William Gordon was a United States Representative from New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

. Born near Boston, Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

 in 1779, studied law, was admitted to the bar

Bar (law)

Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 in 1787 and commenced practice in Amherst, New Hampshire

Amherst, New Hampshire

Amherst is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,201 at the 2010 census. Amherst is home to Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary, Hodgman State Forest, the Joe English Reservation and Baboosic Lake....

. He was appointed register of probate

Probate

Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...

 in 1793 and was a member of the New Hampshire Senate

New Hampshire Senate

The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on population...

 in 1794 and 1795. He was solicitor of Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County, New Hampshire

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 380,841 people, 144,455 households, and 98,807 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 149,961 housing units at an average density of 171 per square mile...

 from 1794 to 1801, and was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth and Sixth Congresses and served from March 4, 1797, until June 12, 1800, when he resigned to accept the office of New Hampshire Attorney General

New Hampshire Attorney General

The New Hampshire Attorney General is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New Hampshire who serves as head of the Department of Justice...

, which he held until his death. William is one of many New Hampshire notables who descends from New Hampshire Pioneer Alexander Gordon

Alexander Gordon

Alexander Gordon , fought as a Royalist and was captured by Oliver Cromwell's army at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651 at the end of the English Civil War. He was imprisoned at Tothill Field outside London over the winter of 1651–1652. He was transported to the New World in 1652 and...

.

Gordon was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1798 to conduct the impeachment

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

 proceedings against William Blount

William Blount

William Blount, was a United States statesman. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention for North Carolina, the first and only governor of the Southwest Territory, and Democratic-Republican Senator from Tennessee . He played a major role in establishing the state of Tennessee. He was the...

, a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. Gordon died in Boston in 1802; interment was in Amherst Cemetery.