Lieutenant William D. Jelks Succeeded by William C. Oates Party Democratic Party Preceded by Jeremiah N. Williams Spouse Caroline Drake (m. 1865) | Succeeded by William D. Jelks Name William Samford Preceded by Joseph F. Johnston Political party Democratic Resigned June 11, 1901 | |
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Role Former Governor of Alabama Died June 11, 1901, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States Previous office Governor of Alabama (1900–1901) Education Auburn University, University of Georgia | ||
William James Samford (September 16, 1844 – June 11, 1901) was an American Democratic politician who was the 31st Governor of Alabama from 1900 to 1901.
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Early life
William James Samford was born on September 16, 1844 in Greenville, Georgia. His father was William Flewellyn Samford and his mother, Susan Lewis Dowdell Samford. In 1846, he moved with his parents to Chambers County, Alabama. He was educated in the public schools of Chambers and Auburn, Alabama. He then attended the East Alabama Male College (now Auburn University) before transferring to the University of Georgia.
Civil War
During the American Civil War, he served in the Confederate States Army. He was captured in 1863 and held as a prisoner of war for eighteen months by Union soldiers.
Career
After the Civil War, he took up farming. In 1867 he was admitted to the bar. He set up a law practice in Opelika, Alabama. He was also a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
He entered politics in 1872 serving as a city alderman and alternate elector for the Horace Greeley ticket, although he thought the democrats had erred in supporting Greeley. In 1874 he was a delegate to the state constitutional convention. In 1878, he was elected as a democrat to the U.S. Congress where he served one term. He missed the first few weeks of his term because he was out of the state seeking medical treatment, so William D. Jelks acted as governor from December 1 to December 26, 1900.
Personal life
Samford married Caroline Elizabeth Drake in 1865.
He died in office on June 11, 1901, and Jelks again assumed the role of governor.
A complete biography of Governor Samford is available in the Samford University library ("The Life and Times of William J. Samford") and Auburn University library. It also includes a complete family history from 1600 until 1970, and Mr. Samford's time in U.S. Congress and as a Civil War prisoner.