WILLIAMS, Ephraim, soldier, was born in Newton, Mass., Feb. 24, 1715; son of Col. Ephraim Williams (1691-1754); grandson of Isaac Williams (1638-1708), and great-grandson of Robert Williams. He was a sailor by trade, but in 1740, at the outbreak of the French and Indian war, joined the American army and served in Canada, attaining the rank of captain. In 1750 he erected Fort Massachusetts, on a tract of land grunted him by the crown, and in 1751 he was appointed commander of the forts in the Hoosac Valley. In 1755 he commanded a regiment of Massachusetts troops to take part in the expedition against Crown Point under Sir William Johnson, and while making a reconnaissance of Baron Dieskau's force he was surprised by the enemy, and mortally wounded. His brother Thomas (1718-1775) was a surgeon in the army, in the invasion of Canada; was promoted lieutenant-colonel, and on the close of the campaign practised medicine in Deerfield, Mass. Ephraim bequeathed his property to found a free school at Williamstown, Mass., and in 1785 a school building (now known as West college) was erected. In 1793 the state of Massachusetts granted the school a charter as Williams college, and donated $4,000 for the purchase of books and philosophical apparatus. Ephraim Williams died near Lake George, N.Y., Sept. 8, 1755.
