William W. Wick (February 23, 1796 – May 19, 1868) was a

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

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Secretary of State of Indiana The Secretary of State of Indiana is one of five constitutional officers originally designated in Indiana's State Constitution of 1816. Since 1851, it has been an elected position. The Secretary of State oversees four divisions, and is the third ...

. He was a lawyer and over his career he was a judge for 15 years. President Franklin Pierce appointed him Postmaster of

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. Wick proposed an amendment to extend the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and ...

line west to the Pacific coast with the

Wilmot Proviso The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the ...

(1846). The provision that would make slave states of the American southwest was passed in the House, but defeated in the Senate. Wick supported the colonization of blacks to Liberia. He campaigned for

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

in 1860.

Early life and education

William Watson Wick was born on February 23, 1796, in

Canonsburg Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town lies in a rich coal distri ...

, Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Minister Rev. William Wick, Sr. and his wife Elizabeth McFarland. In 1800, his parents moved the family to the

Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

for the purpose of missionary work in the region; his father became the first minister to settle in the Western Reserve. William completed preparatory studies, and after his father's death in 1815, he moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, where he taught school and studied medicine until 1818. He then studied law and 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 ...

Franklin, Indiana Franklin is a city in Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 23,712 at the 2010 census. Located about south of Indianapolis, the city is the county seat of Johnson County. The site of Franklin College, the city attracts n ...

, in 1819.

Career

After practicing law in

Connersville, Indiana Connersville is a city in Fayette County, east central Indiana, United States, east by southeast of Indianapolis. The population was 13,481 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of and the largest and only incorporated town in F ...

, Wick served as Clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1820 and Assistant Clerk for the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year term ...

in 1821. Appointed to a state judgeship, he served as President Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit from 1822 to 1825, presiding over the first court in

Morgan County, Indiana Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 68,894. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Martinsville. Morgan County is between Indianapolis, in Marion Cou ...

. He moved to Indianapolis in 1822. He was the

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

General in 1826. He was then Indiana's Secretary of State until 1829. He returned to the Fifth Judicial Circuit, first as a Prosecutor until 1831, and from 1834 to 1837 he was again a President Judge. He presided over the trial about the Fall Creek massacre, which resulted in the first recorded case of a white man being sentenced to death for crimes against Native Americans. In 1838, Wick was elected to the Twenty-sixth

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

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 ...

, and began his first term in March 4, 1839. Having failed in his bid for reelection, he resumed his private law practice in Indianapolis. He was elected to the Twenty-ninth and

Thirtieth Congress The 30th 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, 1847 ...

, and served from March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1849. In 1846, during the debates about the

, he proposed an amendment to extend the

line to the Pacific coast. Wick feared that free blacks would flood the urban northeast. The proposal was defeated 89–54. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House and was defeated in the Senate. Wick was a leading opponent of racial mixing and integration, and famous for his opposition to the annexation of Mexican territory. He stated: "I do not want any mixed races in our Union, nor men of any color except white, unless they be slaves. Certainly not as voters or legislators." He also served as Secretary of the Indiana Colonization Society (affiliated with the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

), which helped to establish Liberia as a homeland for free blacks. He sat as a judge of the Circuit Court for a third time from 1850 to 1853. In 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed him Postmaster of Indianapolis, in which capacity he served until April 6, 1857. Later he served as Adjutant General in the State Militia. He moved to Franklin, Indiana, in 1857, where he continued his law practice. He sat as a judge of the Circuit Court for a fourth time until the Autumn of 1859, for a total of 15 years on the bench. In 1860, he supported

's campaign for president by giving speeches throughout Indiana.

Personal life

Wick was married on August 20, 1820, to Laura or Lora Finch, the sister of the esteemed lawyer Fabius M, Finch, in Fayette County, Indiana. They had two sons and a daughter. His wife died in 1832. He married Isabella Graham Barbee (or Barber) on November 7, 1839, in

Washington, Indiana Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana. The population was 11,509 at the time of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County. It is also the principal city of the Washington, Indiana Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

. Isabella was the daughter of Alice Bickerton Winston and Thomas Barbee. The Wicks had a daughter, Alice Barbee Wick. Around 1860, Wick moved to

, to live with his daughter, Laura W. Overstreet (Mrs. William H. Overstreet), who was born about 1824. The Overstreets had four children by 1850 and the same year 20-year-old Cyrus Wick lived with them. He died at his daughter's house in Franklin on May 19, 1868. He was interred in Greenlawn Cemetery. He was described as "warm-hearted, humorous and improvident… and he took no thought for the morrow." Isabella, his second wife, lived until 1875.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wick, William Watson 1796 births 1868 deaths Indiana state court judges People from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Secretaries of State of Indiana Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana People from Franklin, Indiana 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges