William Penn Wolf (December 1, 1833 – September 19, 1896) was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer and judge from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Biography

Born in

Harrisburg, Ohio Harrisburg is a village in Franklin and Pickaway counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 315 at the 2020 census. History Harrisburg was founded in 1836 by Joseph Chenowith, and surveyed and platted by Frederick Cole. Prior to th ...

, Wolf attended public schools as a child and later Holbrook Seminary. He moved to

Cedar County, Iowa Cedar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,505. Its county seat is Tipton. The county is named for the Cedar River, which runs through the county. Cedar County is located between t ...

in 1856, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1859, commencing practice in

Tipton, Iowa Tipton ( /ˈtɪptən/) is a city in Cedar County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,149 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Cedar County. History Tipton was platted within Center Township in 1840 and was named for Ge ...

. He served as superintendent of public schools and was a member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

in 1863 and 1864. 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 ...

, Wolf served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company I of the 46th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was appointed assistant assessor of

internal revenue The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

in 1865, and was a 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 1867 to 1869. On September 30, 1870,

William Smyth William Smyth (or Smith) ( – 2 January 1514) was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1493 to 1496 and then Bishop of Lincoln until his death. He held political offices, the most important being Lord President of the Council of Wales and t ...

, the incumbent

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

representing

Iowa's 2nd congressional district Iowa's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of its southeastern part. It includes Davenport, Iowa City, Muscatine, Clinton, Burlington, Ottumwa, Fort Madison, Oskaloosa, Bettendo ...

, died while seeking re-election. His death left a vacancy on the Republican ticket and created a need for an immediate successor to finish out his term. Wolf 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 serve out Smyth's term, while fellow Republican

Aylett R. Cotton Aylett Rains Cotton (November 29, 1826 – October 30, 1912) was an American politician, lawyer, judge, educator and miner active in Iowa and Northern California. Early life and education Born in Austintown, Ohio, Cotton attended local publ ...

was elected to succeed him. Wolf served from December 6, 1870, to March 3, 1871, when Cotton's two-year term began. Afterward, Wolf resumed practicing law in Tipton. He was again a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1881 to 1885, serving as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

in 1884. He was elected a judge of the eighteenth judicial district in the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

of 1894 and served until his death in Tipton on September 19, 1896. He was interred in Masonic Cemetery in Tipton.

External links

Retrieved on 2008-10-19 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, William P. 1833 births 1896 deaths Iowa state court judges Speakers of the Iowa House of Representatives Republican Party Iowa state senators Iowa lawyers Union Army officers People from Harrisburg, Ohio People of Iowa in the American Civil War People from Tipton, Iowa Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers