John Bidwell Williams was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, on September 19, 1892. Williams moved with his family to Wilkes County around 1910, where he worked as a clerk and conductor for the Watauga and Yadkin Railroad Company. In the 1920s, he worked as the manager of North Wilkesboro’s drivers license agency and as a notary public. Later in his career, Williams was an executive for an insurance and loan company in North Wilkesboro. He died at his home in Moravian Falls (Wilkes County) on April 29, 1959.