William Ferguson Slemons (March 15, 1830 – December 10, 1918) 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

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Biography

Born in

Dresden, Tennessee Dresden is a town in and the county seat of Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2010 census. Geography Dresden is located at (36.283805, -88.698296). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town ...

, Slemons attended Bethel College. He moved to

in 1852. He studied law, including at

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

. He 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 ...

in 1855 and practiced in

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

, Drew County. He served as member of the Arkansas State convention in 1861. He entered the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

in July 1861 and served as colonel of the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry in Price's Cavalry during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In the Fall of 1864, while fighting in Kansas, Slemons had his horse shot out from under him, and he and a large part of his regiment were captured. For the remainder of the war, he was held captive by Union forces. He resumed the practice of law. He served as district attorney 1866-1868. Slemons was elected 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 ...

to the Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, and Forty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1881). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1880. He resumed the practice of his profession in

Monticello, Arkansas Monticello ( ) is a college town in, and the county seat of, Drew County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,467. Founded in 1849 in the Arkansas Timberlands near the Arkansas Delta region, the city has long be ...

. County and probate judge of Drew County 1903-1907. He was in the

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

1908-1918. He died in

, December 10, 1918 and was interred in Union Ridge Cemetery, near

References

Sources

Retrieved on 2008-02-14 1830 births 1918 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas Arkansas lawyers County judges in Arkansas District attorneys in Arkansas Arkansas state court judges Confederate States Army officers People from Dresden, Tennessee People of Arkansas in the American Civil War Bethel University (Tennessee) alumni 19th-century American politicians American Civil War prisoners of war 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers {{Arkansas-state-judge-stub