Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/553

Rh the bar of the supreme court of New York in Au- gust, 1848. For several years he practised his profession, first in Geneseo, and then in Spencer- port, N. Y. In 1858 he went to Massachusetts, and after teaching for several years settled in New Bedford as editor of the " Daily Evening Standard," which occupation he still continues. During this time he became interested in the study of lichens, of which he has made a collection, both of exotic and native species. His publications on liehe- nology have been quite extensive, and, besides vari- ous reports to the national surveys of specimens submitted to him for examination, include " A List of North American Lichens" (New Bedford, 1872) and "'An Introduction to the Study of Lichens" (1887). He is also the author of a " Willey Genealogy " (1888).

WILLEY, Waitman Thomas, senator, b. in Monongalia county, Va. (now W. Va.), 18 Oct., 1811. He was graduated at Madison college, Uniontown, Pa., in 1831, studied law, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1833. He was clerk of the county and circuit courts successively from 1841 till 1855, and a member in 1850-'l of the Virginia constitutional convention. Mr. Willey was a dele- gate to the State convention that met at Richmond in February, 1861, and after the adoption of the ordinance of secession was elected by the Unionist legislature at Wheeling to occupy the seat in the U. S. senate that was vacated by James M. Ma- son, taking his seat on 13 July, 1861. He attended the convention that decided to create a new state, was chosen to represent West Virginia in the sen- ate, and took his seat on 3 Dec, 1863. In the following year he was re-elected for the full term that ended on 3 March, 1871, and served as chair- man of the committees on patents and on claims. In 1866 he was a delegate to the Loyalists' con- vention at Philadelphia, and in 1871 he was a member of the Constitutional convention of West Virginia. He has written for reviews and de- livered lectures on various subjects, including a series on " Methodism " in 1853. Allegheny col- lege gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1863.

WILLIAMS, Abram Pease, senator, b. near Portland, Me., 3 Feb., 1832. He attended acade- mies in North Anson and Farmington, Me., re- moved to California in 1858, and, after engaging in mining, became a merchant at Mono Lake, but the Indians destroyed his property, and in 1861 he went to San Francisco, where he has since engaged in commerce. He has also devoted some time to agriculture and sheep-raising. Mr. Williams was the founder of the San Francisco board of trade, and for two years its pi^esident, and was first vice- f resident of the chamber of commerce of that city, n 1884-'8 he was chairman of the Republican state central committee. On 4 Aug., 1886, he was elected U. S. senator to fill the unexpired term of John F. Miller, deceased, succeeding George Hearst, who had been appointed by the governor. Mr. Will- iams served till 3 March, 1887, and was in turn succeeded by Mr. Hearst.

WILLIAMS, Alpheus Starkey, soldier, b. in Saybrook, Conn., 10 Sept., 1810; d. in Washing- ton, D. C, 21 Dec, 1878. He was graduated at Yale in 1831, studied law there, and afterward spent some time in European travel, a part of his tour being in company with Edwin Forrest and Nathaniel P. Willis. In 1836 he began the prac- tice of law in Detroit, Mich. In 1838 he was cap- tain of a local militia company. In 1840 he was appointed judge of probate of Wayne county, and he held that post until 1844, when he was elected recorder of the city of Detroit. At the opening of the war with Mexico he was commissioned lieu- tenant-colonel of the 1st Michigan volunteer in- fantry, and served with credit until the close of hostilities, when he returned to Detroit and re- sumed the practice of law. In 1861, when the civil war began, he was one of the first to offer his ser- vices in support of the government, and as he had always been an active member of the Democratic party, his example had great influence. On 17 May, 1861, he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers. He at once entered upon his duties in the Army of the Potomac, and in the spring of 1862 was made commander of a division in the corps of Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks in the Shenan- doah valley. During the retreat of the corps in May, 1862, he did himself great credit by his skill and courage. While still a brigadier-general he commanded, with ability and success, an army corps in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, and Gettysburg. In the autumn of 1863 he was sent with his corps to Tennessee, and in the follow- ing spring, as division commander, he entered upon the Atlanta campaign. He took an active part in all the battles of that summer. At the head of the 20th corps he marched with Sherman to the sea, and at Savannah he was promoted to be brevet major-general of volunteers to rank from 12 Jan., 1865, being 39th on the list of such brevet appointments, though far in advance of them all in date of previous commission and in actual service. Perhaps his was the only instance during the civil war where an officer of his grade was placed in command of a corps, except in a momentary emergency. Notwithstanding this neglect to recognize his merits, Gen. Williams gave his best energies to his work. He shared in the campaign in the Carolinas and in the grand review at Washington, and was retained in service during the reconstruction era in Kentucky and Arkansas, until July, 1866, when he was honorably mustered out. He was soon afterward appointed U. S. minister to San Salvador, where he spent three years in diplomatic duties. He returned in 1870 to his old home, and was in that year an un- successful candidate for governor of Michigan. In 1874, and again in 1876, he was elected a repre- sentative in congress. He had established a repu- tation as an honest and independent legislator, when his career was cut short by death. During his second term in congress he was chairman of the committee on the District of Columbia, and did much to beautify the capital city.

WILLIAMS, Arthur Trefusis Heneage, Canadian soldier, b. at Penryn Park, Port Hope, Ont., 13 June, 1837; d. on Saskatchewan river, Northwest territory, 4 July, 1885. His father had been a commander in the British navy, and. subsequently removing to Canada, was a member of the Canada assembly from 1840 till 1848. The son was educated at Upper Canada college and Edinburgh university, and afterward spent several years in travel through Great Britain, Ireland, and the European continent. From 1867 till 1871 he represented East Durham as a Conservative in the Ontario legislature, and from 1878 till his death he sat for the same constituency in the Dominion parliament. He was appointed a lieutenant-colonel of militia in 1866, in 1880 commanded the Canadian rifle-team at Wimbledon, and in 1885 led the Midland battalion in suppressing the Northwest insurrection. He was present with his command at the battle of Batoche, and afterward went with Gen. Sir Frederick Middleton to Prince Albert, and thence to Battleford and Fort Pitt. From the last-named place he was sent in pursuit of Big