John Gustavus Adolphus Williamson, Marker G-72
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 36° 21.952 W 078° 59.759
17S E 679790 N 4026394
J.G.A. Williamson was a Person County native, politician and the first U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and had a sad ending.
Waymark Code: WM9A5
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 03/22/2006
Views: 14
John G.A. Williamson was born near Paine’s Tavern in Person County on December 2, 1793. His father, James, a native of Scotland, had settled in the county some
ten years earlier.
In 1813 John entered the University of North Carolina but failed to graduate. His bent at this time, it seems, was more towards business. A career in mercantile activities in New York was short lived, for he returned to Person County around 1821 or 1822. The next three years, 1823-1825, saw Williamson in Raleigh as a representative in the General Assembly.
He was then appointed to the post of Consul of the United States at La Guayra, in the Republic of Colombia.
Williamson returned home to the United States in 1832. The next year, 1833, he ran for the United States Congress as representative of Person, Orange, and Wake counties, but was defeated.
He was then appointed the first ambassador to the newly formed Republic of Venezuela.
Williamson’s wife was very unhappy in Venezuela and was determined to leave with
or without the Ambassador. Not long after her departure, on August 7, 1840 Williamson
died.
He was buried in Venezuela. The cemetery was left unattended and John Gustavus Adolphus Williamson now lies undisturbed and forgotten in a foreign country.
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