James Arthur Williams

For the American general, seeJames A. Williams.

Jim Williams
Williams in the library ofMercer Housein July 1980, pictured with apastel,byHenrietta Johnston,ofJohn Perceval,1st Earl of Egmont
Born	James Arthur Williams (1930-12-11)December 11, 1930 Gordon, Georgia,U.S.
Died	January 14, 1990(1990-01-14)(aged 59) Savannah, Georgia,U.S.
Occupation(s)	Historic preservationist and antiques dealer
Known for	An early leader in the Savannah, Georgia, historic preservation movement, as well as the main character in theMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evilbookandmovie

James Arthur Williams(December 11, 1930 – January 14, 1990) was an American antiques dealer and a historic preservationist based inSavannah,Georgia.He played an active role in the preservation of theSavannah Historic Districtfor over 35 years.

Williams is the main character inJohn Berendt's bookMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,published four years after his death in 1990. After four trials for an alleged murder that occurred in his house in 1981, he wasacquittedin 1989.

Life

James Arthur Williams was born in 1930 inGordon, Georgia,to Arthur Costlar, a barber, and Blanche Brooks Williams.He studied piano atMiddle Georgia Collegeand interior design atRingling CollegeinSarasota, Florida.He dropped out of Ringling after the second of three years and enrolled atMercer UniversityinMacon, Georgia.

After serving briefly in theU.S. Air Force,in 1952 Williams moved toSavannah,where he began working for Klug's Furniture Company at the corner ofVictory DriveandAbercorn Street.He lived onWashington Square.

Williams became a noted antiques dealer after opening a shop, with his friend Jack Kieffer (1915–2007),in 1953.Williams also became close friends with Joe Goodman.

He was active in the preservation of theSavannah Historic District,and was known forchain-smokinghis favoriteKing Edward cigars.In 1955, at the age of 24, Williams bought and restored his first three buildings: the single-level houses located at541, 543 and 545 East Congress Street.Over the following 35 years, he restored more than fifty homes in Savannah, as well as in the low country of Georgia andSouth Carolina.Notable Savannah houses he restored include theOdingsells House,the Merault House, theHampton Lillibridge House(which he hadexorcised),James Habersham'sPink Houseand theArmstrong House.

Williams purchased the 1,800-acre (730 ha) Cabbage Island, off the Georgia coast, in 1968. He paid $5,000 for it,and later sold it for $900,000.

With his newfound fortune, in 1969 Williams purchasedMercer House,which was originally built for GeneralHugh Mercer,great-grandfather of famed American songwriterJohnny Mercer.At the time of the purchase, the house had been vacant for almost a decade since its former occupants, theShrinersorganization, had used the building for their Alee Temple.Over two years, Williams restored the house. After the restoration, it became his residence; he ran his antiques restoration business from the basement of Mercer House, assisted by Barry Thomas (1954–1992), a native ofGlasgow,Scotland.Williams often worked late into the night and slept the first part of the next day.His antique shop was behind the house, onWhitaker Street,run by Kenneth Worthy.

Williams held annual Christmas parties at Mercer House, on the eve of the cotillion'sdebutante ball,which were the highlight of many people's social calendars.Williams had an "in" box and an "out" box for his invitations, depending on whether or not the person was in Williams's favor at the time.

In 1979, during the filming onMonterey SquareofThe Ordeal of Dr. Mudd,starringDennis Weaver,Williams hung aflag of Nazi Germanyoutside of a window at Mercer House in an attempt to disrupt the shoot, after the film company declined to make a donation to the localhumane society(of whom Jack Kieffer was president),as Williams had requested. TheCongregation Mickve Israel,located across the square, complained to the city.

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  Two of three buildings at 541–545 East Congress Street that Williams restored in 1955, his first project in Savannah
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  Williams also restored the Olde Pink House...
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  ... and Armstrong House, formerly the law offices of his attorneySonny Seiler
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  He was restoring126 East Gaston Streetat the time of his death

Arrest and trials

Main article:Killing of Danny Hansford

Williams was arrested on May 2, 1981, for the alleged murder of 21-year-oldDanny Hansford,with whom he had been having ahomosexualrelationship,at Mercer House.At hisarraignmenthis bond was set at $25,000, which he posted.

After the subsequent four trials (the first three in Savannah; the final one inAugusta),a record in thestate of Georgia,Williams was acquitted in May 1989, eight years after his arrest.

Death

On January 14, 1990, eight months after his acquittal, Williams died unexpectedly in his home, at age 59, frompneumoniaandheart failure.He was discovered by Doug Seyle, one of Williams' employees, who let himself in after receiving no response at the front door.Sonny Seiler,Williams's attorney, said he found Williams in the doorway between the office and the hallway: "I went immediately to Mercer House and found Jim on the floor. I thought he was probably dead. He was in hisskivvies.”

Williams is buried next to his mother, who survived him by seven years, in Ramah Church Cemetery, Gordon, Georgia.Williams's father, who died six years before him, is buried inDanville, Georgia.

At the time of his death, Williams was restoring the mansion at126 East Gaston Street,known today asSavannah College of Art and Design's Granite Hall, which he had purchased.The mansion appeared in the movie version ofMidnight in the Gardenas the venue for theMarried Woman's Card Club.

Williams' sister, Dorothy Kingery, inherited Mercer House and put it up for sale later that decade, with a price tag of just under $9,000,000. This was later reduced to about $7,000,000.Kingery died in 2023, aged 88.Her daughter and Williams' niece, Dorothy Susan Kingery, now owns the house.

In popular culture

The historicMercer Housein Savannah, Georgia.

The bookMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,about Hansford's alleged murder and Williams' subsequent trial for the killing, was written by authorJohn Berendtand published in 1994. ANew York TimesBestsellerand finalist for the 1995Pulitzer Prizein General Nonfiction, the book was adapted into amoviedirected by Hollywood veteranClint Eastwoodin 1997. "Kevin Spaceyplayed Jim Williams -- badly, "Berendt said in a 2015 interview." He didn't even come close. I had offered [Spacey] recordings so he could to listen to Jim Williams talking to me, regaling me with stories while sitting in his living room in Mercer House. [Spacey] said he'd already heard Williams on tape talking during one of his trials. But when I saw the movie, I was perplexed by the way Spacey portrayed Williams, because he did it as if he were asleep. He talked as if he were in a fog or sleepwalking. Then I realized what had happened, and I thought it was hilariously funny. "Berendt believes Spacey listened to tapes of Williams during the third trial, when he had takenValium.

Jim Williams' confession to John Berendt before the third trial was recorded on aDictaphoneby the author. "If [Williams] had not died, I don't know what I would have done, because I'm pretty sure he would not have wanted that in the book."

"I was fascinated by Jim, by what a brilliant and engaging storyteller he was," said Berendt in 2015. "He was bitter, funny, with that ironic humor so distinctive to Savannah."

References

Sources

• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil(ISBN0-679-75152-1)
• More than Mercer House: Savannah's Jim Williams and his Southern Houses(ISBN0-9672187-0-5)
• James Williams- National Register of Exonerations

External links

• Mercer Williams House Museum site
• James Arthur WilliamsatFind a Grave