Colonel William A. Phillips

William Wellington Corlett (April 10, 1842 – July 22, 1890) was a Delegate from the Territory of Wyoming.

Biography

Corlett was born in Concord, Ohio on April 10, 1842, a son of William Corlett and Mary Ann (Kneale), who was known as Ann.[1] He attended the schools of Concord and taught school while attending the Willoughby (Ohio) Collegiate Institute, from which he graduated in 1861.[2]

Civil War service

With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and served in the 28th Ohio Infantry and the 87th Ohio Infantry (a three-month regiment).[2] He was captured with the regiment at the Battle of Harpers Ferry on September 15, 1862.[3]

After receiving parole, Corlett returned to Ohio, where he taught school in Kirkland and Painesville.[2] Corlett reentered the army with the 25th Ohio Independent Light Artillery Battery.[2] He was later placed on detached service with the 3rd Iowa Independent Battery Light Artillery. He returned to Ohio in 1865 and mustered out of the army.[2]

Post-war

He attended law school at the University of Michigan Law School and in July 1866 he graduated from Ohio State and Union Law College in Cleveland.[2] He was admitted to the bar the same year and became a professor in elementary law at the State University and Law College as well as lecturer at several commercial colleges in Cleveland.[2]

Career

He settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1867, and engaged in the practice of law.[2] During some of the time in Wyoming, his law partner was John Alden Riner, who later served as a federal judge.[2] Corlett was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Delegate to the Forty-first Congress in 1869.[2]

He was appointed postmaster of Cheyenne in 1870, a member of the Territorial senate in 1871 and prosecuting attorney of Laramie County from 1872 to 1876.[2]

Corlett was elected as a Republican a Delegate to the Forty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1878.[2]

He resumed the practice of law and in 1879 declined the appointment as chief justice of Wyoming Territory.[3] He served as member of the legislative council from 1880 to 1882.[3]

Death and burial

He died in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 22, 1890.[2] He was interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.[4]

Family

In 1873, Corlett married Minerva C. Franklin in Des Moines, Iowa.[5] They were the parents of a son, William W. Corlett Jr.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "1850 United States Federal Census, Entry for William Corlett Family". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. September 12, 1850. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "He Is Dead: The Hon. Wm. W. Corlett Passes Away; Biographical". The Cheyenne Daily Leader. Cheyenne, WY. July 23, 1890. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c Joint Committee On Printing, United States Congress (1928). Biographical Directory of the American Congress. 1774-1927. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 848 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Spencer, Thomas E. (1998). Where They're Buried. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Company. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-8063-4823-0 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Iowa Select Marriages Index, 1758-1996, Entry for William W. Corlett and Minerva C. Franklin". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. January 1, 1873. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  6. ^ U.S. Civil War Pension Index (August 8, 1912). "General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, Entry for William W. Corlett". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Kelley, Nicholas (1916). Harvard College Class of 1906: Third Report. Cambridge, MA: Crimson Printing Co. p. 95 – via Google Books.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wyoming Territory's at-large congressional district

March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879
Succeeded by

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