John Williams (politician, 1752)

John Williams (born September 1752 in Barnstaple , England , †  July 22, 1806 in Salem , New York ) was an American politician . Between 1795 and 1799 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Williams grew up in England, where he studied medicine at St. Thomas Hospital in London . In 1773 he emigrated to the then British colonies in North America and settled in New Perth, later Salem, in Washington County . In his new home he practiced as a doctor. He joined the American Revolution and was a member of the State Provincial Congress between 1775 and 1777 . From 1775 he worked as a doctor with the troops in New York. He served as a colonel in the state troops until the end of the War of Independence . He was then a member of the New York State Militia, where he was promoted to Brigadier General in 1786 . From 1777 to 1778 and again between 1782 and 1785 he sat in the Senate of New York , from 1781 to 1782 in the State Assembly . In 1784 he was appointed to the board of directors of New York University . He was also a delegate to the meeting that ratified the United States Constitution for New York State in 1788 .

Politically, Williams joined the Federalist Party founded by Alexander Hamilton in the 1790s . In the congressional elections of 1794 he was elected in the ninth electoral district of New York in the US House of Representatives, which was still in Philadelphia at the time , where he succeeded James Gordon on March 4, 1795 . After a re-election, he was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress until March 3, 1799 .

After his tenure in the US House of Representatives ended, John Williams became a large landowner and director of a company that would build the Erie Canal . This could not complete the project later. The canal was finally completed by the state. Williams also served as a district judge in his home country. He died on July 22, 1806 in Salem, where he was buried.

Web links

• John Williams in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
James Gordon	United States House Representative for New York (8th constituency) March 4, 1795 - March 3, 1799	Jonas Platt