William E. Shannon (1821/1822 – November 3, 1850) was an American politician. Born in

Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west. The town ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

,Michael C. O'Laughlin
''Irish Families on the California Trail'' (2003)
Irish Genealogical Foundation online, page F-33; via Google Books; retrieved October 21, 2016. he passed the

New York State Bar The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice; ...

, was commissioned as a Captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, and given command of "Company J" of the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, which arrived in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

on the ''Susan Drew'' on March 20, 1847 to take part in the so-called

California Conquest ''California Conquest'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Cornel Wilde and Teresa Wright.

campaign of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. After his military service, he served as mayor of

Coloma, California Coloma ( Nisenan: ''Cullumah'', meaning "beautiful") is a census-designated place in El Dorado County, California, US. It is approximately northeast of Sacramento, California. Coloma is most noted for being the site where James W. Marshall found ...

, then was elected to the State Senate, where he stood out as a staunch

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, reportedly having "secured the declaration in California's Bill of Rights that neither slavery or involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this state."

Death

Shannon died in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

during the 1829–51 cholera pandemic, aged 28.

References

1820s births 1850 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Politicians from County Mayo American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American abolitionists Members of the California State Legislature Date of birth unknown Activists from California People from Ballina, County Mayo 19th-century American politicians {{California-CASenate-stub