John Laidley (1791–1863) was a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Career

Laidley was born in Morgantown, Virginia and at age twenty-one served as a militia Colonel in the War of 1812. His family was of Scottish and English descent. As an adult, Laidley made his home in Cabell County, serving as a

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

until his death. In 1829, he was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830, and appointed to the Committee of the Judicial Department. He was one of four delegates elected from the western Senatorial district of Kanawha, Mason, Cabell, Randolph, Harrison, Lewis, Wood, and Logan Counties.

Marshall University

In 1837, he was one of the founders of

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

in present

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

. Laidley Hall, a former

residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

at Marshall University, was named after Laidley.

References

Bibliography

* 1791 births 1863 deaths Marshall University people Virginia lawyers 19th-century American lawyers {{US-academic-bio-stub