William Dunlap Simpson

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = William Dunlap Simpson

|image = William Dunlap Simpson.jpg

|caption=

|office = Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court

|term = September 6, 1880 – December 26, 1890

|predecessor = Ammiel J. Willard

|successor = Henry McIver

|order1 = 78th

|office1 = Governor of South Carolina

|term_start1 = February 26, 1879

|term_end1 = September 1, 1880

|lieutenant1 = None

|predecessor1 = Wade Hampton III

|successor1 = Thomas Bothwell Jeter

|order2 = 56th

|office2 = Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina

|term2 = December 14, 1876 – February 26, 1879

|governor2 = Wade Hampton III

|predecessor2 = Richard Howell Gleaves

|successor2 = John D. Kennedy

|office3 = Member of the Confederate States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district

|term3 = February 5, 1863 – March 18, 1865

|predecessor3 = Milledge Luke Bonham

|successor3 = Position abolished

|office4 = Member of the South Carolina Senate from Laurens District

|term4 = November 26, 1860 – February 5, 1863

|predecessor4 = James Henderson Irby

|successor4 = Barney Smith Jones

|office5 = Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Laurens District

|term5 = November 22, 1858 – November 26, 1860

|term6 = November 27, 1854 – November 24, 1856

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1823|10|27}}

|birth_place = Laurens District, South Carolina, US

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1890|12|26|1823|10|27}}

|death_place = Columbia, South Carolina, US

|spouse = Jane Elizabeth Young

|children = 7

|profession = Lawyer, politician

|party = Democratic

|alma_mater = South Carolina College
Harvard Law School

|footnotes =

|allegiance = Confederate States of America

|branch = Confederate States Army

|rank = lieutenant colonel

|battles = American Civil War

}}

William Dunlap Simpson (October 27, 1823{{spaced ndash}}December 26, 1890) was the 78th governor of South Carolina from February 26, 1879, when the previous governor, Wade Hampton, resigned to take his seat in the U.S. Senate, until 1880. That year Simpson resigned to become Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Early life

Born in Laurens District, South Carolina, in 1823, he was educated at South Carolina College (later the University of South Carolina), completing his studies in 1843. He spent one term at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Laurens with his partner (and father-in-law) Henry Clinton Young. As of 1860, Simpson enslaved 31 people at his properties in Laurens.{{cite news|title=Simpson, William Dunlap|pages=1|work=South Carolina Encyclopedia|location=Laurens, South Carolina|url=https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/simpson-william-dunlap/|access-date=January 21, 2021}}

Political career

He served in the South Carolina legislature in the 1850s and early 1860s, and in the Confederate States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1865.{{Cite journal|date=October 1956|editor-last=Wight|editor-first=Willard|title=Some Letters of William Dunlap Simpson 1860–1863|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27566082|journal=The South Carolina Historical Magazine|volume=57|issue=4|pages=204–205|jstor=27566082|last1=Simpson|first1=William Dunlap|last2=Wight|first2=Willard E.}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=William Dunlap Simpson Papers, 1819–1951|url=https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/03344/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919164645/https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/03344/|archive-date=September 19, 2020|access-date=2021-02-07|website=UNC University Libraries}}{{cite news | url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93067777/1891-01-01/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1836&index=0&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Dunlap+Simpson+William+Williams&proxdistance=5&state=South+Carolina&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=William+Dunlap+Simpson&andtext=William+Dunlap+Simpson&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 | title=Death of the Chief Justice | work=Herald & News | date=January 1, 1891 | access-date=September 21, 2014 | location=Newberry, South Carolina | pages=2}}

After the Civil War, Simpson returned to practice law in Laurens until 1876, when he ran successfully for the post of lieutenant governor.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=William Dunlap Simpson|url=https://www.nga.org/governor/william-dunlap-simpson/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125200710/https://www.nga.org/governor/william-dunlap-simpson/|archive-date=November 25, 2020|access-date=2021-02-07|website=National Governors Association}} That year Democrats regained control of the state legislature and the governorship. He was re-elected in 1878. Upon Wade Hampton resigning from the governorship to assume his US Senate seat (to which he was elected by the state legislature), Simpson was elevated to become the 78th governor of South Carolina.

Service as Chief Justice

In 1880 he resigned after being appointed Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court. He served for ten years from 1880 until his death in 1890. He is buried at the Laurens City Cemetery.

Legacy and honors

The William Dunlap Simpson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

References

{{cite book |first=William |last=Cooper |title=The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877–1890 |year=2005 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=1-57003-597-0 }}

External links

[http://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/simpson.html SCIway Biography of William Dunlap Simpson]
[http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_south_carolina/col2-content/main-content-list/title_simpson_william.html NGA Biography of William Dunlap Simpson]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070611074152/http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/s/Simpson,William_Dunlap Simpson's papers at the University of North Carolina]
[http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/laurens/S10817730005/index.htm Pictures of William Dunlap Simpson home Laurens, S.C.]

{{succession box

|before=Richard Howell Gleaves

|title=Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina

|years=1876–1879

|after=John D. Kennedy}}

{{succession box

|before=Wade Hampton III

|title=Governor of South Carolina

|years=1879–1880

|after=Thomas Bothwell Jeter}}

Category:1823 births

Category:1890 deaths