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William Williams (Connecticut politician)

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William Williams
Born(1731-04-08)April 8, 1731
Lebanon, Connecticut
DiedAugust 2, 1811(1811-08-02) (aged 80)
Lebanon, Connecticut, US
Resting placeOld Cemetery, Lebanon Connecticut.
EducationHarvard College
Occupationpolitician
Known forsigner of the United States Declaration of Independence
SpouseMary Trumbull
Signature
Coat of Arms of William Williams

William Williams (April 8, 1731 – August 2, 1811) was an American Founding Father, merchant, a delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Congress in 1776, and a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence.

Early life

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Williams was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of minister Solomon Williams and Mary Porter. He studied theology and law at Harvard in 1751. He continued preparing for the ministry for a year but then joined the militia to fight in the French and Indian War. After the war, he opened a store in Lebanon, Connecticut which he called The Williams Inc. Williams never owned slaves as he thought it was morally wrong.[1]

On February 14, 1771, at almost 40 he married Mary Trumbull, age 25. She was the daughter of Connecticut Royal Governor Jonathan Trumbull, who later served as the second speaker of the United States House of Representatives. They had three children: Solomon, born 1772; Faith, 1774; and William Trumbull, 1777.[2]

Career

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Williams spent many years in the Connecticut House of Representatives, serving from 1757 to 1762, 1763 to 1776, and 1780 to 1784, while serving as Speaker of that body in 1775 and from 1781 to 1783.[3]

Williams was very active in the protests that preceded the American Revolution. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty and later served on Connecticut's Committee of Correspondence and Council of Safety.[4] He was a staunch supporter of the non-importation agreements implemented in 1769 to oppose the Townshend Acts and the occupation of Boston by British Regulars.[5] Williams was disappointed when merchants began disregarding the non-importation agreements after the repeal of the Townshend Acts, save for the tax on tea, and he never trusted the intentions of more established merchants, most notably Silas Deane.[6]

On July 1, 1774, one month after the enactment of the Coercive Acts to punish Boston, Williams pseudonymously published an address "To the King" from "America" in the Connecticut Gazette. The document, an angry satire, read in part: "We don't complain that your father made our yoke heavy and afflicted us with grievous service. We only ask that you would govern us upon the same constitutional plan, and with the same justice and moderation that he did, and we will serve you forever. And what is the language of your answer...? Ye Rebels and Traitors...if ye don't yield implicit obedience to all my commands, just and unjust, ye shall be drag'd in chains across the wide ocean, to answer your insolence, and if a mob arises among you to impede my officers in the execution of my orders, I will punish and involve in common ruin whole cities and colonies, with their ten thousand innocents, and ye shan't be heard in your own defense, but shall be murdered and butchered by my dragoons into silence and submission. Ye reptiles! ye are scarce intitled [sic] to existence any longer....Your lives, liberties and property are all at the absolute disposal of my parliament."[7]

Williams was elected to replace Oliver Wolcott at the Continental Congress on July 11, 1776, the day Connecticut received official word of the independence vote of July 2. Though he arrived at Congress on July 28, much too late to vote for the Declaration of Independence, he signed the formal copy as a representative of Connecticut.[8] Following this appointment, Williams resigned his commission as Colonel of the 12th Regiment in the militia, to be replaced by Colonel Jeremiah Mason.[9]

He was a judge of the Windham County court from 1776 to 1804, and served on the governor's council from 1780 to 1803.[3] Simultaneously, he was a judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors from 1784 to 1803.[10]

Williams represented Lebanon, Connecticut, at the state's Constitutional ratifying convention in January 1788. Though Williams had largely opposed the Confederation government, most notably Congress's 1782 agreement to provide five years of full pay and three months of back pay to army officers but not regular soldiers, he ignored instructions from his constituents to vote against ratification. Williams's sole overt objection to the document was the clause in Article VI that bans religious tests for government officials.[11]

The Reverend Charles A. Goodrich writes:[12]

[Williams] made a profession of religion at an early age, and through the long course of his life, he was distinguished for a humble and consistent conduct and conversations. While yet almost a youth, he was elected to the office of deacon, an office which he retained during the remainder of his life. His latter days were chiefly devoted to reading, meditation, and prayer.

Williams was also pastor of the First Congregational Church in Lebanon, Connecticut, and a successful merchant. Upon his death he was buried in Lebanon's Old Cemetery.

Williams' home in Lebanon survives and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.[13][14]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Fact-check: They signed the Declaration of Independence — but nearly three-quarters also owned slaves". 10 September 2019.
  2. ^ Stark, pp. 17-18.
  3. ^ a b United States Congress. "William Williams (id: W000546)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  4. ^ Stark, pp. 25, 40, 49.
  5. ^ Stark, pp. 33-36.
  6. ^ Stark, pp. 40, 43, 51.
  7. ^ Stark, p. 42.
  8. ^ Stark, pp. 55-56.
  9. ^ Public Records From May 1775, p.134.
  10. ^ Day, Thomas (1809). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Errors, of the State of Connecticut, in the years 1805, 1806, and 1807. Vol. 2. p. xii-xiii.
  11. ^ Stark, pp. 68-72.
  12. ^ Goodrich, Charles A., Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence, New York, 1832.
  13. ^ Charles W. Snell (June 18, 1971), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: William Williams House (1755–1811) (pdf), National Park Service. Accompanying 2 photos, exterior, from 1968 and 1971. (856 KB)
  14. ^ "William Williams House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-03.

References

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  • Stark, Bruce P., Connecticut Signer: William Williams, Chester, CT.: Pequot Press, 1975.
  • The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, From May, 1775, to June, 1776, inclusive, with the Journal of the Council of Safety from June 7, 1775, to October 2, 1776 (1890).
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