William Whiting (March 3, 1813 – June 29, 1873) 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 ...
from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. He was born in
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
on March 3, 1813. He attended Concord Academy and graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1833. He taught school in
Plymouth and Concord. Whiting graduated from
Harvard Law School in 1838. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. He served as solicitor of the War Department 1862–1865. In 1868 he was a presidential elector, and in 1872 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 the
Forty-third Congress. He served from March 4, 1873, until his death in Boston on June 29 that same year. His interment was in
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.
Colby University gave him the degree of
LL.D.
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
in 1872. He left $5,000 to Harvard for a scholarship. Whiting was for five years president of the
New England Historic Genealogical Society
The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845.
NEHGS provides family history services through its staff, original scholarship, website,[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 ...]
, namely, that the U. S. government had full belligerent rights against the inhabitants of seceded states, and without going beyond the Constitution could confiscate their property, emancipate their slaves, and treat them as public enemies. These opinions were at first received with caution by most public men, but they were finally sanctioned and adopted by the government. The book had a large sale in the United States and abroad.
Besides this, he published various pamphlets, chiefly legal arguments before the U. S. courts; a "Memoir of Rev. Joseph Harrington," prefixed to a volume of his sermons (Boston, 1854); and ''Memoirs of Rev. Samuel Whiting and of his Wife, Elizabeth St. John, with Reference to some of their English Ancestors and American Descendants'' (printed privately, Boston, 1871).
See also
*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiting, William
Harvard Law School alumni
Politicians from Boston
1813 births
1873 deaths
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
19th-century American politicians
Concord Academy alumni
Colby College alumni
Harvard College alumni