Abram Pease Williams (February 3, 1832 – October 17, 1911) was a teacher, businessman and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Life

Abram was born in New Portland,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

on February 3, 1832. He attended the common schools of the time and completed a course of study at North Anson Academy from 1846 to 1848. He taught school at North Anson before moving to Fairfield, Maine, in 1853. There he engaged in the mercantile business. In 1858 Williams moved to California and worked in the mining fields in

Tuolumne County Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora. Tuolumne County comprises the ...

. In 1859 he resumed his mercantile pursuits. He then moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1861 and became an importer, stock raiser, and farmer. Abram was one of the founders of the San Francisco Board of Trade, serving as its first president. He was also a member of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. In 1886 Williams was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John F. Miller and served until March 3, 1887. He did not run for a renomination in 1887. When he returned to California he resumed the wholesale mercantile business in San Francisco, where he died October 17, 1911. He was interred at the Maplewood Cemetery in Fairfield, Maine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Abram Pease 1832 births 1911 deaths Republican Party United States senators from California California Republicans American merchants People from New Portland, Maine 19th-century American politicians People from Anson, Maine People from Fairfield, Maine 19th-century American businesspeople