William Bancroft

{{Infobox officeholder

| name =William Amos Bancroft

| image =William Bancroft.png

| image_size =

| caption =

| office =Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts

| term_start =January 1893

| term_end =January 1897

| predecessor =Alpheus B. Alger

| successor =Alvin F. Sortwell

| office2 =President of the
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Board of Aldermen

| term_start2 =1891

| term_end2 =1892

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 =

| office3 =Member of the
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Board of Aldermen

| term_start3 =1891

| term_end3 =1892

| predecessor3 =

| successor3 =

| office4 =Member of
the Massachusetts House of Representatives

| term_start4 =1883

| term_end4 =1885

| predecessor4 =

| successor4 =

| office5 =Member of
the Cambridge, Massachusetts
Common Council

| term_start5 =1882

| term_end5 =1882

| predecessor5 =

| successor5 =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1855|04|26}}

| birth_place = Groton, Massachusetts, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1922|03|11|1855|04|26}}

| death_place =Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

|alma_mater=Harvard College, Harvard Law School

| occupation = Attorney

| spouse =Mary Shaw

| children =Hugh Bancroft, Guy Bancroft, Catherine (Bancroft) De Haviland

|allegiance= United States of America

|branch=

|serviceyears=

|rank=Private to colonel (Massachusetts Militia),
Brigadier general (United States Volunteers)

|commands=Company B,
Fifth Massachusetts Militia Regiment,
Fifth Massachusetts Militia Regiment

|unit=Massachusetts Militia
United States Volunteers

|battles=Spanish–American War

|awards=

}}

William Amos Bancroft (April 26, 1855 – March 11, 1922) was a Massachusetts businessman, soldier and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and on the Common Council, Board of Aldermen, and as the Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts (1893–1897). During the Spanish–American War, Bancroft was a brigadier general of United States Volunteers. From 1899 to 1916, he was the president of the Boston Elevated Railway.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123581337/general-william-a-bancroft-dies/ | title = General William A. Bancroft Dies|page =30 | newspaper = The New York Times | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts |date=1922-03-12 | publication-date =March 12, 1922 |access-date=2023-04-26 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123581678/brush-to-lead-elevated/ |title=Brush To Lead Elevated |newspaper=The Boston Daily Globe |page=3 |date=September 16, 1919 |access-date=2023-04-26 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Early life

Bancroft was born on April 26, 1855, in Groton, Massachusetts, to Charles Bancroft and Lydia Emeline (Spaulding) Bancroft.{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/massachusettsoft00toom/page/297/mode/1up |last= Toomey|first=Daniel P.| year = 1892 | title = Massachusetts of Today: a Memorial of the State, Historical and Biographical | page = 297 | publisher = Columbia Publishing Company | location = Boston, MA |access-date=2023-04-26 |via=Internet Archive}}{{Cite book |last=May |first=Virginia A. |title=Groton Houses: Some Notes on the History of Old Homesteads in Groton, Massachusetts |year=1978 |pages=53 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Vollmar |first=Joshua |date=October 2022 |title=Who Was General Bancroft? |url=http://www.grotonhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/Bancroft.pdf |access-date=17 June 2022}} He attended Lawrence Academy in his hometown and Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. After graduating from Phillips Exeter, he attended Harvard College, where he enlisted in the fifth regiment of the state militia in his Freshman year.{{Cite book |title=Electric Railway Review: Volume 8 |year=1898 |pages=107 |language=en}} He eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general. He was a member of the Harvard crew in 1877, 1878, and 1879.

Legal career

Bancroft attended Harvard Law School and studied law in the office of William Burnham Stevens. He was admitted to the Suffolk County bar in 1881. In 1885, he opened a law office with Edward Francis Johnson, later mayor of Woburn, Massachusetts.

Railway career

In 1885, Bancroft became the superintendent of the Cambridge Railroad. When it merged with the Charles River Street Railway, he was named president. When the company was absorbed by the West End Street Railway, he was appointed roadmaster of the system. He left in 1890 to focus on law and politics. In 1896, he became legal counsel to the Boston Elevated Railway. He became the company's vice president and chairman of the board the following year. From 1899 to 1916, he was company president.

Politics

In 1890, Bancroft was elected to the Cambridge board of aldermen. In 1892, he was elected to his first of five consecutive terms as mayor.{{cite news |title=Brush to Lead Elevated |work=The Boston Globe |date=September 16, 1916}}