William Williams (September 6, 1815 – September 10, 1876) was a U.S. Representative from New York, member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

, railroad executive, and banker.

Early life

William Williams was born in Bolton, Connecticut, on September 6, 1815, to Sarah and Samuel Williams. He grew up and attended local schools in Bolton. At the age of 17, he moved to Georgia to work in a commercial business, but returned back to Bolton after falling ill.

Career

Banking career

He worked at a bank in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to ...

, before moving to Windham where he served as a clerk in his uncle's bank, Bank of Windham. In 1838, he moved to

Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo ( west) and Cleveland ( east). Accor ...

, and worked as a cashier at the Bank of Sandusky. He and his wife then moved to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, in 1839, where he was made a partner of a banking business owned by his uncle, George C. White, and started a branch called White and Williams (later renamed White's Bank of Buffalo). He remained as a clerk there for 12 years. In 1856, Williams and some friends founded the Clinton Bank of Buffalo.

Railroad executive and soldier

Williams was a financier, director, and president of the State Line Railroad Company, a railroad from Buffalo, New York to

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, in the 1850s. During the Civil War, he served under Millard Fillmore's command in the Union Continentals, a corps of home guards over the age of 45 from

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...

. After the Civil War, in 1869, Williams while president of the Buffalo and Erie Railroad, helped organize its consolidation into the

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833 and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinois, primarily along the ...

. He was elected as the first vice president of the new corporation. He also served as the director of the Michigan Southern Railway, and in 1873, was elected director of the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad Company.

Political and civic career

In 1841, Williams was elected Treasurer of Buffalo. He was elected to the Buffalo Common Council in 1845. He was a member of the

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman t ...

(Erie Co., 1st D.), and 1867 (Erie Co., 2nd D.). Williams was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second Congress (March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873). He accepted the nomination on condition that

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

, a lawyer in his personal attorney's office, was nominated as sheriff for

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York State. As of the 2020 census, the population was 954,236. The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population. Both the county and Lake Erie w ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress.

Later life

In 1874, he withdrew from public life and business due to his deteriorating health. He suffered financial losses during the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...

Personal life

Williams met Lovisa Kirkland Stedman while living in

Windham, Connecticut Windham is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the former city of Willimantic as well as the boroughs of Windham Center, North Windham, and South Windham. Willimantic, an incorporated city since 1893, was consol ...

. They married on October 9, 1838. They had three children: * Catherine Stedman Williams (1839–1841), who died young. * Griffin Stedman Williams (1841–1911), who married Mary Pearce Harrison, a daughter of banker James Cooke Harrison and granddaughter of lawyer Jonas Harrison, in 1871. * Charles Gordon Williams (1847–1895), who married Georgiana Metcalfe, daughter of George Metcalfe, in 1874. He lived in retirement until his death at his home in

, on September 10, 1876. He was interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, William 1815 births 1876 deaths Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Buffalo Common Council members 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American railroad executives Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway American bankers People from Bolton, Connecticut People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo)