William Montgomery (Pennsylvania)

William Montgomery (August 3, 1736 – May 1, 1816) was an American jurist and politician from Chester County, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives from 1793 until 1795.

Born in Mill Creek Hundred, Delaware, Montgomery served during the American Revolutionary War as a Pennsylvania provincial delegate in 1775 and 1776 and as Colonel of the Fourth Battalion of Chester County Militia and of the First Pennsylvania Regiment of Washington's Flying Camp. He moved to Northumberland County in 1776 and became a member of the state assembly beginning in 1779. Montgomery was called upon to settle boundary disputes in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, in 1783. Although elected to the Continental Congress in 1784, Montgomery did not serve.

Montgomery was appointed presiding judge of Northumberland and Luzerne Counties in 1785 and deputy surveyor of parts of Northumberland County in 1783. He became a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1790, Northumberland associate judge in 1791, and Anti-Administration representative to the United States Congress from 1793 to 1795. Montgomery served as a major general in the Pennsylvania militia for fourteen years, beginning in 1793. He was chosen as Presidential Elector in 1804 and 1808 but missed both ballotings due to illness.

Montgomery and his son Daniel developed Danville, Pennsylvania, during the second half of the 18th century. He was named the borough's first postmaster, serving from 1801 to 1803. Montgomery died in Danville. His house at Danville, known as the General William Montgomery House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.