John W. Williams

     Major General John Williams.
 Before this reaches the eye of the reader, Ma-
jor General John Williams, City Treasurer, if
the prognostications of his physicians prove cor-
rect, will have passed from this earth to the
unknown hereafter. He has been in feeble
health for some time, the chief difficulty being
gall stones. A vigorous will to conquer he
kept up and around until a few days ago, when
a change for the worse took place, succeeded by
a decided change yeasterday, and this morning
he was pronounced to be dying--worn out, ex-
hausted by the great drain on his strength.
 John Williams was born in Utica in 1807;
from there he went to Sacketts Harbor, and in
1824 came to this city. He went into the hard-
ware business with Olcott & Watts, and subse-
quently with Olcott, Watts & Langworthy.
Soon after that he conducted the business in
Exchange street for himself, but was unsuccess-
ful. He went to Michigan for a year and then
returned to this city, engaging in the distillery
business with the late Warham Whitney, whose
daughter he subsequently married. Twenty-
five or thirty years ago he engaged in the mer-
chant milling business in the Whitney Mills in
Browns Race and continued therein, with vary-
ing fortunes, until 1868 or '69. In 1842 he was
elected Alderman from the Second Ward, his
opponent being the late Geo. W. Parsons. At
this election the use of "gums" or pasters
was first introduced. At the close of the polls
it was generally conceded that Mr. Parsons was
elected, and his friends with a band repaired to
his residence and gave him a serenade. A count
of the "gums," however, showed Mr. Wil-
liams elected by a good majority.
 In 1853 he was elected Mayor of Rochester,
and he discharged the duties of the office with
the greatest fidelity to the interests of the peo-
ple. In 1854 he was elected to Congress, being
the candidate of the Democracy. His election
was a signal triumph for his party. In the
House of Representatives he was a prominent
member, and if we mistake not was a leading
candidate for the Speakership.
 In 1871 he was elected City Treasurer by the
Democrat and Labor Reform parties by 1,700
majority. So well did he discharge the duties
of the office that in 1873 he was reelected with-
out any opposition. In March, 1875, he was
elected for a third time by over 3,000 majori-
ty. His present term expires on the first Mon-
day of April next. Major General Williams
for many years has occupied a prominent posi-
tion in the military affairs of the State. He was
the organizer and commandant in the early
days of Rochester of that crack military corps,
"Williams Light Infantry." Subsequently he
was Inspector General, with the rank of Major,
on the staff of some General. He was for
years Brigadier General of the Twenty-fifth
Brigade, and at the present time holds the office
of Major General of the Seventh Division of the
National Guard. He was always considered
au fait in military matters. He succeeded as
Major General, General Wadsworth. In 1861
or 1862 he was commissioned to raise the 108th
Regiment, U.S. Voluteers, and he soon had
the ranks full and the regiment started for the
South. He soon turned over the command to
Col. O'Rourke.
 General Williams was one of the most ener-
getic and hospitable citizens Rochester ever
had, and the announcement of his death will
mark a sad era in the history of Rochester.
His second wife was also a daughter of the late
Warham Whitney. He leaves four sons--
J. Elliot, Edward W., George D. and Whitney
Williams.
 He was for years an active fireman, and held
the office of Foreman of Fire Company No. 3.
He was always prominent in charitable move-
ments and the needy and those in distress never
appealed to John Williams oin vain when he was
in a situation to lend a helping hand. He al-
ways bore the reputation of a man of the strict-
est integrity, and deservedly so. The breath
of suspicion was never raised against him. We
are aware that this is an imperfect sketch of
the General, but want of time prevents us from
gathering further data to-day.