Thomas Smith Williamson was born in Union District, South Carolina in March of 1800, the son of William and Mary (Smith) Williamson. He graduated from Jefferson College, Cannonsburgh, Pennsylvania, and studied medicine in West Union and Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his medical license in 1823 and took further medical education at Yale University in 1824. From 1824 to 1833 he practiced medicine in West Union and Ripley, Ohio. In 1833 he began the study of theology at Lane Seminary (Presbyterian) Walnut Hills, Ohio, and was ordained in September of 1834.
In April of 1835, Williamson and Alexander G. Huggins left Ohio for Minnesota, under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. They arrived at Fort Snelling in May of that year, and in July, Williamson arrived at the mission of Lac Qui Parle. From that time until 1862 Williamson was engaged in missionary activities at the Lac Qui Parle mission and at Kaposia. Following the U.S.-Dakota War in 1862, Williamson moved to St. Peter, Minnesota, where he lived until his death on June 24, 1879.
This sketch was compiled from the manuscript volume, "Biographies of Men Connected with the Dakota Mission, 1835-1860" in the Stephen Riggs papers.
From the guide to the Thomas S Williamson papers., 1839-1939., (Minnesota Historical Society)
