William Addams was a Pennsylvania State Representative and United States Congressman. He was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...

 in 1777.

He moved to Berks County, Pennsylvania

Berks County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...

 near Reading

Reading, Pennsylvania

Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...

, and served as auditor there in 1813 and 1814. He then served on the Berks County commission from 1814 through 1817. In 1822, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two year terms from single member districts....

, serving in that body through 1824. In 1825, he won election to the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, where he served through 1829. Upon leaving the Congress, he served on the commission for the Deaf and Blind Institution for the states of New York and Ohio. He also served as an associate judge of Berks County from 1839 through 1842, and as a captain in the Reading City Troop. Outside of government, he worked pursuing farm interests. He died in Spring Township, Pennsylvania

Spring Township, Pennsylvania

Spring Township is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania:*Spring Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania*Spring Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania*Spring Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania*Spring Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania...

, in 1858, and is buried in St. John's Church Cemetery, in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania

Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania

Sinking Spring is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,639 at the 2000 census. Sinking Spring was given its name for a spring located in the center of town, the water in which would sink into the ground from time to time, giving it the illusion of having...

.