Name William Montgomery | ||
Role Former United States Representative Died May 1, 1816, Danville, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Member of congress start date March 4, 1793 Previous office Representative 1793–1795 | ||
Birth: Aug. 3, 1736 Chester County Pennsylvania, USA Death: May 1, 1816 Danville Montour County Pennsylvania, USA
US Congressman. He served as a Colonel in the Revolution, commanding the Chester County Militia's Fourth Battalion, seeing action on Long Island and in New Jersey. In 1775 and 1776 he was a delegate to Pennsylvania's provincial conventions. He moved to Northumberland County in 1776 and was elected to the State Assembly in 1779, serving several terms. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1784. In 1785 he was appointed Judge of Northumberland and Luzerne Counties. In 1790 he was elected to Pennsylvania's first State Senate. In 1791 Montgomery was appointed Justice of the Peace for Northumberland County. In 1792 he was elected to the US House of Representatives as an Anti-Administration candidate and served one term, 1793 to 1795. In 1793 Montgomery was appointed Major General of the Pennsylvania Militia, serving until 1807. When Danville (named for his son Daniel) was incorporated in 1801, Montgomery was named its first Postmaster, serving until 1803. He was Associate Judge of Northumberland County from 1801 to 1813. The Danville home he built in 1792 still stands at Mill and Bloom Streets and is operated as the Montgomery House Museum and home of the Montour County Historical Society. He was the father of Daniel Montgomery (1765-1831), who also served in Congress. (bio by: Bill McKern) From Find A Grave Memorial
William Montgomery (August 3, 1736 – May 1, 1816) was an American jurist and politician from Chester County, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives from 1793 until 1795.
Born in Mill Creek Hundred, Delaware, Montgomery served during the American Revolutionary War as a Pennsylvania provincial delegate in 1775 and 1776 and as Colonel of the Fourth Battalion of Chester County Militia and of the First Pennsylvania Regiment of Washington's Flying Camp. He moved to Northumberland County in 1776 and became a member of the state assembly beginning in 1779. Montgomery was called upon to settle boundary disputes in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, in 1783. Although elected to the Continental Congress in 1784, Montgomery did not serve.
Montgomery was appointed presiding judge of Northumberland and Luzerne Counties in 1785 and deputy surveyor of parts of Northumberland County in 1783. He became a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1790, Northumberland associate judge in 1791, and Anti-Administration representative to the United States Congress from 1793 to 1795. Montgomery served as a major general in the Pennsylvania militia for fourteen years, beginning in 1793. He was chosen as Presidential Elector in 1804 and 1808 but missed both ballotings due to illness.
Montgomery and his son Daniel developed Danville, Pennsylvania, during the second half of the 18th century. He was named the borough's first postmaster, serving from 1801 to 1803. Montgomery died in Danville. His house at Danville, known as the General William Montgomery House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.