William WIDGERY, Congress, MA (17531822)

WIDGERY, William, a Representative from Massachusetts; probably born in Devonshire, England, about 1753; immigrated to America with his parents, who settled in Philadelphia; attended the common schools; engaged in shipbuilding; served in the Revolutionary War as a lieutenant on a privateer; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Portland, Maine (until 1820 a district of Massachusetts), about 1790; member of the Massachusetts house of representatives 1787-1793 and 1795-1797; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1788; served in the State senate in 1794; member of the executive council in 1806 and 1807; elected as a Republican to the Twelfth Congress (March 4, 1811-March 3, 1813); unsuccessful for reelection in 1812 to the Thirteenth Congress; judge of the court of common pleas 1813-1821; died in Portland, Maine, July 31, 1822; interment in the Eastern Cemetery.

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