He was born at Boston and graduated from Harvard (1735). He became a merchant and was a Member of the Provincial Council. He was chosen by Roxbury to serve on several committees during the troubles before the Revolution . He married and had three daughters of whom only one married - Sarah married first her cousin James Bowdoin (founder of Bowdoin College) and second U.S. Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn. William died at Roxbury leaving an estate valued at £16,252.
