William Elijah Fuller (March 30, 1846 – April 23, 1918), was an attorney, and a two-term

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Iowa's 4th congressional district Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northwestern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and the Missouri River. The district includes Sioux ...

in northeastern Iowa during the 1880s. Born in

Howard, Pennsylvania Howard is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 720 at the 2010 census. Geography Howard is located at (41.013857, -77.654809). A ...

, Fuller moved with his parents to West Union, Iowa, in 1853. He attended the common schools, and the

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa. It enrolls around 6000 students and offers distance education programs that include 15 centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, and centers in ...

at nearby Fayette. In 1866 and 1867, he held a position in the Office of Indian Affairs of the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

. He then attended the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States by the '' U.S. News & World Report'' "Best Law Sch ...

at Iowa City, where he received his law degree in June 1870. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year and commenced practice in West Union. He served as member of the West Union Board of Education for six years. In 1876 and 1877 he served as member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

. He also served as member of the Republican state and congressional district committees. In 1884 Fuller ran as a

to represent Iowa's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House. After winning the Republican nomination, he defeated incumbent

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

Congressman Luman Hamlin Weller, who had become known in Washington as "Calamity" Weller. After serving one term in the 49th United States Congress, Fuller won the customary re-election that the district gave to incumbents, and served in the

50th United States Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887 ...

. However, in 1888 he found himself beaten for renomination by state senator Joseph H. Sweney, who had been spoken of as a possible candidate two years before.Dubuque ''Daily Herald,'' June 12, 1886. In all he served in Congress from March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1889. Fuller's House service was respectable enough, but undistinguished. On the old war issues and on pensions for veterans, he voted as Republicans wanted. He offered bills to refund the direct tax of 1861 imposed on the states and to donate a condemned cannon to the GAR post back home in West Union. He supported a tax on oleomargarine. Starting in 1901 he served as an assistant attorney general with the

Spanish Treaty Claims Commission The Spanish Treaty Claims Commission was established by the United States at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War for the purpose of carrying out one of the terms of the treaty ending the war.Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on April 23, 1918. He was interred in West Union Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, William Elijah 1846 births 1918 deaths University of Iowa College of Law alumni Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Iowa lawyers People from Centre County, Pennsylvania People from Fayette County, Iowa Upper Iowa University alumni United States Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers