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

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

from 1927 to his death in 1936. 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 F ...

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

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842–1861 The university was founded by the Cumberl ...

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

. He was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1902, and set up a practice in the Graves county seat of

Mayfield, Kentucky Mayfield is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule–class city and the county seat of Graves County, Kentucky, Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,017 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Hi ...

. 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 the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

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, also referred to as Louisville Seminary, is a seminary affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is one of 12 PC(USA) seminaries and it identifies as an e ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

from 1920 to 1927, serving as president from 1925 to 1927. He also served as vice president of the

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

Memorial Commission. In 1926, incumbent congressman

Alben Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was the 35th vice president of the United States serving from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. In 1905, he was elected to local offices and in 1912 as a U.S. rep ...

sought and won a seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. 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, and stretching into Central Kentucky, the district takes in Henderson, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Paducah, Murra ...

, the far western part of the state. Gregory continued to win re-election until his death on October 10, 1936. He is buried in

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 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

See also

Sources