Forty-one years may be a long time for many -- a lifetime for some. George Washington Williams, 41 when he died in 1891, made the best of his short stay on this planet. He accomplished most everything one could imagine except perhaps invent electricity or cure the common cold.
Overachiever and enthusiast are probably the best words to describe this man who was born in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania, and enlisted in the Union Army at the tender age of 14. His pleading to remain in service was reportedly successful once his true age was discovered, as he apparently stayed in the Army until wounded in action in Texas.
“Apparently” is the key word, as the only three accounts of this man vary considerably on where and when he performed his military service. One account had him joining Mexican revolutionary forces and fighting down there for a brief time shortly after the Civil War.
In fact, there are many significant time and event differences among the sources which covered his life: The Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, The Biographical Dictionary of Black Americans, and Great Negroes Past and Present. Ignoring for the moment some of the glaring inconsistencies, the following are known: he was a soldier, clergyman, historian, diplomat, and lawyer. Not bad for an adult lifetime that spanned only one score years.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was authoring The History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880, which was considered the first and most comprehensive scholarly examination of the race. He followed that five years later with History of Negro Troops in the War of Rebellion and also received widespread critical acclaim.
He achieved many firsts. In addition to writing the initial history of his race in American history, he was Ohio’s first elected black state legislator and Newton (Massachusetts) Theological Seminary’s first black graduate. He studied some at Howard University and also served briefly as a pastor in Washington, DC. Williams started a magazine there, The Commoner, which ultimately failed due to low circulation figures even though such contemporary luminaries as John Langston Hughes and Frederick Douglass were contributors.
He ‘read the law’ under Alphonso Taft, who was a forebear of that prominent American political family, and was admitted to the Ohio bar. While living in Cincinnati and also serving there as a Baptist preacher, he contributed articles to the local press under the pseudonym “Aristides,” the famed sixth century B.C. Athenian statesman and general.
Williams was reputed to be a skillful orator and politician. He was appointed U.S. minister to Haiti, but the incoming administration withdrew the position, forcing Williams to embark on other new and glorious adventures. Interestingly, one of the three sources said he actually 'served with distinction' in the position which the other two said he never realized. Isn't history wonderful?
He attended a slavery conference in Brussels and shortly thereafter traveled to the Belgian Congo to observe conditions. He addressed a critical open letter to Belgium King Leopold about the Congolese circumstance, a theme that would soon be reported extensively by others in Europe and the U.S. Within a year, however, he visited England, fell ill, and died there in August, 1891. Historians can’t even agree on the day -- one saying August 2, the other August 26.
Whatever are the actual particulars of George Washington Williams' life, it’s certain that few others have enjoyed such energy, accomplishment, or activity over such a short period of time.
How could someone with a name like George Washington have been so overlooked and forgotten?
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Fred W. Apelquist, III, M.Ed.
Approximately 600 words.
© 1997