William Churchill HOUSTON, Congress, NJ (1746-1788)

HOUSTON, William Churchill, a Delegate from New Jersey; born in Sumter District, South Carolina, around 1746; pursued classical studies; was graduated from Princeton College in 1768; professor in the same college from 1769 to 1783, when he resigned; served as captain in the Second Regiment, Somerset Militia, during the Revolutionary War; deputy secretary of the Continental Congress in 1775 and 1776; member of the New Jersey Provincial Congress in 1776; member of the New Jersey house of assembly 1777-1779; member of the council of safety in 1778; Member of the Continental Congress 1779-1781; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1781 and commenced practice in Trenton, N.J., in 1783; elected as the first Comptroller of the Treasury in 1781, but declined to serve; receiver of Continental taxes 1782-1785; clerk of the supreme court of New Jersey 1781-1788; again a Member of the Continental Congress in 1784 and 1785; member of the Annapolis Convention in 1786; delegate to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention in 1787; died in Frankford, Pa., August 12, 1788; interment in the Second Presbyterian Churchyard, Philadelphia, Pa.

Bibliography

Glenn, Thomas Allen. William Churchill Houston, 1746-1788. Norristown, Pa.: Privately printed, 1903.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present