William Henry Mills Pusey (July 29, 1826 – November 15, 1900), an American banker, was a one-term Democratic

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 Iowa's 9th congressional district in southwestern Iowa from 1883 to 1885. Born in

Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington. Washington County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county i ...

, Pusey attended the

Washington and Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

, Pennsylvania, and was graduated in 1847. He studied law and 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 ...

but did not engage in extensive practice. Moving to Iowa, he entered into the banking business in

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is lo ...

in 1856.Benjamin F. Gue, " History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, Vol. 4 (William H. M. Pusey)" pp. 217-18 (1902). He served as member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

from 1858 to 1862, representing a 22-county district in sparsely populated western Iowa. In 1882, Pusey became the first Democrat elected to Congress from southwestern Iowa since 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 ...

, defeating Republican nominee (and future Congressman) Albert R. Anderson. While serving in the Forty-eighth Congress, he ran for re-election in 1884. He retained the Democratic nomination but was defeated by Republican

Joseph Lyman Joseph Lyman (September 13, 1840 – July 9, 1890) was a Civil War soldier, lawyer, and judge. In the 1880s, he was a two-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 9th congressional district in southwestern Iowa. Biography Lyman was b ...

. In all, he served in Congress from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885. Returning to Iowa, he resumed banking activities. He died in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

, on November 15, 1900. He was interred in Walnut Hill Cemetery. Pusey's younger brother Nathan Marsh Pusey was an Iowa state senator from 1896 to 1900.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pusey, William Henry Mills 1826 births 1900 deaths Washington & Jefferson College alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Democratic Party Iowa state senators 19th-century American politicians