William Paine Sheffield (August 30, 1820June 2, 1907) was a

United States 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 ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Biography

Born in New Shoreham (on

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

), he completed preparatory studies, attended Kingston Academy, and graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1843. He was admitted to the bar in 1844 and commenced practice in Newport. In 1841 and 1842 he was a delegate to the State constitutional conventions and was a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

from 1842 to 1845, from 1849 to 1853, and from 1857 to 1861. He moved to Tiverton and returned to Newport. Sheffield was elected as a Union candidate to the Thirty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863) and then resumed the practice of law; he was appointed in 1871 one of the commissioners to revise the State laws, and was a member of the State house of representatives from 1875 to 1884. He was appointed 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 U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry B. Anthony and served from November 19, 1884, to January 20, 1885, after which he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1892 Sheffield was elected as an honorary member of the Rhode Island

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

. Sheffield died in Newport in 1907; interment was in the

Island Cemetery The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair ...

. Sheffield was the father of William Paine Sheffield Jr., also a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffield, William 1820 births 1907 deaths People from New Shoreham, Rhode Island American people of English descent Rhode Island Unionists Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island Republican Party United States senators from Rhode Island Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Harvard Law School alumni Burials in Rhode Island Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island