William Widgery (July 31, 1822) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Born in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

shire, England, in the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

, Widgery immigrated to America with his parents, who settled in Philadelphia. He attended the common schools. He engaged in shipbuilding. He served in the Revolutionary War as a lieutenant on a privateer. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced practice in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in Massachusetts'

District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachu ...

, about 1790. He served as member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

1787–1793 and 1795–1797. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1788. He served in the State senate in 1794. He served as member of the executive council in 1806 and 1807. Widgery was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the Twelfth Congress (March 4, 1811 – March 3, 1813). He was an unsuccessful for reelection in 1812 to the Thirteenth Congress. He served as judge of the court of common pleas 1813–1821. He died in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, July 31, 1822. He was interred in the

Eastern Cemetery Eastern Cemetery is a historic cemetery at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Congress Street in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Established in 1668, it is the city's oldest historic site, and has more than 4,000 marked ...

in the

Munjoy Hill Munjoy Hill is a neighborhood and prominent geographical feature of Portland, Maine. It is located east of downtown and south of East Deering, the neighborhood it is connected to by Tukey's Bridge. The neighborhood historically had a large I ...

neighborhood of Portland, Maine.

Widgery Wharf Widgery Wharf (also Widgery's Wharf) is a historic wharf in Portland, Maine. Built in the late 1700s, across Commercial Street from the now-demolished Plum Street, the wharf is named for the Widgery family which controlled the local molasses tra ...

was built and owned by the Widgery family during William Widgery's early life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widgery, William 1753 births 1822 deaths English emigrants Politicians from Portland, Maine Burials at Eastern Cemetery Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts People of colonial Pennsylvania