William Wellington Corlett (April 10, 1842 – July 22, 1890) was a Delegate from the

Territory of Wyoming The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The boun ...

Biography

Corlett was born April 10, 1842 in

Concord, Ohio Concord is an unincorporated community in Williamsburg township in Clermont County, in the U.S. state of Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and w ...

. He attended the district schools and graduated from the Willoughby (Ohio) Collegiate Institute in 1861.

Civil War service

With 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 ...

, he enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in 1862 and served in the

28th Ohio Infantry The 28th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was frequently referred to as the 2nd German Ohio Regiment. Service The 28th Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Dennison near ...

and the 87th Ohio Infantry (a three-month regiment). He was captured with the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

at the

Battle of Harpers Ferry {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Battle of Harpers Ferry , partof = the American Civil War , image = NWDNS-165-SB-26 Harpers Ferry Virginia.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = Harpers ...

on September 15, 1862.

Postbellum

He was paroled and returned to Ohio, where he taught school in Kirkland and Painesville. Corlett reentered the army with the Twenty-fifth Ohio Battery. He was later placed on detached service with the Third Iowa Battery. He returned to Ohio in 1865 and mustered out of the army. He attended law school at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and graduated from Union Law College of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, in July 1866. He was admitted to the bar the same year and became a professor in elementary law at the State University and Law College as well as lecturer at several commercial colleges in Cleveland. He settled in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

in 1867, and engaged in the practice of law. During some of time in Wyoming, his law partner was

John Alden Riner John Alden Riner (October 12, 1850 – March 4, 1923) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. Education and career Born in Preble County, Ohio, Riner received a Bachelor of Laws from t ...

, who later served as a federal judge. Corlett was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Delegate to the Forty-first Congress in 1869. He was Postmaster of Cheyenne in 1870, a member of the Territorial senate in 1871 and prosecuting attorney of Laramie County from 1872 to 1876. Corlett was elected as a Republican a Delegate to the Forty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879) He was not a candidate for renomination in 1878. He resumed the practice of law and in 1879 declined the appointment as chief justice of Wyoming Territory. He served as member of the legislative council 1880-1882. He died in

, on July 22, 1890 (twelve days after Wyoming was admitted to the union as the 44th state) and was interred in Lakeview Cemetery.

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-14 {{DEFAULTSORT:Corlett, William Wellington 1842 births 1890 deaths Members of the Wyoming Territorial Legislature Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Wyoming Territory Wyoming Republicans People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union Army officers Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Painesville, Ohio 19th-century American politicians