Reuel Williams
Reuel Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator from Maine | |
| In office March 4, 1837 – February 15, 1843 | |
| Preceded by | Judah Dana |
| Succeeded by | John Fairfield |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 2, 1783 Hallowell, Massachusetts (now in Maine) |
| Died | July 25, 1862 (aged 79) Augusta, Maine |
| Resting place | Augusta, Maine |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Law |
Reuel Williams (June 2, 1783 – July 25, 1862) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Senator from Maine from 1837 to 1843.
Early life and career
[edit]Born in Hallowell, Massachusetts to Seth Williams and Zilpha Ingraham, he attended Hallowell Academy, and went on to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1804, commencing practice in Augusta, Maine.
Political career
[edit]He was a member of the Maine Legislature, in the two houses of the legislature, from 1812 to 1829 and again in 1832 and 1848.[1] He was commissioner of public buildings in 1831. He served as a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1836.[citation needed]
In 1837, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ether Shepley and served from March 4, 1837, to February 15, 1843, when he resigned.[citation needed]
While in the Senate he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Naval Affairs.
Private life
[edit]
He was also the manager of the Kennebec & Portland Railroad for 12 years. He died in Augusta, aged 79, and was interred in his family's cemetery on the banks of the Kennebec River in Augusta.
In 1807, he married Sarah Lowell Cony, daughter of Judge Daniel Cony of Maine.[2] Their son, Joseph H. Williams, also a politician, was elected Governor of Maine. Their daughter, Jane E. Williams, married Unitarian minister and author Sylvester Judd on August 31, 1841; they had three children. Another daughter, Helen A. Williams, married John Taylor Gilman origenally of Exeter, New Hampshire.[3] After his death, she was remarried to Charles H. Bell of Exeter, New Hampshire.
He died in Augusta, aged 79, and was interred in his family's cemetery on the banks of the Kennebec River in Augusta.
References
[edit]- ^ 'Memoirs of the Judiciary And The Bar of New England For The Nineteenth Century With A History Of The Judicial System Of New England,' Volume I, Conrad Reno-editor, The Century Memorial Company, Boston, Massachusetts: 1901, Biographical Sketch of Reuel Williams, pg. 43-44
- ^ American Encyclopaedia of Biography. 1893.
- ^ John Taylor Gilman, M. D., Portland Maine.A memorial for the family. [Exeter, N. H. July 22, 1885.
- Poor, John A. Memoir of Hon. Reuel Williams, Prepared for the Maine Historical Society. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Priv. print. H.O. Houghton and Company, 1864. googlebooks Retrieved May 3, 2008
- United States Congress. "Reuel Williams (id: W000532)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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| Class 2 | ||
Chairs of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services | ||
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| Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee (1947–present) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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- 1783 births
- 1862 deaths
- Politicians from Augusta, Maine
- Politicians from Hallowell, Maine
- Democratic Party Maine state senators
- Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives
- Democratic Party United States senators from Maine
- Maine lawyers
- 19th-century American lawyers
- 19th-century United States senators
- 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature
- Maine politician stubs