William Voris Gregory (Kentucky Congressman)

William Voris Gregory (October 21, 1877 – October 10, 1936) was an attorney and politician, serving as a

United States 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 ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

from 1927 to his death in office. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Biography

Gregory was born in

Graves County, Kentucky Graves County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,649. Its county seat is Mayfield. The county was formed in 1824 and was named for Major Benjamin Fra ...

, where he attended local schools. After college he taught school and served as superintendent of schools in the county. In the late 1890s he returned to college to study at the

Cumberland School of Law Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law schoo ...

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberlan ...

in Lebanon, Tennessee. He was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1902, and set up a practice in the Graves county seat of Mayfield, Kentucky. Gregory was elected county surveyor and served in that office 1902–1910. He served as judge of the Graves County Court from 1913 to 1919. Gregory was appointed as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Kentucky by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

in 1919 and served in that position until 1923. Gregory was also a member of the board of trustees of the

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, currently branded as Louisville Seminary, is a seminary affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is one of ten official PC (USA) seminaries, though it current ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

from 1920 to 1927, serving as president from 1925 to 1927. He also served as vice president of the Jefferson Davis Memorial Commission. In 1926, incumbent congressman

Alben Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under Presid ...

sought and won a seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. Gregory sought election to the seat Barkley was vacating, and was elected to the House of Representatives that year. He represented

Kentucky's 1st congressional district Kentucky's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in Western Kentucky, the district takes in Henderson, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Paducah and Murray. The district is represented by Rep ...

, the far western part of the state. Gregory continued to win re-election until his death on October 10, 1936. He is buried in Mayfield, Kentucky in Maplewood Cemetery. At the time of his death Gregory had already received the Democratic Party nomination for another term in the House. Upon his death, his younger brother Noble Jones Gregory was given the Democratic nomination; he won the seat. He was re-elected for ten more terms, serving until 1959.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, William 1877 births 1936 deaths Gregory, William Voris People from Graves County, Kentucky United States Attorneys for the Western District of Kentucky Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky

Biography

See also

Sources