William Findlay (June 20, 1768 – November 12, 1846) was an American farmer, lawyer, and politician. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he served as the fourth governor of Pennsylvania from 1817 to 1820, and as a United States senator from 1821 to 1827. He was one of three Findlay brothers born and raised in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, on their family farm.
All became politicians, serving at national, state and local levels in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the early federal years. He sold Findlay Farm in 1823; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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Biography
William Findlay was born in Mercersburg in the Province of Pennsylvania on June 20, 1768, to Samuel Findlay and Jane (née Smith). He was the second of three sons, with older brother John Findlay and younger brother James Findlay. All three men became active in politics, serving at national, state and local levels.
Their grandfather Samuel Findlay (1711–1739) was the immigrant ancestor: he was born in County Londonderry in Ulster in 1711, and immigrated to the Province of Pennsylvania as a young man in 1730. He married there and he and his wife settled in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. He died there in 1739.