William Farrand Prosser (March 16, 1834 – September 23, 1911) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served in the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

representing

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and was a Union Colonel in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early years

Prosser was born on March 16, 1834, in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

, the son of David and Rachel Williams Prosser,

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

immigrants. His family moved to

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...

, when he was very young. In Johnstown, he received a limited formal education, but went on to teach school and study law although he never practiced. He moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1854, where he engaged in mining.

Civil War years

Prosser returned to Pennsylvania in 1861 upon the outbreak of 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 ...

to enter the Union Army. He was promoted through the ranks to Colonel, and served throughout the war. Prosser saw action in many battles, including the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

, the

Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the Ame ...

, and the

Siege of Knoxville The siege of Knoxville (November 19 – December 4, 1863) saw Lieutenant General James Longstreet's Confederate States Army, Confederate forces besiege the Union (American Civil War), Union garrison of Knoxville, Tennessee, led by Major General A ...

. Prosser was briefly a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

in 1862.

Tennessee years

After the war Prosser settled on a farm near

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1867–1869. He was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

Forty-first United States Congress The 41st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1869, ...

in 1869, and served from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1871. He was postmaster of Nashville 1872–1875 and a director of the Tennessee, Edgefield & Kentucky Railroad. Prosser was appointed in 1872 as one of the State commissioners to the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

at Philadelphia and was sent on a special mission in 1873 to assist in arranging participation of European countries in the exposition. He published the '' Nashville Republican'' for several years.

Washington years

In 1879, Prosser was appointed by President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...

as special agent of the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

for Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. He moved to Washington in the same year. He married Flora Louise Thornton in Seattle on April 6, 1880, and settled in the

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam Nat ...

valley area in 1882, where he founded the town of

Prosser, Washington Prosser () is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Washington, United States. Situated along the Yakima River, it had a population of 5,714 at the 2010 census. History Prosser was long home to Native Americans who lived and fished a ...

. He had three children, William Thornton Prosser, Margaret Helen Prosser, and Mildred Cyrenia Prosser. He was a delegate at the first Washington State Constitutional Convention in 1889. Prosser was one of the founders of the Washington State Historical Society, which he served as president for a time. In 1903, he authored a two volume history titled ''A History of the Puget Sound Country''. He also served as chairman of the State harbor line commission, mayor of North Yakima (1890–1903), and city treasurer of Seattle 1908–1910.

Death

Prosser died September 23, 1911 (age 77 years). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington.

References

External links

*William Farrand Prosser, ''A History of the Puget Sound Country'', (Lewis Publishing Co.: 1903). *Clinton A. Snowden et al., ''History of Washington: The Rise and Progress of an American State'', (Century History Co.: 1911). *Henry Wilson Storey, ''History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania'', (Lewis Publishing Co.: 1907) *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prosser, William Farrand 1834 births 1911 deaths Politicians from Williamsport, Pennsylvania American people of Welsh descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Politicians from Seattle People from Nashville, Tennessee Union Army colonels People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Mayors of places in Washington (state) Politicians from Johnstown, Pennsylvania American Civil War prisoners of war Tennessee postmasters United States Department of the Interior officials 19th-century American politicians