William G. Blakely (August 29, 1829April 19, 1920) was an American miner, lawyer, and a Methodist minister. He served as a district attorney, judge, and legislator in Arizona, where he lived the majority of his life.

Biography

Blakely was born in the Delaware County town of Kortright,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on August 29, 1829. He was educated first in the local school system, then at the

Delaware Academy Delaware Academy Delaware Academy is a K-12 school in Delhi (village), New York, northwest of New York City. History 19th century The school was founded in 1819. On April 12 of that year, approval was given for the school to be built. The first ...

, and graduated from the

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in Albany. In 1849, he left for California in pursuit of riches during the gold rush. After four years of mining, he returned to New York and paid off the mortgage on his father's farm with his mining wealth. He then studied law in Delhi at the office of

Amasa J. Parker Amasa Junius Parker (June 2, 1807May 13, 1890) was an attorney, politician and judge from New York. He is most notable for his service as a member of the New York State Assembly (1834), a U.S. Representative (1837-1839), and a justice of the New ...

after which he returned to California, settling in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, where he practiced law and continued mining. In Sonora, he discovered the prosperous Eureka mine in 1858. Blakely was ordained a minister of the Methodist church, receiving a license from the California Methodist Episcopal conference. In 1861, he left California and moved his family to

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

in the adjacent Nevada Territory where he began the practice of law. He was appointed Nevada

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

by Governor

James W. Nye James Warren Nye (June 10, 1815 – December 25, 1876) was an American attorney and politician. He was most notable for his service as Governor of Nevada Territory and a United States senator from Nevada. Biography He was born in DeRuyter, N ...

in 1861 and was heavily involved in organizing the territory's

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

system. Blakely then relocated to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

where he constructed a Methodist Episcopal Church and served as its pastor. He simultaneously continued mining and developed a

stamp mill A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operatio ...

to treat gold-bearing quartz from the Mother Vein mine. Kingman-House-William G

Blakely then moved to

Pioche Pioche is an unincorporated town in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States, approximately northeast of Las Vegas. U.S. Route 93 is the main route to Pioche and bypasses the town center just to the east, with Nevada State Route 321 and Nevad ...

where he continued mining and practicing law. He also developed mines in Cerbat and Mineral Park in the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

. He moved again in 1871 to Kingman, the county seat of Mohave County where he was elected judge of the Mohave

county court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

and later appointed by Governor C. Meyer Zulick as probate judge and superintendent of schools. In 1880, he was first elected Mohave County

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

, serving until 1904. During this period, Blakely continued his law practice. He was the attorney in Kingman for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, and also represented many other large mines and businesses in the area. In 1893, Blakely was selected to be a permanent representative of Mohave County to the statehood committee. He then became a

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

judge, and representative in the upper house of the

24th Arizona Territorial Legislature The 24th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened in Phoenix, Arizona. The session ran from January 21, 1907, till March 21, 1907. Background A proposal to merge Arizona and Ne ...

of 1907. He introduced a bill to prohibit the sale of

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in the territory and another to prohibit "the establishment of a saloon within one mile of an educational institution". Blakely was an honorary member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and publicly spoke in support of prohibition based on his experiences with alcohol consumption in mining communities. In 1908, Blakely was appointed district attorney again to fill a vacancy caused when the elected district attorney resigned to move to Los Angeles. In 1910, he accepted a pastorship in Kingman, a position he held previously before devoting more time to his other professions. Blakely died on April 19, 1920. The funeral procession from the church to the cemetery was reported to have included "the longest line of automobiles ever seen at a funeral" in Kingman.

Personal

On September 5, 1853, Blakely married Susan Elizabeth Wilson from Orange County, New York. Mrs. Blakely was born on August 20, 1829, and died in Kingman on August 20, 1899. They had four sons, including

Ross H. Blakely The Ross H. Blakely House is a Queen Anne style house located in Kingman, Arizona. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Description The Ross H. Blakely House is located at 519 Spring Street in Kingman, Arizona. ...

. His eldest son, John E. Blakely, committed suicide in October 1907 at age 37. The suicide was attributed to alcoholism. Blakely's other two sons, William G. Jr and James W., both died in 1899. Blakely's

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, built in 1887 and located at 503 Spring Street in Kingman, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. Blakely was a brother in the Elks Kingman Lodge.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakely, William G. 1829 births 1920 deaths People from Kingman, Arizona Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature Arizona Republicans Arizona pioneers Arizona Territory judges People from Delaware County, New York University at Albany, SUNY alumni American Methodist clergy Arizona lawyers California lawyers Nevada lawyers New York (state) lawyers 19th-century American lawyers