Three primary documents from the Harvard-educated town clerk who replaced a sick delegate, survived the most uncomfortable journey he had ever performed, and died exactly thirty-five years after signing.
William Williams was born April 8, 1731 in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of a minister. He graduated from Harvard in 1751, returned to Lebanon, opened a store, and was elected town clerk in 1752, a position he held for forty-four years without interruption. He served in the Connecticut Assembly for decades and married Mary Trumbull, daughter of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, in 1771.
In June 1776, when Oliver Wolcott fell ill and had to return to Connecticut, the Connecticut Assembly elected Williams to replace him in Congress. Williams arrived in Philadelphia in late July 1776, too late for the independence vote but in time for the August 2 signing.
he did not arrive in Philadelphia until near the last of July, after the most Sultry and fatiguing journey I ever performed, by much. The city has been since I came and yet is the most uncomfortable Place that I ever saw.
Williams served in the Continental Congress from 1776 to 1778 and again from 1783 to 1784. He served on the Board of War in 1777, helping oversee the supply and management of the Continental forces. He also signed the Articles of Confederation on behalf of Connecticut.
He helped finance Connecticut's military contributions personally. In 1775 he had signed a promissory note that allowed Connecticut to raise money to send Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys to capture Fort Ticonderoga. The note was repaid from public funds. His LOC House Archives record confirms his congressional service and papers.
LOC House Archives · William Williams · Delegate from Connecticut · signed Declaration of Independence · Board of War 1777 · signed Articles of Confederation · Town Clerk of Lebanon, Connecticut 1752-1796 · history.house.gov
Williams served as a delegate to the Connecticut convention that ratified the Constitution in 1788 and voted to ratify. He served as judge of the Windham County Court from 1776 to 1805 and as probate judge for the Windham District from 1775 to 1809. He died August 2, 1811 in Lebanon, Connecticut, at eighty, exactly thirty-five years to the day after he signed the Declaration. He was buried in the Lebanon Green Cemetery.