William Medill

William Medill (February 1802 – September 2, 1865) was a 19th-century American lawyer and Democratic politician from Ohio. He was the 22nd governor of Ohio from 1853 to 1856. He had previously served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1839 to 1843.

William Medill
Portrait by John Henry Witt
22nd Governor of Ohio
In office July 13, 1853 – January 14, 1856
Lieutenant	James Myers
Preceded by	Reuben Wood
Succeeded by	Salmon P. Chase
1st Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
In office January 12, 1852 – July 13, 1853
Governor	Reuben Wood
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	James Myers
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
In office 1845–1849
Appointed by	James K. Polk
Preceded by	Thomas Hartley Crawford
Succeeded by	Orlando Brown
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 9th district
In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	John Chaney
Succeeded by	Elias Florence
Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives
In office December 5, 1836 – December 3, 1837
Preceded by	William Sawyer
Succeeded by	Charles Anthony
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
In office 1835–1838
Personal details
Born	William Medill February 1802 (1802-02) White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, U.S.
Died	September 2, 1865 (1865-09-03) (aged 63) Lancaster, Ohio, U.S.
Resting place	Elmwood Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Newark Academy

Biography

Born in White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, William was the son of Irish immigrants, William and Isabelle Medill. He grew up on the family farm, in the rural outskirts of Newark. He attended the Newark Academy and graduated in 1825. After graduation, he read law and was admitted to the bar in Delaware in 1830. Medill moved to Ohio in 1830 and was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1832.

Career

Medill was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served from 1835 to 1838, serving as speaker of the House from 1836 to 1837. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1838, serving from 1839 to 1843. He lost a bid for a third term in 1842. After briefly serving as the second assistant postmaster general, Medill was appointed by President Polk as commissioner of Indian Affairs. He returned to Ohio in 1850 to serve as the president of the 1850–1851 Constitutional Convention. Elected to the new post of lieutenant governor of Ohio in 1851, Medill entered office in 1852, serving until the resignation of Governor Reuben Wood on July 13, 1853 to take up a Consular office in Chile. Medill was re-elected in his own right in 1853, but was defeated in a bid for a second full term in 1855 by the anti-slavery Salmon P. Chase. He was First Comptroller of the United States Treasury from 1857 to 1861.

Death

Medill died in Lancaster in 1865, and was interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio. Medill never married. A nephew inherited his property.

References

• Poore, Benjamin Perley (1878). The political register and congressional directory: a statistical record of the Federal Officials...1776–1878. Boston: Houghton, Osgood and Company. p. 226.

External links

• William Medill entry ar the National Governors Association
• William Medill entry at The Political Graveyard
• William Medill at Find a Grave
• William Medill at Ohio History Central
• "Medill, William" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
• United States Congress. "William Medill (id: M000624)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress