William Gustavus Conley (January 8, 1866October 21, 1940) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the

Attorney General of West Virginia The attorney general of West Virginia is the chief legal advisor to the West Virginia state government and is the state's chief law enforcement officer. The office was created by Article VII, Section 1 of the first Constitution of West Virg ...

(1908–1913) and 18th

governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

as a Republican (1929 to 1933).

Early and family life

He was born near Kingwood to Major William Conley and Mary Courtney Freeburn. He taught in the local public schools from 1886 to 1891. In 1892, he married Bertie Ison Martin."West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007. In 1893 he graduated from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

with a degree in law.

Career

After admission to the West Virginia bar, Conley began a law practice in

Parsons, West Virginia Parsons is the largest city in and county seat of Tucker County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,322 at the 2020 census. Parsons is located at the confluence of the Shavers Fork and the Black Fork, forming the head of the ...

. While there he served as

Tucker County Tucker County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,762, making it West Virginia's fourth-least populous county. Its county seat is Parsons. The county was created in 1856 from a part of ...

prosecuting attorney, and later as the mayor of Parsons. He also founded and was the editor of the ''Parsons Advocate''

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

. He also served as mayor of Kingwood from 1906 to 1908. In 1908, Governor William Dawson appointed Conley to the post of state

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. After being elected to the same office in 1908 by defeating Democrat Eskridge H. Morton, Conley continued in that role under Governor William Glasscock. In 1911, he argued before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

in the case of ''

Virginia v. West Virginia ''Virginia v. West Virginia'', 78 U.S. (11 Wall.) 39 (1871), is a 6–3 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that if a governor (United States), governor has discretion in the conduct of the election, the legislature is boun ...

'', which involved Virginia's pre-Civil War debt and West Virginia's share of it. He was also involved in '' Maryland v. West Virginia'', which involved the border between Maryland and West Virginia. In 1912, Conley ran for Congress as a Republican but lost by 214 votes out of about 47,000. Over the next 12 years he was a lawyer in Charleston. In 1924, he was appointed to the State Board of Education. He served there until his resignation on March 1, 1929. He was elected as governor of West Virginia in November 1928 with the slogan of "Conley Commands Confidence" and was inaugurated on March 4, 1929. His time as governor was marked by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. His time as governor, limited by the state constitution at the time to one term, ended on March 4, 1933. He remained in Charleston and organized the law firm of Conley, Thompson, and Neff.

References

External links

Biography of William G. Conley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, William Gustavus 1866 births 1940 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Methodists from West Virginia County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia Editors of West Virginia newspapers Republican Party governors of West Virginia Mayors of places in West Virginia Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia Lawyers from Kingwood, West Virginia People from Parsons, West Virginia West Virginia attorneys general West Virginia lawyers West Virginia University alumni West Virginia University College of Law alumni Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia 20th-century West Virginia politicians Members of the West Virginia Board of Education Civil servants from Charleston, West Virginia Politicians from Kingwood, West Virginia Civil servants from Kingwood, West Virginia