Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 7).djvu/330

282 WILLIAMS, Arthur Llewellyn. P. E. bishop, b. at Owen Sound, Ontario, 30 Jan.. 18,')3. He was educated in East Greenwich, R. I., and at the West- ern theological seminary of Chicago. From 1879 to 1885 he was in the railway sei'vice. In 1888 he was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal church, and for ten years held charges in Chicago and else- where. In 1899 he was elected coadjutor bishop to Bishop Worthington of Nebraska, and was con- secrated in Omaha, 18 Oct., St. Luke's day. WILLIAMS, Charles Frederick, editor, b. in Charlestown, Mass., 31 Oct., 1843; d. in Boston, 20 Dec, 1895. lie studied at the Harvard law-school, and was editor of the last eight volumes of the "American and English Eneyclopiedia of Law." He also edited " The Tariff Laws of the United States, with Explanatory Notes and Citations from the Decisions of the Courts and Treasury Department " (Boston, 1883) ; " Index of Cases Overruled, Distinguished, etc." (1887) ; and " Di- gest of Decisions of the Massachusetts Supreme Court " (vols, cxlii.-cli. of the " Massachusetts lie- ports "). Mr. Williams was afterward engaged in the preparation of the "Federal Digest"; was a collaborator of the "'Annual Digest" and of Jacol)s's " Complete Digest."

WILLIAMS, George Huntington, geologist, b. in Utica, N. Y., 28 Jan., 1856 : d. there, 13 July, 1894. He was graduated at Amherst, and. after studying at GOttingen, he settled in Heidelberg, where he made a specialty of petrography, under Rosenbuseh, and obtained his doctorate in 1882 cum gumma laude. Returning to the United States he received an appointment in the Johns Hopkins uni- versity, becoming associate professor in 1885, and professor of inorganic geology seven years later. The geology of many lands became the special sub- ject of his investigations, and he published seventy- itwo important papers descriptive of his work, the last of these, entitled " The Volcanic Rocks of East- ern North America," a paper of great geologic in- terest. Prof. Williams was a member of the in- ternational jury of awards in the department of mines and mining at the World's Columbian ex- position, a corresponding member of the Geological society of London, a member of the French min- eralogical society, and vice-president of the Geo- logical society of America.

WILLIAMS, John Fletcher, author, b. in Cincinnati, Ohio, 25 Sept.. 18,34; d. in Rochester, Minn., 28 April, 1895. He was educated in the schools of his native town, and at the Ohio Wes- leyan university, where he was graduated in 1852. Three years later he removed to St. Paul, and en- gaged in newspaper work, serving on the staflE of the " Daily Minnesotian," the " Pioneer Press " and its predecessors, and the " Daily Dispatch." He was a member of the board of education of St. Paul in 184-'70. In April, 1869, he abandoned journalism to devote his time entirely to tlie Min- nesota historical society, of which he had been elected secretary and librarian in January, 1867. In 1873 he was appointed by President Grant com- missioner from Minnesota for the centennial cele- bration. His publications include " The Odd Fel- lows' Minstrel" (Cincinnati, 1864); "History of the City of St. Paul and of the County of Ram- sey. Minnesota" (1876) ; and many articles in the collections of the various societies of which Mr. Williams was a member, in cyclopa'dias, town and county histories, and magazines, for a list of which see the annual report of the American historical association for 1889.

WILLIAMS, John Lee, pioneer, b. about 1775, d. in Picolati, Fla., 7 Nov., 1856. He went to Florida in 1820, and was one of the commissioners appointed to select the seat of government. His work in this connection brought to his notice the deficiency of what few maps there were then about the country; for his own satisfaction he made a survey of the coast from St. Andrew's bay to the Suwanee, as well as the interior of the country in which Tallahassee is situated. The results of this work were embodied in "A View of West Forida, embracing its Topography, Geography, etc., with an Appendix treating of the Antiquities, Land Titles, and Canals, and containing a Chart of the Coast, a Plan of Pensacola, and the Entrance of the Harbor" (Philadelphia, 1837). He then trav- ersed the country in various directions, coasted the whole peninsula from Pensacola to St. Jlary's, and examined the various keys or islets along the coast. He made explorations in the interior, and traced the ancient improvements and the scattered ruins. The fruit of t hese researches he gave to tlie world in "The Territory of Florida ; or. Sketches of the Topography, Civil and Natural History of the Country, the Climate and the Indian Tribes, from the First Discovery to the Present Time " (New York, 1837). The last twenty years of his life were spent in poverty in Picolati. At the time of his death he was engaged in several literary en- terprises, one of which was a revised edition of his history. He was of an amiable disposition, equally loved and trusted by Indians ancl whites, and it was this trait of character that permitted him to live unharmed through the Seminole war, when all other white men had tied.

WILLIAMSON, Benjamin, jurist, b. in Eliza- beth, N. J., 16 May, 1808; d. there, 2 Dec, 1893. He was a son of Giov. Isaac H. Williamson, who was also chancellor of New Jersey (q. v.), and was graduated from Princeton in 1837; was soon after- ward admitted to the bar, at which he became fa- mous. As a constitutional and corporation lawyer he had no superior in his state. In 1852 he was appointed chancellor, and held the oflice for eight vears. In 1860 he was a dclegate-at-large to the bemocratie national convention, in 1861 a com- missioner from New Jersey to the peace congress, and in 1863 lacked but a few votes of being elect- ed U. S. senator. He had been the chief counsel for many years of the Central railway of New Jer- sey, and also for the Lehigh Valley railway. lie married the daughter of Chief Justice Beasley, and left several sons and mai'ried thiughters.

'''WILLIAMSON. Isaiah Vansant,''' philanthro- pist, b. in Fallsington, Pa., 3 Feb., 1803; d. in Phil- adelphia, 7 March, 1889. He was a farmer's son, and entered a country store at an early age. Be- fore he attained his majority he went to Philadel- phia, and there engaged in various enterprises, showing great business ability. He became a part- ner in the firm of Williamson, Burroughs & Co. in the wholesale dry-goods trade, and acquired a fortune. Mr. Williamson invested his money in coal and iron lands, and became one of the largest holders of Pennsylvania railroad stock, and in the Cambria iron-works. Believing that the degener- acy of mechanical excellence among American ar- tisans was due to the passing away of the appren- tice system, he deteriTiined to found an institution where boys could be taught carpentry, blacksmith- ing. printing, and other mechanical work. For this purpose, in December, 1888, he placed $5,000,000 as a minimum amount in the hands of seven trustees to establish a free school of mechanical trades. Mr. Williamson's fortune was estimated at $15,000,000. He never married, and lived ob- scurely and almost penuriously for many years.