Thomas Marvin Williams


Thomas Marvin Williams Sr. was a politician who served in the Mississippi Senate, representing Holmes County, between 1952–1968. Official records indicate that he was born in Mena, Arkansas, but in his handwritten, unpublished memoir, he states that he was actually born in Indian Territory, a fact that, until late in life, he kept a secret. He was president of the State Extension Workers Association. During his final Senate term, Williams was the chairman of the Senate's Agriculture Committee.

Early life

Born in Indian Territory to John David Williams and Mollie Elizabeth Campbell, Williams spent most of his childhood and youth moving from place to place in southwestern Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma as his father worked various jobs such as railroad construction, coal mining, and farming. Williams graduated from Southern [Arkansas University|Third District Agricultural School] in Magnolia, Arkansas.
He later attended Kansas State Agricultural College earning a bachelor's degree in Agriculture.

Adult Life

In 1926 he moved to Lexington, Mississippi, where he worked as the Holmes County, Mississippi Agricultural Extension Agent. In the 1930s he opened T. M. Williams & Sons Feed and Seed store in Lexington.

Death

Williams died April 30, 1967 at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi, of prostate cancer which had metastasized to his lungs and other organs and was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian.