William Jasper East (September 1, 1854 - 1933) was a longtime Democratic Mississippi state legislator from Tate County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

William J. East
c. 1907
Member of the Mississippi Senate
from the 36th district
In office
January 1928 – January 1932
In office
January 1920 – January 1924
Preceded bySam Mims Jr.
William H. Dyson
Henry C. Collins
In office
January 1908 – January 1912
In office
January 1892 – January 1896
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
from the Tate County district
In office
January 1916 – January 1920
In office
January 1904 – January 1908
In office
January 1896 – January 1900
Personal details
Born(1854-09-01)September 1, 1854
Monroe County, MS
Died1933(1933-00-00) (aged 78–79)
Mississippi
Political partyDemocrat
ResidenceSenatobia, Mississippi

Early life

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William Jasper East was born on September 1, 1854, in Monroe County, Mississippi.[1][2][3] He was the eldest child of Josiah Robertson East and Matilda (Callahan) East.[1] William attended the public schools of Panola County.[3] He entered the University of Mississippi in 1879 and graduated from there with a L. L. B. in 1881.[4][1][5] He then studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1883.[1][4] He then went to practice law in Senatobia.[3][1][4]

Political career

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He was the mayor of Senatobia, Mississippi, from 1887 to 1888.[1][3] He then was a member of the Mississippi State Senate, representing the state's 36th district which was composed of Union, Tippah, Benton, Marshall, and Tate counties, from 1892 to 1896.[1][3][2] From 1896 to 1900, he was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives for Tate County.[3][2][1] He was a presidential elector in the 1900 presidential election.[3] After being re-elected in 1903, he was again a member of the Mississippi House for Tate County from 1904 to 1908.[3][1][2] From 1908 to 1912, he was again a member of the Mississippi State Senate for the 36th district.[3][1][2] He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for Tate County a final time from 1916 to 1920.[1][2] He was again a member of the Mississippi Senate for the 36th district from 1920 to 1924.[2] He then served in the same position from 1928 to 1932.[2] East died in Mississippi in 1933.[6]

Personal life

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East was an Episcopalian.[1][2] He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi (ΦΚΨ) fraternity.[4][5] East married Lula Whitten in 1892.[1] They had three children, Whitten, Fletcher, and Lula.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rowland, Dunbar (1917). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. pp. 929, 195, 227.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mississippi. Legislature (1928-01-01). "Hand book : biographical data of members of Senate and House, personnel of standing committees [1928]". Mississippi Legislature Hand Books: 7.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rowland, Dunbar (1908). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. pp. 1019–1020.
  4. ^ a b c d Phi Kappa Psi (1894). Catalogue of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Journal-gazette printing house. p. 154.
  5. ^ a b Phi Kappa Psi (1910). Grand Catalogue of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity: February 1, 1910. p. 106.
  6. ^ "Mississippi, Death Certificate Index, 1912-1943", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CLQY-FVPZ  : 28 March 2020), William J East, 1933.