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Rev. Albert and Mrs. Eloise Williams

High school sweethearts, gracious hosts, committed servant leaders, the Reverend and Mrs. Williams, lifetime residents of Chapel Hill, chose to photographed in front of their beautiful home.
Rev. Williams was the first African American firefighter in Chapel Hill. Listen to hear more of his reflections.

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Rev. Albert and Mrs. Eloise Williams

Image of Williams, Albert and WIlliams, Eloise made on March 24, 2010.

Citation: Marian Cheek Jackson Center, “Rev. Albert and Mrs. Eloise Williams,” From the Rock Wall, accessed July 17, 2025, https://www.fromtherockwall.org/images/rev-albert-and-mrs-eloise-williams.

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In this Image

Eloise Williams

Albert Simms Williams

"If you can be patient and be kind, even a bull dog will stop barking and listen to you. If you take the time with it, you’ll back it down." - Albert Simms Williams

More to explore

 Eloise and Albert Williams - On the Ku Klux Klan (clip)

Eloise Williams (EW): They dealt with the “rebbish” [white people in Carrboro] but we dealt with the Ku Klux. Rob Stephens (RS): Out where you were? Albert Williams (AW): Yeah, on 54. They’d have Klan rallies in that field, in that section. EW: Yes, sir. They would scare you half to death, peeking…

 Albert and Eloise Williams - On community, faith, race, and being a firefighter

Rev. Albert Williams is the minister at Staunton Memorial CME Church in Pittsboro. He is a lifetime resident of the area and was the first African American firefighter in Chapel Hill and a native son of St. Joseph CME. Mrs. Williams is also a lifetime resident and active member of Staunton…

 Albert Williams - On faith

 Albert Simms Williams - On recognizing strength in community diversity (clip)

 Albert Williams - I had to be interviewed (clip)

In this short clip, Rev. Williams tells the story of his 1968 interview for a position with the Chapel Hill Fire Department. Albert Williams: I had to be interviewed by a panel of five personnel. They were five chiefs, and five officers from various departments around the state. One of the questions…

 Albert Williams – We Need the Human Touch (clip)

Rob Stephens: What’d you think would be most needed in, for the neighborhood – we talked about this a lot, especially in the sessions with you and Brother Revels and Pastor Harrison – but, for the community around Saint Joseph, to really, you know in the midst of all the changes that are going on,…

 Albert Williams – He Could Have Called Angels, But He Didn't (clip)

Albert Williams: You know, there's failure in us, but like everybody else, we’ll strive, and even though we should have a higher standard [pause], you know, and really strive to live according to that standard. Rob Stephens: Yes. Albert Williams: But many of us fail in so many ways. We are human,…

 Albert Williams – Rebbish Carrboro (clip)

Albert Williams: Things were segregated. That’s why I’m saying the people in Carrboro don’t know what was going on. When you cross that railroad track at night, that was the white side of town. You didn’t have no business in Carrboro. Rob Stephens: I’ve heard that. AW: Unless you lived out there.…

 Albert Williams - On No Black People in Cary (clip)

Rob Stephens: --people? Albert Williams: Yeah, we met them. RS: Is that the family that said they moved out here because there weren't any Black people in Cary? AW: Yeah. Eloise Williams: It’s not a family, it’s just a lady. AW: A lady. She had a grandson, her grandson came down. EW: He was…

 Rev. Albert Williams - On teachers at Northside Elementary (clip)

 Albert Williams, Troy Harrison, and Lavisha Williams at the Black Church Panel

 Reverend Albert Williams Speaks Emphatically

 Reverend Albert Speaks

 Albert Simms Williams - On his life, family, community, and faith

Rev. Albert Williams is the minister at Staunton Memorial CME Church in Pittsboro. He is a lifetime resident of the area and was the first African American firefighter in Chapel Hill. This interview was conducted as part of the Jackson Center’s local life history series. Topics include: childhood…

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