William J. Samford

William James Samford (born September 16, 1844 in Greenville , Meriwether County , Georgia , † June 11, 1901 in Tuscaloosa , Alabama ) was an American politician and governor of Alabama . He was a member of the Democratic Party .

Early years and political advancement

Shortly after William Samford was born, his family moved to Chambers County , Alabama. He attended private schools, spent a year at the East Alabama Male College (now Auburn University ) and the University of Georgia , but he left in 1862 to be in the army of the Confederate States to enter. In May 1863, Samford was captured and imprisoned for 18 months on Johnson's Island, Lake Erie . In 1864 he was liberated and returned to his regiment , where he served until the end of the war. After the war, Samford returned to Auburn and became a cotton farmer . He also studied law , was admitted to the bar in 1867 and then opened his own legal practice in Opelika .

Samford decided to pursue a political career in 1872 by being elected to Opelika's city council. He was also a delegate to the State Democratic Convention . He was also a member of Alabama's constitutional convention in 1875, as well as the US House of Representatives , of which he was a member between 1879 and 1881. He was then in the 1882 Alabama House of Representatives voted, and was then from 1884 to 1886, and in 1892 in Alabama Senate operates, whose chairman he was 1886th In addition, he was in 1896 a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama .

Governor of Alabama

On August 5, 1900, Samford was elected the 31st governor of Alabama. At the time of his inauguration he fell ill, so William D. Jelks , chairman of Alabama's Senate, became an active governor. Samford was then sworn in as governor on December 26, 1900, but only held office for six months. He died on June 11, 1901 while attending a university trustee meeting in Tuscaloosa. During his brief tenure, the Alabama Department of Archives and History was created and the new state constitution of 1901 drafted by the Constitutional Convention. Samford was buried in Rosemere Cemetery in Opelika, Alabama. He was married to Caroline Elizabeth Drake and they had nine children together.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 1, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• William Samford in the National Governors Association (English)
• William J. Samford in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• William J. Samford in the database of Find a Grave (English)