Hugh Williamson
Hugh Williamson (born December 5, 1735 in Chester County , Province of Pennsylvania , † May 22, 1819 in New York City ) was an American politician . Between 1790 and 1793 he represented the state of North Carolina in the US House of Representatives . He was also a signatory to the United States Constitution .
Career
Hugh Williamson grew up during the British colonial era. He attended the public schools of his home country and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1757 with the first graduating class . After studying theology in 1758, he worked as a preacher until 1760. He gave up this post for health reasons. He then taught mathematics at the College of Philadelphia . After studying medicine in Edinburgh ( Scotland ) and Utrecht ( Netherlands ), he began to practice as a doctor in Philadelphia . Williamson also worked in commerce and as a writer. He became a member of the American Philosophical Society . In 1773 he was a member of the astrological commission that observed the passage between the planets Venus and Mercury . He was in England when the American Revolution broke out. He returned to America in 1776, where he settled in Edenton, North Carolina. During the War of Independence that followed , he headed the medical department of the North Carolina troops between 1779 and 1782. At this time he also began a political career.
Between 1782 and 1785, Williamson was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives . During the same period and again in 1788 he was also a delegate to the Continental Congress . In 1787 he took part as a delegate to the meeting to draft the United States Constitution, of which he was a signatory. In 1789 he was a member of the commission that ratified this constitution for the State of North Carolina. In the elections for the first Congress in North Carolina, Williamson was elected to the US House of Representatives in the third constituency of his state, where he took up his new mandate on March 19, 1790. After a re-election he could remain in Congress until March 3, 1793 .
After leaving the US House of Representatives, Hugh Williamson moved to New York in 1793, where he wrote numerous literary treatises. These dealt, among other things, with the history of North Carolina. Williamson was also involved in the social field in his new home by supporting an orphanage and a hospital, among other things. The politician who was married to Mary Apthorpe died on May 22, 1819 in New York.
According to him, Williamson County named in Tennessee.
Web links
- Hugh Williamson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
- Hugh Williamson in the database of Find a Grave (English)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Williamson, Hugh |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 5, 1735 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Chester County , Pennsylvania |
DATE OF DEATH | May 22, 1819 |
Place of death | New York City , New York |