Edward Porter Williams (May 10, 1843 – May 4, 1903) was an American businessman who co-founded the

Sherwin-Williams Company Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Cleveland, Ohio–based company in the paint and coating manufacturing industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, floorcoverings, and related ...

with

Henry Sherwin Henry Alden Sherwin (September 27, 1842 – June 16, 1916) was one of the founders of the Sherwin-Williams Company in 1866. The company was named for both him and Edward Porter Williams. Biography Sherwin was born on September 27, 1842, in Bal ...

Early life

Born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio, he graduated from Cleveland Central High School in 1859, then earned a bachelor's (1864) and master's (1869) degree from Western Reserve College (now

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

).Hallett, Anthony; Hallett, Diane. (1997)
''Entrepreneur Magazine Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs''

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mill ...

, pp. 420–421. .

Civil War

Edward and his brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

joined the Army in 1862, along with the entire Western Reserve College, faculty and student alike. They were assigned to Company B, 85th Ohio and held a short-term assignment at

Camp Chase Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp established in Columbus, Ohio in May 1861 after the start of the American Civil War. It also included a large Union-operated prison camp for Confederate prisoners during the American Civil War ...

guarding Confederate prisoners. He mustered out at

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, and had to be carried there on a cot, as he was recovering from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

Family

Edward married Mary Louise Mason. Their children were Edward Mason Williams (married Mary Redmond), Sarah Granger Williams (married Abraham Garfield), Lewis Mason Williams (married Lester Coffeen), Reba Louise Williams (married Arthur Douglas Baldwin), and Walter Williams.

Business

In 1865, Edward and his brother

, along with Edward L Day entered the glass business in Kent, Ohio as Day & Williams. He left that company in 1870, investing $15,000 to partner with Henry A. Sherwin. Edward P. Williams was executive vice president and a member of the board of directors of the company at the time of his death.

Burial

Edward Porter Williams is buried at

Lakeview Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

in Cleveland, Ohio.

References

External links

* 1843 births 1903 deaths Case Western Reserve University alumni Businesspeople from Cleveland Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1840s-stub