Willey, Waitman Thomas

Life Span
to
Dickinson Connection
Son, William Princeton Willey at Dickinson during 1861 crisis, son remained and graduated with class of 1862
Full name
Waitman Thomas Willey
Place of Birth
Burial Place
Birth Date Certainty
Exact
Death Date Certainty
Exact
Gender
Male
Race
White
Sectional choice
North
Origins
Slave State
Family
William Princeton Willey (son)
Education
Other
Other Education
Madison College, PA
Occupation
Politician
Attorney or Judge
Political Parties
Republican
Union (Unconditional Union, National Union)
Government
US Senate
Local government

Waitman Thomas Willey (Congressional Biographical Directory)

Reference
WILLEY, Waitman Thomas, a Senator from Virginia and from West Virginia; born in Monongalia County, Va., in what is now a part of Marion County, W.Va., October 18, 1811; graduated from Madison (Pa.) College in 1831; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1833 and commenced practice in Morgantown, Va. (now West Virginia); appointed clerk of the county court of Monongalia County in 1841 and later clerk of the circuit superior court, and held both positions until 1852; delegate to the Virginia constitutional convention in 1850 and 1851; elected as a Unionist to the United States Senate from Virginia to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of James M. Mason and served from July 9, 1861, to March 3, 1863; chairman, Committee on Enrolled Bills (Thirty-seventh Congress); delegate to the State constitutional convention of West Virginia; upon the admission of West Virginia as a State into the Union was elected as a Unionist to the United States Senate; reelected in 1865 as a Republican and served from August 4, 1863, to March 3, 1871; chairman, Committee on Engrossed Bills (Thirty-ninth Congress), Committee on Patents and the Patent Office (Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses); again served as clerk of the county court of Monongalia County 1882-1896; retired from public life; died in Morgantown, W.Va., May 2, 1900; interment in Oak Grove Cemetery.
“Willey, Waitman Thomas,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000484.
How to Cite This Page: "Willey, Waitman Thomas," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/6864.