William Van Ness Bay (November 23, 1818 – February 10, 1894) was an American attorney and judge from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He was most notable for serving as

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

from 1849 to 1851, and a judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri from 1862 to 1865.

Early life

Bay was born in

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

on November 23, 1818, a son of Thomas Bay and Harriet (Mansfield) Bay. His grandfather John Bay and father were also prominent attorneys. Among the prospective lawyers who studied under John Bay were

Ambrose Spencer Ambrose Spencer (December 13, 1765March 13, 1848) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life Ambrose Spencer was born on December 13, 1765 in Salisbury in the Connecticut Colony. He was the son of Philip Spencer and Mary (née Moore) Spe ...

, who later practiced law in partnership with him, and

William W. Van Ness William W. Van Ness (1776–1823) was a New York lawyer, state judge and legislator. From Claverack, New York, he studied law with John Bay of that same town, and was admitted to the bar in 1792. He served in the state assembly from 1804 to 1806 ...

. Bay's great-uncle, Elihu H. Bay, was a justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court and declined an appointment to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Bay's brother, Samuel M. Bay, was a prominent attorney in Missouri and served as counsel for Dred Scott in the 1847 '' Scott v. Emerson'' case.

Career

William Bay was educated in Columbia County, New York and moved to Missouri in 1835. He studied law under the tutelage of his brother Samuel and was admitted to the bar in 1837. He settled in

Union, Missouri Union is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Missouri, United States. It is located on the Bourbeuse River, southwest of St. Louis. The population was 10,204 at the 2010 census, with the city showing the highest growth rate (32% ...

, where he commenced the practice of law. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, in 1842 he was elected to represent the two-member Franklin County district in the Missouri House of Representatives. In 1844, he was reelected in the two-member district. In 1846, he was reelected in what was then a single-member Franklin County district, and he served from November 1842 to December 1848. In 1848, Bay was elected to represent Missouri's 2nd Congressional District in the

35th Congress The 35th 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, 1857, ...

. He served one term, March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1851 and was not a candidate for reelection in 1850. In his only House speech, Bay called for the admission of

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 ...

to the Union as a free state as part of the Compromise of 1850, condemned the presidential administration of

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

, a Whig, for carrying out unpopular parts of the compromise including the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most co ...

, and pleaded with northern abolitionists not to do anything on the slavery question that would be perceived as aggressive by southern slaveholders. After leaving Congress, Bay resumed the practice of law. In 1854, he moved to St. Louis. Bay was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri in 1862 when the incumbent Supreme Court judges were removed after refusing to swear loyalty oaths to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

during 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 ...

. He won election to the position in 1863 and served until June 1865, when he was removed by Governor

Thomas Clement Fletcher Thomas Clement Fletcher (January 21, 1827March 25, 1899) was the 18th Governor of Missouri during the latter stages of the American Civil War and the early part of Reconstruction. He was the first Missouri governor to be born in the state. The ...

, in keeping with a post-

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 ...

amendment to the state constitution which vacated all judgeships that had been filled during the war.

Later life

After leaving the bench, Bay continued to practice law in St. Louis. In 1878 he authored a historical work, ''Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar of Missouri'', which contained short biographies of Missouri's prominent attorneys, judges, and political figures.

Retirement and death

Bay retired in 1886 and moved to Eureka, Missouri to live with his daughter. He died in Eureka on February 10, 1894. Bay was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Kirkwood, Missouri.

Family

Bay was married to Maria Elizabeth Duncan (1834-1879), a native of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Their children included Cora, William, Frank, Harry, Harriet, and Elizabeth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bay, William Van Ness 1818 births 1894 deaths People from Hudson, New York American people of Irish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri People from Union, Missouri Politicians from St. Louis People from St. Louis County, Missouri 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians