William John Duane

William John Duane 1780-1865, U.S. Secretary of Treasury (June-Sept., 1833), b. Clonmel, Ireland. He emigrated (1796) to Philadelphia with his father, William Duane (1760-1835), and assisted him in publishing the Aurora until 1806. An influential lawyer, he served several terms in the Pennsylvania legislature and was powerful in state politics. He was appointed Secretary of Treasury by President Jackson to succeed Louis McLane, who was transferred to the Dept. of State because he refused to remove government deposits from the Bank of the United States to state banks. When Jackson made this request of Duane, the new Secretary also refused to carry out the transfer and was replaced by Roger B. Taney. Duane defended his own position in his documentary Narrative and Correspondence concerning the Removal of the Deposites (1838) and then withdrew from public life.

Williams, John, known as Anthony Pasquin (1761–1818), was a voluminous satirist and miscellaneous writer, often threatened with prosecution for libel. The Children of Thespis (1786–8) was his most successful poem.

Williams, John Foster (1743–1814)Revolutionary War naval officer. Born in Boston, John Foster Williams went to sea at an early age. When the Revolutionary War began he was commissioned captain of a sloop in the Massachusetts state navy. During the war he commanded a series of sloops and privateers, capturing many prizes with the Hazard and Protector, in particular. He participated in the ill-fated Penobscot expedition in 1779, and was captured by the British in early 1781. He returned to sea in 1783 after being exchanged. President Washington appointed Williams captain of the revenue cutter Massachusetts in 1790, and he held that post until his death in Boston.