Samuel May Williams

Williams was a businessman and entrepreneur. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1795 and apprenticed under his uncle Nathaniel Williams as a commission merchant, including spending time in Latin America. He arrived in Texas in 1822 and found work as a translator and clerk for Stephen F. Austin. He worked for Austin for 13 years, handling his colony’s business, writing deeds and filing paperwork. He also served as postmaster at San Felipe. In 1833 he entered into a partnership with Thomas McKinney to start the commission firm McKinney & Williams, headquartered in Quintana. The firm used its credit to raise funds, supplies and arms for the Texas Army. After the war, they moved the business to Galveston, became early investors in the Galveston City Company, and built the Tremont Hotel. McKinney left the firm in 1842, and Williams sold his share to his brother Henry, and the firm became H. H. Williams and Company. In 1841 Williams shifted his business to banking, and in 1848 opened the first chartered bank in Texas, activating a charter he had received in 1835. The Commercial and Agricultural Bank of Galveston faced many legal challenges before closing in 1859, Williams died in 1858.