William Collier (colonist)

William Collier
Bornc. 1585
England
Died1671
Duxbury, Massachusetts Colony
Occupation(s)purveyor
Commissioner
Assistant to the Governor

William Collier (c. 1585–1671) was an English colonist in Massachusetts. He came to Plymouth Colony in 1633 as one of the few London-based Merchant Adventurers, a colony investment group, to settle in New England. He was often elected as an Assistant Governor in the thirty-some years between 1634/5 and 1665. He was on the side of the government leaders in the historic 1645 dispute with liberal religious leader William Vassall. During his long life involved in public service, he served on the Council of War and served at times as a commissioner of the United Colonies, a New England colonies military alliance primarily for defense against Indian attack.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691 (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 1986), p. 268
  2. ^ A genealogical profile of William Collier, (a collaboration of Plimoth Plantation and New England Historic Genealogical Society accessed 2013)[1]
  3. ^ Robert Charles Anderson, Pilgrim Village Family Sketch: William Collier (a collaboration between American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society) [2]