William Williams was an American printer and publisher.
Background
William Williams was born on October 12, 1787, at Framingham, Massachusetts, the son of Thomas Williams and Susanna Dana. He was of the fifth generation in direct descent from Robert Williams, Puritan, who emigrated in 1637 from Norwich, England, to Roxbury, Massachusetts. Here the family lived until 1782, when it moved to Framingham. In 1790 Thomas Williams and his family went from Framingham to New Hartford, near Utica, New York.
Education
William was an apprentice in the printing shops of William McLean and Asahel Seward in Utica from 1800 to July 1807.
Career
Later he became partner in the printing firm of Seward & Williams.
Beginning with the War of 1812 Williams also had something of a military career. On February 29, 1812, he was commissioned adjutant of militia by Gov. Daniel Tompkins, and became successively brigade major and colonel on the staff of Gen. Oliver Collins in 1813 during the Sacketts Harbor incident. He was active in raising a Utica company, and was at the front most of the time from February 1813 to July 1814.
In 1816 he was commissioned brigade inspector of the 13th New York Infantry, but retained his colonelcy until 1820 or later.
A man of enterprise, he began at once to make the paper used by his firm, learned wood-engraving - he was perhaps the third such artisan in the country - and in 1814 was taken into the Seward book store as partner. The first Utica directory, issued in 1817, is the first book bearing his name alone as printer.
In 1820 he had the largest book store west of Albany. In every year from 1807 to 1838 there appeared with his imprint a half-dozen to twenty titles, chiefly almanacs, collections of music, and devotional, instructional, and anti-Masonic books. Many sold largely for years. At different times he owned or printed, and sometimes edited, various Utica newspapers, notably the Patriot and the Patrol. His editorials on canals, railroads, and negro slavery were influential in central New York.
In 1832, with entire disregard of comfort and safety, he devoted himself to improving sanitary conditions in Utica during the cholera epidemic, and ministering to the sick and the dead, himself suffering an attack.
In 1833, with too many irons in the fire, and through indorsing notes for others, he was in financial distress. In 1834 there were two sheriff's sales of his effects, following which his creditors ran the business under his name, retaining him as manager, until 1836; in 1840 all his Utica affairs were finally closed out by creditors. From 1836 to 1846 he lived at Tonawanda, New York. In 1841 a fall from the top of a coach progressively affected his mind beyond recovery, and during his last years completely separated him from society. He died on June 10, 1850, in Utica, New York.
Achievements
Politics
He was an ardent Federalist, and in the period from 1821 to 1824 he exerted every effort to have DeWitt Clinton elected governor of New York.
Connections
On November 5, 1811, William Williams married Sophia Wells, who died on November 12, 1831, having borne him fourteen children.
On March 26, 1833, he married Catherine Huntington, by whom he had two sons.