William Sawyer was a lumber

Lumber

Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....

 merchant and political figure in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. He represented Compton

Compton (provincial electoral district)

Compton was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. Located in the Estrie region, the riding existed from 1867 to 1972 before it was merged with Mégantic to form the Mégantic-Compton riding.-Members of Legislative Assembly:...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec

Legislative Assembly of Quebec

The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...

 from 1871 to 1886 as a Conservative.

He was born in Sawyerville, Quebec, the son of John Sawyer. His grandfather, Josiah Sawyer, after whom Sawyerville was named, was originally from Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 and received a large land grant in Eaton Township

Cookshire-Eaton, Quebec

Cookshire-Eaton is a ville in the Estrie region in Quebec. It was formed in 2002 by the amalgamation of the villages of Cookshire and Sawyerville, and the township of Eaton. It is the seat of Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality....

. Sawyer owned sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

s and grist mills. He was a member of the council for Eaton Township from 1855 to 1872, serving as mayor, and was warden for Compton County

Compton County, Quebec

Compton County is an historical county in southeastern Quebec, Canada on the western flanks of the Appalachian Mountains on the US-Canadian border. It is in the Estrie region of the province and was named in 1793 after a town in Surrey, England by British officers who were convinced of the...

. In 1839, he married Julia Smith. He died at Sawyerville at the age of 88.