Clark Williams

For the North Dakota politician, see Clark Williams (politician).

Clark Williams
Williams in 1909
New York State Comptroller
In office 1909–1910
Personal details
Born	Myron Clark Williams (1870-05-02)May 2, 1870 Canandaigua, New York
Died	December 18, 1946(1946-12-18) (aged 76) Greenwich, Connecticut
Spouse	Anna Murphy Plater ​ (m. 1897)​
Education	Williams College
Occupation	Banker, politician

Myron Clark Williams (May 2, 1870 – December 18, 1946) was an American banker and politician.

Life

Born in Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York, Williams was the son of George N. Williams, a banker, and Abigail (Clark) Williams (daughter of Governor Myron H. Clark). He was educated at Canandaigua Academy, and graduated from Williams College in 1892, as a member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He later served for many years as a Trustee of Williams. After graduation, he became a clerk at the First National Bank in New York City, then at the New York Guarantee and Indemnity Company, and later at the United States Mortgage and Trust Company of which he became vice president. On April 29, 1897, he married Anna Murphy Plater in Nashville, Tennessee, a portrait of whom by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury is in the Williams College Faculty Club/Alumni Center, Williamstown.^[1]

In 1905, he left US Mortgage & Trust to co-organize the Columbia Trust Company of which he became vice president. On October 23, 1907, he was appointed by Governor Charles E. Hughes Superintendent of Banks.^[2] In November 1909, he was appointed New York State Comptroller to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Charles H. Gaus, and remained in office until the end of 1910.^[3] Afterwards he became President of the Windsor Trust Company and then of the Industrial Finance Corporation.^[4]

He served as a Red Cross representative with the First American Infantry Division in World War I. He was in the field at the Battles of Cantigny and Château-Thierry. Later he was field director of the Bureau of Army Field Service, in charge of all Red Cross service during the Argonnes Campaign. He finished the war with the rank of major, and in 1922, he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross for his services.^[5]

He died December 18, 1946, in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[6]

Mary Clark Thompson was his aunt.

References

1. "A Day's Weddings: Williams-Plater" (PDF). The New York Times. Nashville, Tennessee. April 30, 1897. p. 7. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
2. "Clark Williams Heads State Banks" (PDF). The New York Times. Albany. October 24, 1904. p. 4. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
3. "Hughes Hits Bosses by Naming Williams" (PDF). The New York Times. Albany. November 12, 1909. p. 3. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
4. "New Head of Windsor Trust" (PDF). The New York Times. June 16, 1911. p. 13. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
5. "Major Williams Honored" (PDF). The New York Times. December 3, 1922. p. E33. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
6. "Clark Williams Dies, Funeral Here Friday". Daily Messenger. December 19, 1946. Archived from the original on March 13, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via usgennet.org.

Political offices
Preceded by Otto Kelsey Acting	New York State Comptroller 1909–1910	Succeeded by William Sohmer