William E. Chilton

William Chilton
Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus
In office
March 4, 1911 – March 4, 1913
Leader Thomas S. Martin
Preceded by Robert Latham Owen
Succeeded by Willard Saulsbury Jr.
United States Senator
from West Virginia
In office
March 4, 1911 – March 4, 1917
Preceded by Nathan B. Scott
Succeeded by Howard Sutherland
Secretary of State of West Virginia
In office
March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897
Governor William A. MacCorkle
Succeeded by William M. O. Dawson
Personal details
Born William Edwin Chilton
(1858-03-17)March 17, 1858
Colesmouth, Virginia, U.S. (now St. Albans, West Virginia)
Died November 7, 1939(1939-11-07) (aged 81)
Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Education Shelton College (BA)

William Edwin Chilton (March 17, 1858 – November 7, 1939) was a United States Senator from West Virginia. Born in Colesmouth, Virginia (now St. Albans, West Virginia), he attended public and private schools and graduated from Shelton College in St. Albans. He taught school, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1880, commencing practice in Charleston, West Virginia in 1882. He also engaged in the newspaper publishing business, and was prosecuting attorney of Kanawha County in 1883. In 1892 he was chairman of the Democratic State executive committee and was Secretary of State of West Virginia from 1893 to 1897.

Chilton was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1917; while in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Census (Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Congresses) and of the Committee on Printing (Sixty-fourth Congress), and also served on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Chilton's bid for reelection in 1916 failed; he unsuccessfully contested the election of his opponent, Howard Sutherland.

After Chilton's term in the Senate, he resumed the practice of law and the newspaper publishing business in Charleston. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Senate in 1924 and again in 1934. He died in Charleston in 1939; interment was in Teay's Hill Cemetery, St. Albans.

His parents' house at St. Albans, known as the Chilton House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[1]

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  • United States Congress. "William E. Chilton (id: C000360)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Political offices
Preceded by
William Ohley		 Secretary of State of West Virginia
1893–1897		 Succeeded by
William M. O. Dawson
U.S. Senate
Preceded by
Nathan B. Scott		 U.S. Senator (Class 1) from West Virginia
1911–1917
Served alongside: Clarence W. Watson, Nathan Goff Jr.		 Succeeded by
Howard Sutherland
Preceded by
Robert M. La Follette Sr.		 Chair of the Senate Census Committee
1913–1916		 Succeeded by
Morris Sheppard
Preceded by
Duncan U. Fletcher		 Chair of the Senate Printing Committee
1916–1917		 Succeeded by
Marcus A. Smith
Party political offices
Preceded by
Robert Latham Owen		 Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus
1911–1913		 Succeeded by
Willard Saulsbury Jr.
First Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from West Virginia
(Class 1)
1916		 Succeeded by
Matthew M. Neely
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