Williamson Simpson Oldham Sr. (June 19, 1813 – May 8, 1868) was an American politician who served in Arkansas state government, and as a Confederate States Senator from Texas from 1862 to 1865.

Biography

Born in Franklin County, Tennessee, Oldham settled at

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

, in 1835, was elected to the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

in 1838 and 1842. He was elected as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1842. In 1848 he resigned to run for Congress, but was defeated, thereafter moving to Austin, Texas. He represented Texas in the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1862, and was a senator in both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second Confederate States congresses from 1862 to 1865. Oldham died on May 8, 1868.Williamson Simpson Oldham
Retrieved November 22, 2015.

Legacy

Oldham County, Texas Oldham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,758. Its county seat is Vega. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1881. Oldham County is included in the Amarillo, TX Metropol ...

(established 1881), is named after him.

In popular culture

In Harry Turtledove's 1994 alternative history novel, '' Guns of the South'', a "Congressman Oldham" from Texas is mentioned as sponsoring a bill to re-enslave freedmen in a victorious Confederacy. Since the setting was the time of the 2nd Confederate States Congress, it is likely that Turtledove was referring to Senator Oldham.

References

External links

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William Simpson Oldham Sr.
at The Political Graveyard 1813 births 1868 deaths 19th-century American politicians Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court Confederate States of America senators Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives People of Texas in the American Civil War Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States Texas Democrats 19th-century American judges {{Texas-politician-stub