Waitman T. Willey, U.S. Senator

https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Willey_Waitman_T_1811-1900

Waitman T. Willey was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850–1851, a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1861 that voted to secede from the Union, a United States senator from the Restored government of Virginia (1861–1863), and, alongside Peter G. Van Winkle, one of the first two United States senators from West Virginia (1863–1871). A native of western Virginia, he was instrumental in the formation of the new state of West Virginia during the American Civil War (1861–1865). As a member of the U.S. Senate, he authored the Willey Amendment in 1863—a compromise on the question of the freedom of the state's African Americans that extinguished his hopes for compensated emancipation. Instead, it decreed that slaves younger than twenty-one years old on July 4, 1863, would become free once they reached that age. The compromise assured West Virginia's acceptance into the Union.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitman_T._Willey

Waitman Thomas Willey (October 18, 1811 – May 2, 1900) was an American lawyer and politician from Morgantown, West Virginia. He represented both the states of Virginia and West Virginia in the United States Senate and was one of West Virginia's first two Senators.

Willey was born in 1811, in a log cabin near the present day Farmington, West Virginia. He graduated from Madison College (later Allegheny College) at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and settled at Morgantown in 1833. He built the Waitman T. Willey House in 1839-1840; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. From 1841 to 1852 he served as Clerk of the County Court of Monongalia County and in 1852 was the Whig candidate for Congress. He became an activist at the First Wheeling Convention for West Virginia statehood. The "Restored Government of Virginia" elected him to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy of Senator James M. Mason. He was later elected to serve as one of the first two U. S. Senators from West Virginia (1863–1871). On May 29, 1862, Willey presented the petition to Congress for the creation of West Virginia.

Waitman T. Willey was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851, a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1861 that voted to secede from the Union, a United States senator from the Restored government of Virginia (1861-1863), and, alongside Peter G. Van Winkle, one of the first two United States senators from West Virginia (1863-1871). A native of western Virginia, he was instrumental in the formation of the new state of West Virginia during the American Civil War (1861-1865). As a member of the U.S. Senate, he authored the Willey Amendment in 1863—a compromise on the question of the freedom of the state's African Americans that extinguished his hopes for compensated emancipation. Instead, it decreed that slaves younger than twenty-one years old on July 4, 1863, would become free once they reached that age. The compromise assured West Virginia's acceptance into the Union.

http://www.marionhistorical.org/pages/people.php

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Willey&GSfn=W...

US Senator. Served as a United States Senator from Virginia in 1861, and United States Senator from West Virginia from 1863 to 1871. Also served as a Delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention in 1861.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Nov 18 2022, 20:06:13 UTC

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Waitman Thomas Willey
BIRTH
18 Oct 1811
Virginia, USA
DEATH
2 May 1900 (aged 88)
Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA
BURIAL
Oak Grove Cemetery
Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA
PLOT

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7619402/waitman-thomas-willey