Archibald Williams (judge)

Archibald Williams (June 10, 1801 – September 21, 1863) was a United States federal judge.

Born in Montgomery County, Kentucky, Williams read law to enter the bar in 1828. He was in private practice in Quincy, Illinois beginning in 1829. He was the United States Attorney for the District of Illinois from 1849 to 1853. He served in both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois State Senate.

On March 8, 1861, Williams was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Kansas created by 12 Stat. 126. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12, 1861, and received his commission the same day. Williams served in that capacity until his death, in 1863, in Quincy, Illinois.

Archibald Williams's historical significance was based on his close friendship with Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves. Lincoln was from Springfield, Illinois, and Williams was from Quincy, Illinois, a port city on the Mississippi River along the western border of the state. The two men were close political allies in the Whig Party and, later on, in the newly founded Republican Party. They first met when serving in the Illinois state legislature in the early 1830's. They were compatriots for 29 years.

Archibald Williams led the life of a political party workhorse, first for the Whig Party and then the Republicans. He served in the Illinois state legislature, made two unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Senate as a Whig, played a leading role at the Illinois state Constitutional Convention of 1847, chaired many important political meetings in Quincy, Illinois, attended many state political party conventions, made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives, and in 1858 campaigned in Illinois for his friend Abraham Lincoln. In all recorded instances, Archibald Williams gave Abraham Lincoln his true and unwavering support.

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