William Morrison Oliver (October 15, 1792 – July 21, 1863) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist who served 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 ...
for the state of New York and acting
Lieutenant Governor of New York.
Early life and education
Born in
Londonderry,
Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Rockingham County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the population was 314,176, making it New Hampshire's second-most populous county. The county seat is Brentwood. Rockingham County is part of the Boston-Ca ...
, Oliver received limited schooling. Oliver and his identical twin brother, Andrew, were the sons of Andrew and Elizabeth Ormiston Oliver. He studied law in Springfield, under the direction of Judge Morse in Cherry Valley, Otsego County.
Career
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 ...
about 1812 and began practice in Penn Yan.
Oliver was First Judge of the Yates County Court from 1823 to 1828, and from 1838 to 1844. He was a member of the
New York State Senate (7th D.) from 1827 to 1830, sitting in the
50th,
51st,
52nd and
53rd New York State Legislatures. In 1830, he was elected
President pro tempore of the State Senate and was Acting Lieutenant Governor until the end of the year.
Elected as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to the
27th United States Congress
The 27th 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. between March 4, 1 ...
, Oliver was United States Representative holding office from March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1843. Afterwards he became clerk of the
New York Supreme Court, and was President of the Yates County Bank from the issuance of its charter until 1857.
Personal life
Oliver married Eleanor Young in 1811. They had three children; Andrew, James, and John Morrison. Eleanor died in 1834 and he remarried to Harriet Maria Seelye. That couple had four children; James Morse, William Seelye, Harriet, and Henry.
Oliver died in
Penn Yan,
Yates County, New York, on July 21, 1863 (age 70 years, 279 days). He is
interred
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
at Lake View Cemetery, Penn Yan, New York.
References
External links
Political Graveyard
*
Google Books''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 32 and 366; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, William M
1792 births
1863 deaths
People from Londonderry, New Hampshire
Lieutenant Governors of New York (state)
Democratic Party New York (state) state senators
New York (state) state court judges
People from Penn Yan, New York
American bankers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Burials at Lake View Cemetery (Penn Yan, New York)
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American judges
19th-century American businesspeople