Ariosto A. Wiley

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Ariosto Appling Wiley.png

| image_size =

| state1 = Alabama

| district1 = 2nd

| term_start1 = March 4, 1901

| term_end1 = June 17, 1908

| predecessor1 = Jesse F. Stallings

| successor1 = Oliver C. Wiley

| office2 = Member of the Alabama Senate

| term2 = 1890-1893
1898-1899

| office3 = Member of the Alabama House of Representatives

| term3 = 1884-1885
1884-1889
1896-1897

| birth_name = Ariosto Appling Wiley

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1848|11|06}}

| birth_place = Clayton, Alabama

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1908|06|17|1848|11|06}}

| death_place = Hot Springs, Virginia

| party = Democratic

| resting_place =

| alma_mater =

| profession =

| signature = Signature of Ariosto Appling Wiley.png

}}

Ariosto Appling Wiley (November 6, 1848 – June 17, 1908) was an American lawyer, Spanish-American War veteran, and politician who served four terms as a U.S. Representative from Alabama from 1901 until his death in office in 1908.

He was the brother of Oliver Cicero Wiley, who was his successor in Congress.

Early life

Born to Jacob McCaleb and Cornelia Appling Wiley in Clayton, Alabama, Ariosto A. Wiley moved with his parents to Troy, Alabama. He had four siblings and attended the common schools and was graduated from Emory and Henry College, Emory, Virginia, in 1870. He stayed there and studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1871 and commenced practice in Clayton, Alabama. He moved to Montgomery, Alabama, the same year and continued the practice of law, partnering with former Alabama Supreme Court justice Samuel F. Rice and local judge Thomas Goode Jones.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXBGAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA110 |title=The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography |volume=VIII |publisher=James T. White & Company |page=110 |year=1924 |access-date=2021-01-17 |via=Google Books}}

Military service

He was captain of a Cavalry troop of the Alabama National Guard and later a lieutenant colonel commanding the Second Regiment of Infantry of the Alabama National Guard. He was appointed by President McKinley on June 9, 1898, lieutenant colonel of the Fifth Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry, and served during the Spanish–American War. He served as legal adviser and chief of staff to Gen. Henry W. Lawton in Santiago, Cuba, and assisted Gen. Leonard Wood in the establishment of civil government in the eastern Province of Cuba.

Politics

Wiley served extensively in both chambers of the Alabama state legislature. He served as member of the Alabama House of Representatives in 1884, 1885, 1888, 1889, 1896, and 1897. He served in the Alabama Senate from 1890 to 1893, in 1898, and in 1899.

He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention twice during the 1880s.

= Congress =

In 1900, Wiley was elected as a Democrat to an open seat in Alabama’s 2nd congressional district that was created by the retirement of Jesse Francis Stallings. He won re-election three times and served in the Fifty-seventh and three succeeding Congresses from March 4, 1901, until his death at Hot Springs, Virginia, June 17, 1908.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67828702/obituary-congressman-a-a-wiley/ |title=Obituary: Congressman A. A. Wiley |newspaper=New-York Tribune |location=Hot Springs, Virginia |page=7 |date=1908-06-18 |access-date=2021-01-17 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite web |title=S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/SERIALSET-04562_00_00-001-0001-0000 |website=GovInfo.gov |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=2 July 2023 |page=2 |date=9 November 1903}}

Wiley served on the House committees with oversight over militia and pensions. His work included legislation aimed at improving military organization, assisting Alabama homesteaders, and infrastructure improvements along the Alabama River. He also supported rural mail service in Alabama and worked to bring to his home state some relics of the Spanish-American War.

Death

Wiley suffered from rheumatism, which slowed his activities considerably. By 1908, his health had deteriorated and he traveled to Warm Springs, Georgia in the hopes of finding relief. He died there on June 17, 1908, and was interred in Oakwood Cemetery, Montgomery, Alabama.{{cite web | url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/ariosto-a-wiley/ | first=Erik |last=Haeuser | website=Encyclopedia of Alabama | title=Biography of Ariosto A. Wiley}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JrXYvgrwkM0C&pg=PA1899 |pages=2012-2013 |title=Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949: The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States from the First to the Eightieth Congress, March 4, 1789 to January 3, 1949 |editor1-first=James L. |editor1-last=Harrison |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1950}}

His brother Oliver was elected to fill the remainder of his seat.