William V. Sullivan

William V. Sullivan

William Van Amberg Sullivan (born December 18, 1857 in Winona , Montgomery County , Mississippi , †  March 21, 1918 in Oxford , Mississippi) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) who represented the state of Mississippi in both chambers of Congress .

William Sullivan attended public schools in Panola County and later the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where he was a member of the St. Anthony Hall student association . He graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville in 1875 , after which he was admitted to the bar that same year and began practicing in Austin, Mississippi.

From 1877 Sullivan lived in Oxford, where he also sat on the city council. In 1896 he was elected to the House of Representatives of the United States , in which he represented the second district of Mississippi from March 4, 1897 . He resigned from office on May 31, 1898 after being appointed to the US Senate ; he succeeded the late Edward C. Walthall . Sullivan also decided the by-election for himself and thus remained in the Senate until March 3, 1901; he did not run for the next regular election.

After that, Sullivan retired from politics. In the public eye, he joined again on September 8, 1908, when he one in Oxford lynch mob led, of the African American killed Nelse Patton. He was accused of murdering a white woman. The next day, the New York Times quoted Sullivan as saying, “I led the mob that lynched Nelse Patton, and I'm proud of it. I directed every movement of the mob and did everything I could to see him lynched. ”The consequences of this act for Sullivan are not recorded.

Individual evidence

1. ^ New York Times, September 10, 1908: Glad he led lynchers (PDF file)

Web links

• William V. Sullivan in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• William V. Sullivan in the database of Find a Grave (English)