William Albert
William Julian Albert was a U.S. Congressman from the fifth district of Maryland, serving from 1873 to 1875.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland to a family of German descent, Albert graduated from Mount St. Mary's College in 1833 and married Emily J. Jones in 1838, daughter of Talbot Jones. Albert engaged in the hardware business until 1855, and later in banking. He was a prominent Union leader in Maryland and worked to prevent the secession of the State during the American Civil War. He was also one of the founders and directors of the First National Bank of Maryland, and director of several insurance companies, savings banks, and manufacturing companies.
Albert was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1866 to the Fortieth Congress and in 1868 to the Forty-first Congress, but was elected as a Republican to the Forty-third Congress, serving from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1875. He was not a candidate for re-election to the Forty-fourth Congress in 1874, and resumed his former business pursuits. Albert worked to found the ‘Soldiers’ Home’ and an Asylum for orphans and worked to assist African American Freedman during the Reconstruction era, co-founding a school for black teachers in Baltimore. He died in Baltimore, and is interred in Greenmount Cemetery.
