William Valk

William Weightman Valk (born October 12, 1806 in Charleston , South Carolina , † September 20, 1879 in Washington, DC ) was an American doctor and politician . Between 1855 and 1857 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Weightman Valk was born and raised in Charleston about six years before the outbreak of the British-American War . He attended local schools and graduated from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1830 . He then studied medicine and then began in Bridgeport ( Connecticut to practice). After the outbreak of the Mexican-American War , he enlisted in the US Navy . He served as Surgeon's Mate aboard the USS Constellation . When the gold rush in California reached his second year, he sought his fortune there as a gold digger . In the end, he settled in Flushing , where he practiced as a doctor. Politically, he was a member of the American Party . In the congressional election of 1854 Valk was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the first constituency of New York , where he succeeded James Maurice on March 4, 1855 . In 1856 he suffered a defeat in his re-election and resigned from Congress on March 3, 1857 . After the outbreak of the civil war , he signed up with the Union troops . As a surgeon he then served in the second regiment of the Maryland Volunteer Infantry , which took part in the battles at Bull Run and Antietam as well as from Gettysburg and Petersburg . Two years after the end of the war, he was appointed clerk in the United States Pension Office in Washington DC, a position he held until his death on September 20, 1879. His body was buried in Flushing Cemetery .

Web links

• William Valk in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• William Valk in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Remarks

1. ↑ The job title used comes from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress .