

[1] It is believed that he entered politics at an early age and was elected clerk of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1796 and 1797.

[1] He was recognized as a popular and qualified appointee and named Acting Governor of the Mississippi Territory on July 1, 1805 in a recess appointment by President Thomas Jefferson.

[2] He was reelected as a Jackson Republican (later Jacksonian) in 1823, leaving the body with the expiration of his second term on March 3, 1829.

[2] Williams moved to Tennessee after he left the Senate, declining a chance at reelection or any form of public office.