Xenophon Pierce Wilfley (; March 18, 1871May 4, 1931) was a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who represented the state of

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 ...

in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

for five months in 1918.

Early life

Wilfley was born near

Mexico, Missouri , image_skyline = Audrain County Missouri Courthouse.JPG , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = The Audrain County Courthouse in downtown Mexico. , image_flag = , image_seal = ...

, the son of James Franklin Wilfley. He attended local country schools in his youth. He graduated from Clarksburg College in 1891 and from Central Methodist College in

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. The ...

in 1894. He taught at Central Methodist College for one year and at Sedalia High School in

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...

for three years. In 1899 he graduated from Washington University Law School and began to practice law in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

with his brother Lebbeus R. Wilfley. From 1917 to 1918 he was the chairman of the city's board of election commissioners.

United States Senator (1918)

In 1918 Wilfley was appointed to the United States Senate by Governor

Frederick D. Gardner Frederick Dozier Gardner (November 6, 1869December 18, 1933), an American businessman and politician from St. Louis, Missouri, served as the 34th Governor of Missouri from 1917 to 1921. Political career Gardner was born in Hickman, Kentucky; hi ...

as a Democrat to fill out the term of

William J. Stone William Joel Stone (May 7, 1848April 14, 1918) was a Democratic politician from Missouri who represented his state in the United States House of Representatives from 1885 to 1891, and in the U.S. Senate from 1903 until his death; he also served ...

, who had died in office on April 14, 1918. Wilfley served from April 30 to November 5 and was the chairman of the Committee on Industrial Expositions. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat but lost it to

Joseph Folk Joseph "Holy Joe" Wingate Folk (October 28, 1869 – May 28, 1923) was an American lawyer, reformer, and politician from St. Louis, Missouri. He was Governor of Missouri from 1905 to 1909. Early life and education Joseph Folk was born in Brown ...

, who in turn lost the general election to Republican Selden P. Spencer.

Later life and death

After leaving the Senate, Wilfley returned to St. Louis and resumed his legal practice, becoming president of the

Missouri Bar Association The Missouri Bar is the official bar association for all Missouri lawyers and judges. Every licensed Missouri lawyer is automatically a member of The Missouri Bar. Every applicant for admission to the bar must meet a list of requirements set by ...

in 1925. He died in St. Louis in 1931 at the age of 60 and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Personal life and family

Wilfley's brother, Lebbeus R. Wilfley, was

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from 1901 to 1906 and Judge of the

United States Court for China The United States Court for China was a United States district court that had extraterritorial jurisdiction over U.S. citizens in China. It existed from 1906 to 1943 and had jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, with appeals taken to the U ...

from 1906 to 1908. In 1908 Wilfley married Rosamond Guthrie, who was also from Mexico, Missouri. Wilfley was a

Southern Methodist , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , pro ...

and a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

.https://archive.org/details/stlouisfourthcit02instev/page/n599/mode/2up?q=xenophon+wilfley

References

1871 births 1931 deaths Central Methodist University alumni People from Mexico, Missouri People from Sedalia, Missouri Politicians from St. Louis Washington University School of Law alumni Democratic Party United States senators from Missouri Missouri Democrats Missouri lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers Washington University in St. Louis alumni {{Missouri-politician-stub

Early life

United States Senator (1918)

Later life and death

Personal life and family

Further reading

References