tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394184517128570144.post615787297016422818..comments2024-02-19T01:54:37.404-08:00Comments on Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog: Records in Unpredictable PlacesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394184517128570144.post-71831777844301013132012-11-26T13:56:24.978-08:002012-11-26T13:56:24.978-08:00Williams was a fascinating man, and his career per...Williams was a fascinating man, and his career personified the very best of the 'improving spirit' that transformed the Old Northwest in the antebellum years. He spearheaded the campaign to win support for the construction of 2 cross-state canals in Ohio in the late 1820s, and then coordinated their construction and financing. Later, he was president of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, an institution that channeled the funds of eastern investors to Ohio farmers eager to take advantage of new commercial opportunities opened to them by the canals. And he was a major bank investor and an early railroad investor .... all while participating actively in land speculation and town lot 'projections' throughout the Great Lakes states. His papers are at OHS in Columbus (and my dissertation deals with the mortgage lending activities of the Trust Company).STICKLE ONShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14758631948223906637noreply@blogger.com