Skip to main content
Depicted Peter Williams American, 1750 – 1823

Peter Williams (1750–1823)

ca. 1810-1815
Oil on canvas
Overall: 25 x 20 1/4 in. ( 63.5 x 51.4 cm )
Framed: 30 1/4 × 25 1/8 × 1 7/8 in. (76.8 × 63.8 × 4.8 cm)
New-York Historical Society
X.173
Williams, who was born a slave in New York, was an ardent Methodist and served as sexton of the John Street Methodist Church. He and his wife, née Mary Durham (1748–1821), were given their freedom in 1796 by the Methodist Society, and Williams subsequently operated a successful tobacconist shop on Liberty Street. He supported the establishment of the Zion Church for Negroes in 1801 and was one of the original trustees.
Depicts
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
N-YHS RR Negative Number 1305
Object NamePortrait
Mrs. William C. Rhinelander (Julia, 1823-1890)
Unidentified Artist
ca. 1875–1880
1949.298
Joseph Hallett (1678-1750)
Unidentified Artist
ca. 1728
1950.239
John Laurance (1750–1810)
Unidentified Artist
ca. 1805–1810
1909.4
John Laurance (1750–1810)
Unidentified Artist
n.d.
1909.19
Charles L. Heiser (1823-1856)
Unidentified Artist
ca. 1850
1935.147
Henry Brockholst Livingston (1757-1823)
Unidentified Artist
ca. 1820
1942.437
Mrs. John Thomson (ca. 1823-1882)
Unidentified Artist
ca. 1860
1966.52
Sarah Mendes Dacosta Brandon (ca. 1780-1823)
Unidentified Artist
ca. 1800-1810
2012.28.6