Willard Saulsbury Sr. (June 2, 1820 – April 6, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician from

Georgetown, Delaware Georgetown is a town and the county seat of Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade. Georgetown is part of the Salisbury, Marylan ...

. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as

Attorney General of Delaware The attorney general of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th attorney general ...

, U.S. Senator from Delaware and Chancellor of Delaware.

Early life and family

Saulsbury was born in Mispillion Hundred,

Kent County, Delaware Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851, making it the least populous county in Delaware. The county seat is Dover, the state capital of Delaware. It ...

, son of William & Margaret Ann Smith Saulsbury. He was a younger brother of Governor

Gove Saulsbury Gove Saulsbury (May 29, 1815 – July 31, 1881) was an American physician and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and he served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware. ...

and U.S. Senator Eli M. Saulsbury. He married Annie Ponder, sister of Governor

James Ponder James Ponder (October 31, 1819 – November 5, 1897) was an American merchant and politician from Milton in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaw ...

, and they had three children, John Ponder, Margaret, and Willard Jr. They were members of the Episcopal Church. Saulsbury was educated at

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = Jo ...

and Delaware College, which is now the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...

, studied law, was admitted to the Delaware Bar, and began his practice in Georgetown, Delaware. He was a

slaveholder The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she inh ...

Political career

Saulsbury was the

Delaware Attorney General The attorney general of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th attorney general ...

from 1850 until 1855, and was elected to the United States Senate in 1858, defeating incumbent U.S. Senator Martin W. Bates. Saulsbury was reelected in 1864, but was defeated for a third term in 1870 by his older brother, Eli M. Saulsbury. He served two full terms from March 4, 1859, to March 4, 1871. He then continued his law practice and served as Chancellor of Delaware from 1873 until his death in 1892. In 1863, Saulsbury was a vehement critic of President Abraham Lincoln's administration. Opposing the war in general and the suspension of habeas corpus specifically, Saulsbury attempted to prevent a vote sustaining that controversial executive order. Apparently intoxicated, Saulsbury verbally attacked the President on the Senate floor in what

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was U ...

described as "language fit only for a drunken fishwife". Senator Saulsbury called Lincoln "an imbecile" and stated that the President was "the weakest man ever placed in a high office". When Vice President

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republic ...

called Saulsbury to order, the Senator refused to take his seat. Finally, the Senate's sergeant-at-arms approached to remove Saulsbury from the Senate floor when the Senator suddenly brandished a revolver, placed it against the sergeant's head and said, "Damn you, if you touch me I'll shoot you dead!" Eventually, Saulsbury was calmed and removed from the Senate floor.)

Death and legacy

Saulsbury died at Dover and is buried there in the Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery. His son Willard Saulsbury Jr. was also a U.S. Senator.

Almanac

The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who took office March 4 for a six-year term.

References

* * * *

Images

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Muse ...

website
; 505 Market St, Wilmington, Delaware; (302) 655-7161 *

Library website
181 South College Ave, Newark, Delaware; (302) 831-2965 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saulsbury, Willard Sr. 1820 births 1893 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians People from Georgetown, Delaware People of Delaware in the American Civil War University of Delaware alumni Dickinson College alumni Delaware lawyers Delaware Democrats Delaware Attorneys General Democratic Party United States senators from Delaware Chancellors of Delaware Burials in Dover, Delaware Saulsbury family 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers American slave owners