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Elisha Williams
Gender:
Male
Born:
August 29, 1773
Died:
June 29, 1833
Home Town:
Pomfret, CT
Later Residences:
Spencertown, NY
Hudson, NY
Waterloo, NY
Hudson, NY
Waterloo, NY
Marriage(s):
Lucia Grosvenor Williams (1795)
Biographical Notes:
Elisha Williams was the son of Ebenezer and Jerusha Porter Williams. Born on August 29, 1773, he was one of thirteen children. His father died when he was only a boy and Williams was put under the guardianship of Captain Seth Grosvenor of Pomfret, CT.
In 1792 Elisha began his legal education under Tapping Reeve in Litchfield, CT. After attending the Law School he briefly clerked with Ambrose Spencer in Hudson, NY, before settling in Spencertown, NY. In 1795 Elisha served on the committee of correspondence for John Jay. That said year he married the daughter of his former guardian and they had five children. In 1799 he was elected to the state general assembly, and then moved his family and practice to Hudson, NY.
He became a leader of the Federalist Party in the state of ...
[more]
In 1792 Elisha began his legal education under Tapping Reeve in Litchfield, CT. After attending the Law School he briefly clerked with Ambrose Spencer in Hudson, NY, before settling in Spencertown, NY. In 1795 Elisha served on the committee of correspondence for John Jay. That said year he married the daughter of his former guardian and they had five children. In 1799 he was elected to the state general assembly, and then moved his family and practice to Hudson, NY.
He became a leader of the Federalist Party in the state of ...
[more]
Education
Years at LLS:
1792
Other Education:
His guardian Captain Seth Grovesnor of Pomfret, CT gave him his early education.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Business; Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
June 1793
Training with Other Lawyers:
He studied under Chief Justice Ambrose Spencer at Hudson, NY.
State Posts:
State Representative (NY) 1800-1809
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
- Mary Williams Robbins
Daughter
LFA (1819) - Lucia Grosvenor Williams
Wife - Jerusha Porter Williams
Mother - Ebenezer Williams
Father
The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation. Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Handwritten list on loose papers of Litchfield Law School students "prior to 1798," inside Catalogue of Litchfield Law School Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849 at the Litchfield Historical Society - Notes him as having atttended in 1793.
Secondary Sources:
Ellis, Franklin. History of Columbia County, New York. J.B. Lippincott, 1878.
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