William L. Saunders
{{short description|American politician}}
{{For|the chairman of Ingersoll Rand|William Lawrence Saunders}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = William L. Saunders
|image = William L Saunders 18351891.jpg
|office = 11th Secretary of State of North Carolina
|governor = Thomas Jordan Jarvis
Alfred Moore Scales
|preceded = Joseph A. Engelhard
|succeeded = Octavius Coke
|term_start = 1879
|term_end = 1891
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1835|7|30}}
|birth_place = Raleigh, North Carolina
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1891|4|2|1835|7|30}}
|death_place = Raleigh, North Carolina
|party = Democratic
|parents = Joseph Hubbard Saunders
Laura J. Baker Saunders
|spouse = {{marriage|Florida Cotten|February 3, 1864}}
|profession = Lawyer, Politician
|alma_mater = University of North Carolina
|allegiance = {{flag|Confederate States of America}}
|branch = {{army|CSA}}
|battles = American Civil War
|commands = 46th North Carolina Infantry
|}}
William Laurence Saunders (July 30, 1835 – April 2, 1891) was an American attorney, newspaper editor, historian, Ku Klux Klan chief organizer in North Carolina, and the North Carolina Secretary of State from 1879 until his death in 1891.
Biography
Saunders served as a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War; commanding the 46th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. He was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Wilderness. Saunders served as chief clerk of the North Carolina Senate for several years. In 1879, he was appointed Secretary of State by Gov. Thomas Jordan Jarvis to replace his brother-in-law, Joseph A. Engelhard, who had died in office. Saunders then won election to the office in 1880, 1884 and 1888.{{Cite web |url=http://ncpedia.org/biography/saunders-william-laurence |title=Dictionary of North Carolina Biography |access-date=2014-05-27 |archive-date=2018-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215121239/https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/saunders-william-laurence |url-status=dead }} During his tenure he oversaw the publication of a collection of the state's colonial records.{{cite book| last = Lawrence| first = Robert C.| title = The State of Robeson| publisher = | date = 1939| location = Lumberton| oclc = 3570522|page=224}}
He was a member and secretary-treasurer of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/s/Saunders,William_Laurence.html William Laurence Saunders Papers]
Carolina Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was formerly named Saunders Hall, to honor Saunders as a Confederate veteran, UNC-Chapel Hill Trustee, and leader of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan[https://guides.lib.unc.edu/campus-monuments/carolina-hall A Guide to Researching Campus Monuments and Buildings: Carolina Hall (formerly Saunders Hall)] In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, there were calls from UNC students to remove his name from the building because of his leadership in the Klan.[http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/26/3889539/saunders-name-that-disputed-unc.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1 News & Observer] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090717/http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/26/3889539/saunders-name-that-disputed-unc.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1 |date=August 19, 2014 }} In 2015, the building was renamed "Carolina Hall".[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/05/28/unc-takes-on-its-past-renaming-hall-that-has-long-honored-a-kkk-leader/ The Washington Post: UNC takes on its past, renaming hall that has long honored a KKK leader]{{cite web | url=http://wncn.com/2015/08/13/carolina-hall-replaces-the-name-of-uncs-saunders-hall/ | title=Carolina Hall replaces the name of UNC's Saunders Hall | date=13 August 2015 | access-date=21 August 2015 | author=Wright, Emma | archive-date=11 June 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611145418/http://wncn.com/2015/08/13/carolina-hall-replaces-the-name-of-uncs-saunders-hall/ | url-status=dead }}
He is buried in the graveyard at Calvary Episcopal Church, Tarboro, North Carolina.{{Cite web | author=John B. Wells and Sherry I Penney| title=Calvary Episcopal Church and Churchyard| work = National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory | date = October 1970| url = https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/ED0004.pdf | publisher = North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office | access-date = 2014-11-01}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Joseph Adolphus Engelhard}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for North Carolina Secretary of State|years=1880, 1884, 1888}}
{{s-aft|after=Octavius Coke}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Joseph A. Engelhard}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of State of North Carolina|years=1879–1891}}
{{s-aft|after=Octavius Coke}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, William}}
Category:North Carolina lawyers
Category:Secretaries of state of North Carolina
Category:People of North Carolina in the American Civil War
Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Category:Confederate States Army officers
Category:19th-century North Carolina politicians
Category:19th-century American historians
Category:19th-century American male writers
Category:American Ku Klux Klan members
Category:Editors of North Carolina newspapers