William Houstoun (lawyer)

This article is about the lawyer. For the statesman, see William Houston. For other people, see William Houstoun.
William Houstoun

Silhouette of William Houstoun by Charles Willson Peale
Born William Houstoun
c. 1755
Savannah, Georgia
Died March 3, 1813
Savannah, Georgia
Resting place
 St. Paul's Chapel, New York City
Nationality British, American
Citizenship Kingdom of Great Britain
United States
Education Inner Temple, London
Occupation Lawyer, planter, statesman
Delegate from Georgia to the Congress of the Confederation
Delegate from Georgia to the Constitutional Convention (United States)
Parent(s) Sir Patrick Houstoun

William Houstoun, also spelled Houston, (/ˈhaʊstən/ HOW-stən) (c. 1755—March 17, 1813[1]) was an American planter, lawyer, and statesman. He served Georgia as a delegate to the Continental Congress and to the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787.[1]

Early life

William Houstoun was the son of Sir Patrick Houstoun, a member of the council under the royal government of Georgia. He was born in 1755 in Savannah, Georgia. Houstoun received a liberal education, which included legal training at Inner Temple in London.

Role in the Continental Congress

The American Revolution cut short his training, and Houstoun returned home to Georgia. For many years members of Houstoun's family had been high officials in the colony. With the onset of war, many remained loyal to the crown, but William, a zealous advocate of colonists' rights, was among the first to counsel resistance to British aggression.

Houstoun represented Georgia in the Continental Congress from 1783 through 1786. He was chosen as one of Georgia's agents to settle a boundary dispute with South Carolina in 1785 and was one of the original trustees of the University of Georgia at Athens.

Delegate to the Georgia Convention

When the Constitutional Convention convened in 1787, Houstoun presented his credentials as one of Georgia's delegates. He stayed for only a short time, from June 1 until about July 23, but he was present during the debate on the representation question. Houstoun split Georgia's vote on equal representation in the Senate, voting "nay" against Abraham Baldwin's "aye." His fellow Georgian delegate William Pierce wrote of him: "As to his legal or political knowledge he has very little to boast of. Nature seems to have done more for his corporeal than mental powers. His Person is striking, but his mind very little improved with useful or elegant knowledge."[2]

Later life

Houstoun married Mary Bayard, the daughter of Nicholas Bayard (baptized 1736[3]), a member of the prominent New York city Bayard family. Houston Street, originally part of his father-in-law's estate in the New York City borough of Manhattan was named for Houstoun,[4] using an alternate spelling.

Houstoun died in Savannah on March 17, 1813, and was interred in St. Paul's Chapel in New York City.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 William Houstoun at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
  2. ↑ Pierce, William (1911). "CXIX. William Pierce: Character Sketches of Delegates to the Federal Convention.". In Farrand, Max. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Vol. 3. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. p. 97. LCCN 11005506. OCLC 349356. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  3. ↑ Bulloch, Joseph Gaston Baillie (1919). A History and Genealogy of the Families of Bayard, Houstoun of Georgia, and the Descent of the Bolton Family from Assheton, Byron and Hulton of Hulton Park. J. H. Dony.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Marjorie. "The meaning behind the city's best-known streets". 2 February 2012. AM New York. Retrieved 12 October 2012.