William Alexander Anderson
William A. Anderson | |
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20th Attorney General of Virginia | |
In office January 1, 1901 – February 1910 | |
Governor | Andrew Jackson Montague Claude A. Swanson |
Preceded by | Andrew Jackson Montague |
Succeeded by | Samuel Walker Williams |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Rockbridge County | |
In office January 9, 1918 – January 13, 1920 | |
Preceded by | Hugh A. White |
Succeeded by | William M. McNutt |
In office December 8, 1887 – December 4, 1889 Serving with John T. McKee | |
Preceded by | Charles F. Jordan |
Succeeded by | Greenlee D. Letcher |
In office December 5, 1883 – December 1, 1885 Serving with Matthew W. Paxton | |
Preceded by | Robert K. Dunlap or James A Frazier |
Succeeded by | Charles F. Jordan |
Member of the Virginia Senate from the Rockbridge, Alleghany and Botetourt Counties, Virginia district | |
In office October 5, 1869 – December 31, 1873 | |
Preceded by | David S.G. Cabell |
Succeeded by | John L. Eubank |
Personal details | |
Born | 4th Virginia Infantry | May 11, 1842
Battles/wars | First Battle of Bull Run |
William Alexander Anderson (May 11, 1842 – June 21, 1930) was a Virginia lawyer, Confederate soldier and
Early and family life
Born in
He married twice and had five children. His first wife, Ellen. G. Anderson of Richmond, died in 1872. His second wife was Mary Louisa Blair of Lexington.[5]
Confederate soldier and aftermath
By the following month, Anderson had enlisted in the
Meanwhile, his father had been elected to the
Lawyer and politician
A member of the state executive committee of the Democratic Party for many years, Anderson first won election to the
Nearly a decade later, Rockbridge County voters elected Anderson one of their representatives (also part-time), in the Virginia House of Delegates, so from 1883 to 1885 he served alongside Matthew W. Paxton (of a family which had previously sent other members to the House of Delegates), but voters refused to re-elect either man, replacing them with Charles F. Jordan and Jacob W. Arnold in 1885, whose terms also proved solitary. Rockbridge voters again elected Anderson (this time alongside John T. McKee) to serve in the 1887 assembly, before again refusing to re-elect either man, but instead replacing them with Greenlee D. Letcher and James M. Johnston (only the former winning re-election).[10][2] Anderson became one of the principal authors of the Anderson-McCormick Election Act (allowing the General Assembly to elect 3-member boards of election in each county) that in combination with the Walton Act (which required use of the secret ballot as well as that voters cross out three fourths of the name of every candidate the voter voted against), reduced the number of Black Virginians eligible to vote, as well as the number of Black officeholders.[11]
In 1899, Anderson became president of the
Despite pre-convention promises that voters would have a choice of ratifying the final document, a 47 to 38 majority of the convention's delegates voted to proclaim it as in effect as of July 10, 1902, and never submitted it to voters. When a man convicted of housebreaking in Augusta County complained that his trial for a felony without a jury was defective, Attorney General Anderson defended the conviction before the
Virginia voters re-elected Anderson Attorney General of Virginia in 1905.
Anderson also served on the state board of education after finishing his term as attorney general.[23] He would win his final election to the House of Delegates in 1917, and represented part of Rockbridge county as well and neighboring Buena Vista county in the 1918 and 1919 sessions (John W. Stephenson representing the rest of Rockbridge and Buena Vista counties, together with Bath and Highland counties).[24]
Anderson served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater,
Death and legacy
Anderson was buried in the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in
References
- ^ archive.org
- ^ a b c d e f Tyler, Lyon G., ed. (1907). Men of Mark in Virginia: Ideals of American Life; A Collection of Biographies of the Leading Men in the State, volume III. Washington, D.C., Men of mark publishing company.
- ^ Leonard p. 359
- ^ Tyler vol. III, p. 3
- ^ Tyler vol. III, p. 5
- ^ a b "Teacher's Guide to Lee Chapel & Museum". Lee Chapel & Museum. Archived from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ Tyler Vol. III, p. 3
- ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 512, 516
- ^ "A Guide to the Papers of the Anderson Family, 1771-1952: Biographical/Historical Information". University of Virginia. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ Leonard, pp. 539, 547
- ^ Brent Tarter, The Grandees of Government (University of Virginia Press, 2013) p. 264
- ^ "VBA History and Heritage". The Virginia Bar Association. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ Tarter p. 266
- ^ Leonard p. 575
- ^ Brent Tarter, The Grandees of Government (University of Virginia Press 2013) p. 265, citing Report of the Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention State of Virginia Held in the City of Richmond June 12, 1901 to June 26, 1902, pp. 19-20
- ^ "Virginia Constitutional Convention Directory 1901". New River Notes. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ Taylor v. Commonwealth, 101 Va. 829 (1903), available at https://cite.case.law/va/101/829/
- ^ Tarter p. 270 citing Jones v. Montague, 194 U.S. Reports 147-153 (1904)(quotation on p. 153) and Selden v. Montague, 194 U.S. Reports 153 (1904)
- ^ Justice Brewer opinion in Jones v. Montague, available on wikisource
- ^ Tarter p. 268
- ^ Virginia v. West Virginia, 220 U.S. 1 (1911). The case was argued January 20, 23, 24, 25, and 26, 1911, with Anderson, Samuel W. Williams, Randolph Harrison, and John B. Moon appearing for the Commonwealth.
- ^ "DEBT FIGHT COST MILLION.; Final Report Filed in Virginia-West Virginia Litigation" (PDF). New York Times, July 19, 1920. July 11, 1920. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ Tyler Vol. III, p. 4
- ^ Leonard p. 614
- ^ "Washington and Lee Trustees". Washington and Lee University. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ "Rectors and Presidents of Washington and Lee University". Washington and Lee University. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ "Guide to the Papers of the Anderson Family 1771-1952, University of Virginia Library". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-03-03.