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William Dunlap Simpson

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Preceded by
  
Ammiel J. Willard

Party
  
Democratic Party

Lieutenant
  
None

Preceded by
  
Milledge Luke Bonham

Succeeded by
  
Henry McIver


Preceded by
  
Wade Hampton III

Name
  
William Simpson

Governor
  
Wade Hampton III

Role
  
Justice

William Dunlap Simpson William Dunlap Simpson 1823 1890 Genealogy


Died
  
December 26, 1890, Columbia, South Carolina, United States

Education
  
Harvard Law School, University of South Carolina

Preceded by
  
Richard Howell Gleaves

Battles and wars
  
American Civil War

Service/branch
  
Confederate States Army

William Dunlap Simpson (October 27, 1823 – 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, when Simpson resigned to become Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

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, and spent one term at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Laurens with his partner (and father-in-law) Henry Clinton Young. He served in the South Carolina legislature in the 1850s and early 1860s and serving in the Confederate States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1865.

After the Civil War, he returned to practice law in Laurens until 1876, when he ran successfully for the post of lieutenant governor and was re-elected in 1878. Upon Wade Hampton resigning from the governorship to assume his senate seat, Simpson was elevated to become the 78th governor of South Carolina. He resigned prior to the ending of the term for governor after being appointed Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court and served for ten years from 1880 until his death in 1890. He is buried at the Laurens City Cemetery.

The William Dunlap Simpson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

References

William Dunlap Simpson Wikipedia