William Bancroft

For other people named William Bancroft, see William Bancroft (disambiguation).

William Amos Bancroft
Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts
In office January 1893 – January 1897
Preceded by	Alpheus B. Alger
Succeeded by	Alvin F. Sortwell
President of the Cambridge, Massachusetts Board of Aldermen
In office 1891–1892
Member of the Cambridge, Massachusetts Board of Aldermen
In office 1891–1892
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office 1883–1885
Member of the Cambridge, Massachusetts Common Council
In office 1882–1882
Personal details
Born	(1855-04-26)April 26, 1855 Groton, Massachusetts
Died	March 11, 1922(1922-03-11) (aged 66) Cambridge, Massachusetts
Spouse	Mary Shaw
Children	Hugh Bancroft, Guy Bancroft, Catherine (Bancroft) De Haviland
Alma mater	Harvard College, Harvard Law School[1]
Occupation	Attorney
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Rank	Private to colonel (Massachusetts Militia), Brigadier general (United States Volunteers)
Unit	Massachusetts Militia United States Volunteers
Commands	Company B, Fifth Massachusetts Militia Regiment, Fifth Massachusetts Militia Regiment
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War

William Amos Bancroft (April 26, 1855 – March 11, 1922) was a Massachusetts businessman, soldier and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and on the Common Council, Board of Aldermen, and as the Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts (1893–1897).

Bancroft was the president of the Boston Elevated Railway Company from 1899 to 1916.^[2][3]

During the Spanish–American War, Bancroft was a brigadier general of United States Volunteers.^[2]

Life and career

William was born on April 26, 1855, in Groton, Massachusetts, to Charles Bancroft and Lydia Emeline (Spaulding) Bancroft.^[1][4][5] He attended Lawrence Academy in his hometown and Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. After graduating from Phillips Exeter, he attended Harvard Law School, where he enlisted in the fifth regiment of the state militia in his Freshman year.^[6]

Bancroft died on March 11, 1922, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was buried in Groton Cemetery alongside his parents.^[2][5]

Notes

1. Toomey, Daniel P. (1892). Massachusetts of Today: a Memorial of the State, Historical and Biographical. Boston, MA: Columbia Publishing Company. p. 297. Retrieved April 26, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
2. "General William A. Bancroft Dies". The New York Times. Cambridge, Massachusetts (published March 12, 1922). March 12, 1922. p. 30. Retrieved April 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Brush To Lead Elevated". The Boston Daily Globe. September 16, 1919. p. 3. Retrieved April 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. May, Virginia A. (1978). Groton Houses: Some Notes on the History of Old Homesteads in Groton, Massachusetts. p. 53.
5. Vollmar, Joshua (October 2022). "Who Was General Bancroft?" (PDF). Retrieved June 17, 2022.
6. Electric Railway Review: Volume 8. 1898. p. 107.

• Media related to William Amos Bancroft at Wikimedia Commons

Political offices
Preceded by Alpheus B. Alger	Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts January 1893 – January 1897	Succeeded by Alvin F. Sortwell
Business positions
Preceded by William A. Gaston	President of the Boston Elevated Railway 1899–1916	Succeeded by Matthew C. Brush