 1731 - 1811 (80 years) Submit Photo / Document
Has 50 ancestors and 3 descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
William Williams |
| Birth |
23 Apr 1731 |
Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
2 Aug 1811 |
Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States |
| Initiatory (LDS) |
24 Aug 1877 |
SGEOR |
| FamilySearch ID |
9QCJ-LGP |
| Burial |
Trumbull Cemetery, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States |
| Person ID |
I98215 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Solomon Williams, b. 4 Jun 1700, Hatfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States d. 29 Feb 1776, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States (Age 75 years) |
| Mother |
Mary Porter, b. 4 Nov 1703, Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States d. 30 Sep 1787, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States (Age 83 years) |
| Marriage |
22 Jan 1723 |
Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States |
| Family ID |
F31208 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Mary Trumbull, b. 16 Jul 1745, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States d. 9 Feb 1831, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States (Age 85 years) |
| Marriage |
14 Feb 1771 |
Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States |
| Children |
| | 1. Solomon Williams, b. 5 Jan 1772, Columbia, Columbia, Tolland, Connecticut, United States d. 5 Oct 1810, New York, United States (Age 38 years) |
| | 2. Faith Williams, b. 15 Sep 1774, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States d. 25 Apr 1838, Woodstock, Windham, Connecticut, United States (Age 63 years) |
| | 3. William Williams, b. 4 Mar 1779, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States d. 15 Dec 1839, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States (Age 60 years) |
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| Family ID |
F31209 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
16 Jan 2025 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Birth - 23 Apr 1731 - Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States |
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| Marriage - 14 Feb 1771 - Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States |
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| Death - 2 Aug 1811 - Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States |
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 | Initiatory (LDS) - 24 Aug 1877 - SGEOR |
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 | Burial - - Trumbull Cemetery, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, United States |
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| Notes |
- Signer of the United States of America Declaration of Independence.
He was a merchant, and a delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Con g ress in 1776, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Willi am s was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of a minister, Tim Solomo n Wi lliams, and Mary Porter. He studied theology and achieved law schoo l fro m Harvard in 1751. He continued preparing for the ministry for a ye ar, bu t then joined the militia to fight in the French and Indian War. A fter th e war, he opened a store in Lebanon, which he called The William s Inc.
On February 14, 1771, and almost 40 he married Mary Trumbull, age 25. S h e was daughter of Jonathan Trumbull, Royal Governor, and an American po li tician who served as the second speaker at the United States House o f Rep resentatives. Mary Trumbull and William Williams had three children , Solo mon, born 1772; Faith; 1774; and William Trumbull; 1777.
Williams was very active in the protests that preceded the American Revo l ution. Williams was a member of the Sons of Liberty and later served o n C onnecticut's Committee of Correspondence and Council of Safety. Willi am s was a staunch supporter of the non-importation agreements implemente d i n 1769 to oppose the Townshend Duties and the occupation of Boston b y Bri tish Regulars. Williams was disappointed when merchants began disre gardin g the non-importation agreements after the repeal of the Townshen d Duties , save for the tax on tea, and he never trusted the intentions o f more es tablished merchants, most notably Silas Deane.
On July 1, 1774, one month after the enactment of the Coercive Acts to p u nish Boston, Williams pseudonymously published an address "To the King " f rom "America" in the Connecticut Gazette. The document, an angry sati re , read in part: "We don’t complain that your father made our yoke heav y a nd afflicted us with grievous service. We only ask that you would gov er n us upon the same constitutional plan, and with the same justice an d mod eration that he did, and we will serve you forever. And what is th e langu age of your answer...? Ye Rebels and Traitors...if ye don’t yiel d implici t obedience to all my commands, just and unjust, ye shall be dr ag’d in ch ains across the wide ocean, to answer your insolence, and i f a mob arise s among you to impede my officers in the execution of my or ders, I will p unish and involve in common ruin whole cities and colonies , with their te n thousand innocents, and ye shan’t be heard in your ow n defense, but sha ll be murdered and butchered by my dragoons into silen ce and submission . Ye reptiles! ye are scarce intitled [sic] to existenc e any longer....Yo ur lives, liberties and property are all at the absolu te disposal of my p arliament."
Williams was elected to the Continental Congress on July 11, 1776, the d a y Connecticut received official word of the independence vote of Jul y 2 , to replace Oliver Wolcott. Though he arrived at Congress on July 28 , mu ch too late to vote for the Declaration of Independence, he did sig n th e formal copy as a representative of Connecticut .
Williams represented Lebanon, Connecticut at the state's Constitutiona l r atifying convention in January 1788. Though Williams had largely oppo se d the Confederation government, most notably Congress's 1782 agreemen t t o provide five years of full pay and three months of back pay to arm y off icers but not regular soldiers, he ignored instructions from his co nstitu ents to vote against ratification. Williams's sole overt objectio n to th e document was the clause in Article VI that bans religious test s for gov ernment officials.
The Reverend Charles A. Goodrich in his book, Lives of the Signers to t h e Declaration of Independence (1834), said
[Williams] made a profession of religion at an early age, and through t h e long course of his life, he was distinguished for a humble and consis te nt conduct and conversations. While yet almost a youth, he was electe d t o the office of deacon, an office which he retained during the remain de r of his life. His latter days were chiefly devoted to reading, medita tio n, and prayer.
Williams was also pastor of the First Congregational Church in Lebanon , C onnecticut and a successful merchant. Upon his death he was buried i n Leb anon's Old Cemetery.
Williams' home in Lebanon survives and is a U.S. National Historic Landm a rk.
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Has 50 ancestors and 3 descendants in this family tree.
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