William Owsley

William Owsley (born March 24, 1782 in Virginia , † December 9, 1862 in Danville , Kentucky ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Kentucky.

Early years and political advancement

In 1783 Owsley's family moved to Kentucky, which was then still part of Virginia. She settled in what is now Lincoln County , where young William received his first education. Before studying law, he earned his living doing various temporary jobs, such as teaching, sheriff and surveyor. In 1809 he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives, where he remained until 1811. He was then a judge in the Kentucky Court of Appeals until 1828. There he made some unpopular decisions that turned into a serious crisis during Governor Joseph Desha's tenure when the governor tried to dismiss the old court and appoint a new one. However, this plan failed due to the lack of parliamentary approval. Owsley returned to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1831. There followed two years from 1832 to 1834 in the State Senate , before he was Secretary of State under Governor James Turner Morehead for another two years until 1836 .

Kentucky governor

Owsley was nominated by the Whig Party for governor of Kentucky in 1844 and then elected with 52% of the vote against Democrat William Orlando Butler (48%). He served from September 4, 1844 to September 6, 1848. During his term of office, the Mexican-American War fell . The governor also provided troops from Kentucky to the federal government. Domestically, he expanded the school system and in 1847 appointed Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, a Public School Super Intendent , who was to oversee the country's school system. Similar to his predecessor Robert Letcher , the governor worked on further reducing the national debt. Serious conflicts arose with Parliament over the dismissal of his State Secretary Benjamin Hardin . Hardin then resigned on his own initiative. An amendment to the constitution in 1850 prohibited the governor from indiscriminately dismissing state secretaries, although this was after Owsley's tenure.

According to him, Owsley County named in Kentucky.

Old age and death

After the end of his tenure, Owsley retired into private life on his farm near Danville. There he died in 1862. He was married to Elizabeth Gill, with whom he had six children.

Web links

Commons : William Owsley - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Owsley, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	March 24, 1782
PLACE OF BIRTH	Virginia
DATE OF DEATH	December 9, 1862
Place of death	near Danville , Kentucky