William D. Williamson, the third man to become President of the Maine Senate during its first session, was, unlike his predecessors, well-educated. A lawyer and graduate of Brown University he was admitted to the Maine Bar in 1807 and practiced law in Bangor until 1817 when he was elected to three successive terms in the Senate of the General Court of Massachusetts.
When Maine became a State in 1820 Williamson was elected to represent Penobscot County in the State’s first Senate. After William Moody’s resignation, Williamson served as President of the Maine State Senate until he resigned in December 1821 after being elected as a Representative to the Seventeenth United States Congress.
As a Congressman he is credited with having instigated a survey of the military works on the Penobscot River which eventually led to the construction of Fort Knox.
Although Williamson held many other State and local offices and even served as acting Governor on the resignation of William King, he is no doubt best remembered as an historian.
A founding member of the Maine Historical Society, his "History of Maine," which was published in 1832 in two volumes, remains to this day the standard work on early Maine. It has since been reprinted and is often referred to by students of Maine history simply as "Williamson."
A discerning biographer in 1882 made the following statement: "At some future time a new edition... will be invaluable to a student of Maine history. It is the great work of Judge Williamson’s life, and by it his name will be perpetuated."
Bangor lost one of its most distinguished sons on May 27, 1846 when the old Judge died at the age of sixty-six.