William Williams (New York politician)

William Williams (September 6, 1815 – September 10, 1876) was a U.S. Representative from New York, member of the New York State Assembly, railroad executive, and banker.

Early life[]

William Williams was born in Bolton, Connecticut on September 6, 1815 to Sarah and Samuel Williams.^[1] 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.^[1]

Personal life[]

Williams met Lovisa Kirkland Stedman while living in Windham, Connecticut.^[1] They married on October 9, 1838. They had three children: Catherine, Griffin, and Charles.^[1]

Career[]

Banking career[]

He worked at a bank in Norwich, Connecticut before moving to Windham where he served as a clerk in his uncle's bank, Bank of Windham.^[1] In 1838, he moved to Sandusky, Ohio and worked as a cashier at the Bank of Sandusky.^[1] He and his wife then moved to Buffalo, New York 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).^[1] He remained as a clerk there for 12 years. In 1856, Williams and some friends founded the Clinton Bank of Buffalo.^[1]

Railroad executive and soldier[]

Williams was a financier, director, and president of the , a railroad from Buffalo, New York to Erie, Pennsylvania, in the 1850s.^[1]

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.^[1]

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.^[1] 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 .^[1]

Political and civic career[]

In 1841, Williams was elected Treasurer of Buffalo.^[1] He was elected to the Buffalo Common Council in 1845.^[1]

He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1866 (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, a lawyer in his personal attorney's office, was nominated as sheriff for Erie County, New York.^[1] He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress.^[1]

Later life and death[]

In 1874, he withdrew from public life and business due to his deteriorating health.^[1] He suffered financial losses during the Panic of 1873.^[1] He lived in retirement until his death at his home in Buffalo, New York on September 10, 1876.^[1] He was interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

References[]

• United States Congress. "William Williams (id: W000544)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• William Williams at Find a Grave

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.