Everything about William Houston totally explained
William Churchill Houston (c. 1746 –
August 12,
1788) was an
American teacher, lawyer, and statesman. He was a delegate to both the
Continental Congress and the
Constitutional Convention for
New Jersey. Houston was elected in 1785 to the
American Philosophical Society.
Early life and career
William was born in the
Sumter District of central
South Carolina. His parents, Archibald and Margaret Houston, were farmers who had emigrated to the then
British colony from
Ireland. He attended the College of New Jersey (later
Princeton) After his graduation in 1768 he stayed on as a tutor, becoming a Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (science) in 1771.
American Revolution
Militia
When British forces occupied
Princeton in 1776 at the outset of the
Revolution the college was closed and the students and professors returned home. Houston then joined with the militia of nearby
Somerset County and saw action in the area. He was later elected Captain of one of their companies. When the British withdrew from New Jersey in 1777 and the college reopened, he returned to his teaching post.
Continental Congress and legal career
He was elected to represent Somerset County in the New Jersey state assembly in 1777. In 1778 he served on the state’s Committee of Safety. Then from 1779 to 1781 New Jersey sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress. His work in Congress was largely directed to issues of finance and supply. He began to study law at this time.
He returned to the college, and was admitted to the bar in 1781. Houston also opened a law office in
Trenton. During these years he was also named as clerk of the New Jersey Supreme Court. In 1783, he resigned from the college to devote himself to his legal career. He returned to the Continental Congress in 1784 and 1785.
Constitutional Convention delegate
In 1786 Houston was appointed to a commission to study the defects in the
Articles of Confederation which joined the states. He went to the
Annapolis Convention to discuss the problem. Instead of proposing changes to the articles, this Convention called for a full Constitutional Convention. When the
United States Constitutional Convention assembled in 1788, he went to
Philadelphia as a delegate. Houston only remained at the convention for a week before his failing health caused him to withdraw.
Death
He died of
tuberculosis the following year in
Frankford, Pennsylvania (now part of Philadelphia) and was buried at the Second Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Philadelphia. He was the first of the
Founding Fathers of the United States to die.
Further Information
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