Willis Gratz Sears (August 16, 1860 – June 1, 1949) was an American Republican Party politician. Born in

Willoughby, Ohio Willoughby is a city in Lake County, Ohio and is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 22,268 at the time of the 2010 census. History Willoughby's first permanent settler was David Abbott in 1798, who operated a gristmill. Abbott and his ...

on August 16, 1860, Sears moved to Nebraska in 1879. He studied law at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1884. He set up practice in

Tekamah, Nebraska Tekamah (pronounced "teh-KAY-muh")

and then became the prosecuting attorney for Burt County from 1895 to 1901. Sears was elected a member of the Nebraska house of representatives in 1901, serving as speaker for his first year and as a normal representative until 1904. He was elected as judge of the fourth judicial district of Nebraska on November 6, 1903, serving until March 10, 1923, when he resigned having been elected to Congress. He was elected from Nebraska's 2nd district to the

Sixty-eighth United States Congress The 68th 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, 1923, ...

and to the three succeeding Congresses serving from March 4, 1923, to March 3, 1931. During his time, Sears was elected chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Expenditures in the Justice Department during the Sixty-ninth United States Congress and the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Elections No. 3 during the

Seventy-first United States Congress The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature 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, 1929, to Ma ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1930 to the

Seventy-second United States Congress The 72nd 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, 193 ...

. He resumed the practice of law in Nebraska and again was elected judge of the fourth judicial district of Nebraska serving from 1932 to 1948. He died in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

on June 1, 1949, and is buried in Tekamah Cemetery.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, Willis Gratz 1860 births 1949 deaths People from Willoughby, Ohio University of Kansas School of Law alumni Nebraska state court judges Republican Party members of the Nebraska House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska People from Tekamah, Nebraska