Sebastian, William King

Life Span
to
Full name
William King Sebastian
Place of Birth
Burial Place
Birth Date Certainty
Estimated
Death Date Certainty
Exact
Gender
Male
Race
White
Sectional choice
South
Origins
Slave State
Education
Other
Other Education
Columbia College, TN
Occupation
Politician
Attorney or Judge
Farmer or Planter
Political Parties
Democratic
Government
US Senate
State legislature
State supreme court
State judge
Local government

William King Sebastian (Congressional Biographical Dictionary)

Reference
SEBASTIAN, William King, a Senator from Arkansas; born in Centerville, Hickman County, Tenn., in 1812; graduated from Columbia College, Tennessee, about 1834; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Helena, Ark., in 1835; later became a cotton planter; prosecuting attorney 1835-1837; circuit judge 1840-1843; associate justice of the State supreme court 1843-1845; member and president of the State senate 1846-1847; presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1846; appointed in 1848 and subsequently elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Chester Ashley; reelected in 1853 and 1859 and served from May 12, 1848, to July 11, 1861, when he was expelled for support of the Confederate insurrection; chairman, Committee on Manufactures (Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses), Committee on Indian Affairs (Thirty-third through Thirty-sixth Congresses); returned to Helena, Ark., where he resided during the Civil War and practiced law; after federal troops occupied Helena, Ark., moved to Memphis, Tenn., in 1864 and resumed the practice of law; died in Memphis, Tenn., May 20, 1865; interment near Helena, Ark., in the Dunn Family burying ground; in 1877, the Senate revoked the resolution of expulsion and paid the full amount of compensation to Sebastian’s children.
“Sebastian, William King,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000216.
How to Cite This Page: "Sebastian, William King," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/12215.