Preceded by Howard M. Gore Religion Methodist Party Republican Party Profession Politician | Political party Republican Role American Politician Preceded by Clark W. May Name William Conley Succeeded by Herman G. Kump | |
 | ||
Born January 8, 1866
Kingwood, West Virginia ( 1866-01-08 ) Died October 21, 1940, Charleston, West Virginia, United States Spouse Bertie Ison Martin Conley (m. 1892) | ||
Education West Virginia University | ||
William Gustavus Conley (January 8, 1866 – October 21, 1940) was an American politician who served as the 18th Governor of West Virginia as a Republican from 1929 to 1933.
Life and politics
He was born near Kingwood to Major William Conley and Mary Courtney Freeburn. He was a school teacher from 1886 to 1891. In 1892, he married Bertie Ison Martin. In 1893 he graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in law. Afterwards, he began a law practice in Parsons, West Virginia. While there he served as Tucker County prosecuting attorney, and later as the mayor of Parsons. He also founded and was the editor of the Parsons Advocate newspaper. He also served as mayor of Kingwood from 1906 to 1908.
In 1908, Governor William Dawson appointed Conley to the post of state Attorney General. After being elected to the same office in 1908, he continued in that role under Governor William Glasscock. In 1911, he argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Virginia v. West Virginia, 220 U.S. 1 (1911) which involved Virginia's pre-Civil War debt and West Virginia's share of it. He was also involved in Maryland v. West Virginia, 225 U.S. 1 (1912) which involved the border between Maryland and West Virginia.
In 1912, Conley ran for Congress as a Republican but lost by 14 votes. Over the next 12 years he was a lawyer in Charleston. In 1924, he was appointed to the State Board of Education. He served there until his resignation on March 1, 1929. He was elected as governor of West Virginia in November 1928 and was inaugurated on March 4, 1929. His time as governor was marked by the Great Depression. His time as governor, limited by the state constitution at the time to one term, ended on March 4, 1933. He remained in Charleston and organized the law firm of Conley, Thompson, and Neff.