Portrait of Ira Williams
Ira Williams Portrait by Ammi Phillips
circa 1835 – 1840 (Date manufactured/created)
Oil paint
Canvas
38.5" H
X
33" W
X
1.75" D
32.25" H X 27" W
32.25" H X 27" W
Oil on canvas portrait of Ira Williams (1790-1877) by Ammi Phillips (1788-1865), painted c. 1835-1840.
Ira Williams was born on April 4, 1790, the son of Elijah Williams, and raised by Abraham Pratt of Sharon after Elijah's death. He married Melissa Calkins Williams, daughter of James Calkins and Sarah Kelsey. They lived at 1 Williams Road from 1833 to 1845 (which may have been known at one time as 132 Calkinstown Road) in a house purchased from her father James. They had two children, Henry Williams, born February 1, 1821, and Jennett Williams, born c. 1831.
Ira was an important person in town, buying and selling real estate, including brief ownerships of the Abner Burnham house at 125 Main Street, and 141 Main Street. He was also active in the construction and the life of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Sharon. He is listed as the first subscriber to the building of the church, and the only one who promised $200. At a meeting of the Episcopal Society of Sharon in January 1835, Ira was listed as a member of the church society and a trustee of the society. He was also appointed to the Building Committee along with his brother Elijah H. Williams (married Miranda Pardee). The two brothers were members of a group that bought land for a horse shed to be built next to the church in 1839.
Despite his obvious commitment to the Church, in regard to both time and money, his great-great nephew, Harris Bartram Moulton, in an 1867 letter, made fun of the plaque to Ira inside the church, saying, “Uncle Ira was nothing but a damned skinflint.”
Nonetheless, Ira was honored by the town of Sharon when Williams Road was named after him and his family. Ira died on November 24, 1877, in Sharon. He and Melissa Williams are buried in Section B, lot number 23, in the Hillside Cemetery.
The reverse of the painting reads:
Ira Williams was born on April 4, 1790, the son of Elijah Williams, and raised by Abraham Pratt of Sharon after Elijah's death. He married Melissa Calkins Williams, daughter of James Calkins and Sarah Kelsey. They lived at 1 Williams Road from 1833 to 1845 (which may have been known at one time as 132 Calkinstown Road) in a house purchased from her father James. They had two children, Henry Williams, born February 1, 1821, and Jennett Williams, born c. 1831.
Ira was an important person in town, buying and selling real estate, including brief ownerships of the Abner Burnham house at 125 Main Street, and 141 Main Street. He was also active in the construction and the life of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Sharon. He is listed as the first subscriber to the building of the church, and the only one who promised $200. At a meeting of the Episcopal Society of Sharon in January 1835, Ira was listed as a member of the church society and a trustee of the society. He was also appointed to the Building Committee along with his brother Elijah H. Williams (married Miranda Pardee). The two brothers were members of a group that bought land for a horse shed to be built next to the church in 1839.
Despite his obvious commitment to the Church, in regard to both time and money, his great-great nephew, Harris Bartram Moulton, in an 1867 letter, made fun of the plaque to Ira inside the church, saying, “Uncle Ira was nothing but a damned skinflint.”
Nonetheless, Ira was honored by the town of Sharon when Williams Road was named after him and his family. Ira died on November 24, 1877, in Sharon. He and Melissa Williams are buried in Section B, lot number 23, in the Hillside Cemetery.
The reverse of the painting reads:
Ira Williams
Sharon, Conn.
Born 1790. Died 1877
Picture painted, about 1835
Great, great uncle of Marion W. Crowell
Before being purchased at the 1998 New Hampshire Auction, the painting belonged to Marilyn Williams Crowell Cruthers (Ira Williams was the brother of Marilyn's great-great grandfather)
Purchased by the Sharon Historical Society at the 1998 New Hampshire Auction
1998.17.02