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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=William Jennings "Bill" Cleveland, Sr. | office= Louisiana State Representative for Acadia Parish |term_start=1944 |term_end=1956 |preceded=..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=William Jennings "Bill" Cleveland, Sr.
| office= [[Louisiana]] State Representative for Acadia Parish
|term_start=1944
|term_end=1956
|preceded=Angelos Chaisson<br>
N. C. Petitjean
|succeeded=E. C. Frémaux<br>
Bernard Regan
|office 2=Louisiana State Senator for Acadia Parish and in first term St. Landry Parish too
| term_start2=1956
| term_end2=1964
| preceded2=Edward M. Boagni, Jr.<br>
Guy C. Gardiner
| succeeded2=[[Edwin Edwards]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| birth_date=October 19, 1902
| birth_place=Lena Station, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
| death_date=December 16, 1974 (aged 72)
| death_place=[[New Orleans]], Louisiana
| resting_place=Woodlawn Cemetery in Crowley, Louisiana
| residence=Crowley, Louisiana
| occupation=[[Real estate]] developer
| spouse=(1) Willie Mae Dean Cleveland (divorced)<br>
(2) Patricia Williamson Cleveland (died 2010)
| children=From first marriage:<br>
Willie Mae "Billie" Cleveland Fulkerson<br>
Ella Florence Cleveland<br>
William Jennings Cleveland, Jr.<br>
Children from second marriage:<br>
Doris Anne Cleveland Stark<br>
Thomas William Cleveland<br>
Stepson Patrick James Barber
|relations=[[Pap Dean]] (nephew by marriage)
|parents=Thomas E. and Ella Surelle Cleveland
}}
'''William Jennings Cleveland, Sr.''', known as '''Bill Cleveland''' (October 19, 1902 – December 16, 1974),<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url= http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cleveland&GSfn=William&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=6031768&df=all&|title=William J. "Bill" Cleveland|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> was a [[real estate]] developer from Crowley, [[Louisiana]], who served as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] lawmaker from 1944 to 1964, with service in both houses. Cleveland is best known for having been defeated in his bid for a third term in the state Senate by fellow Crowley Democrat [[Edwin Edwards]], an [[attorney]] who subsequently served less than two years in that body but in time became his state's only four-term [[governor]].
From 1944 to 1956, Cleveland represented his adopted Acadia Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024: Acadia Parish|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> From 1956 to 1964, he was a state senator for two terms from Acadia Parish. In the first term, he also represented neighboring [[St. Landry Parish, Louisiana|St. Landry Parish]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2024: Acadia and St. Landry parishes|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref>
In 1959, Cleveland was acting governor for a day for the observance in Baton Rouge by the Men's Goodwill Tour of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Marksville in Avoyelles Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm/ref/collection/LHP/id/8786|title=Acting Louisiaan Governor W. J. "Bill" Cleveland|publisher=llouisdl.louislibraries.org|accessdate=March 7, 2015}}</ref>
Cleveland was a delegate to the 1952 [[Democratic National Convention]] in [[Chicago]], which assembled the [[Adlai Stevenson II|Stevenson]]-[[John Sparkman|Sparkman]] [[Ticket (politics)|ticket]], which won the ten [[electoral vote]]s of Louisiana that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/cleveland.html|title=Cleveland, William J.|publisher=[[The Political Graveyard]]|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> He was subsequently an alternate delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Conventio], which also met in Chicago amid rioting and looting to nominate the [[Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey]]-[[Edmund Muskie|Muskie]] slate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reggiefamilyarchives.com/435-7/24/1968.html|title=State Democratic Delegates to Convention Are Listed|date=July 24, 1968|publisher=reggiefamilyarchives.com|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> However, the Louisiana electoral votes in 1968 went to [[George Wallace]] of [[Alabama]] on the American Independent Party ticket.
==Personal life==
Cleveland was born in Lena Station in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana.<ref name=findagrave/> His first wife, the former Willie Mae Dean (1903-1973), was a daughter of F. B. Dean (1861-1927) and the former Florence Nugent (1863-1935) and a native of Colfax in Grant Parish, north of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cleveland&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=141306289&df=all&|title=Willie Mae Dean Cleveland|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> Willie Mae Cleveland was an aunt of the Louisiana [[cartoonist]] [[Pap Dean]], affiliated for many years with ''The Shreveport Times.'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10965603|title=Florence Nugent Dean|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}</ref>
The couple had three children, Willie Mae "Billie" Cleveland Fulkerson (1924-2009); William Cleveland, Jr., known as "Jennings"; and Ella Florence Cleveland, all deceased. Willie Mae Fulkerson, a member of the Christian Church, served for eight years on the Crowley City Council and was instrumental in having her city designated as the first "Tree City" in the state. She was a member of the Acadia Parish Democratic Executive Committee. In 1956, she traveled to [[Washington, D.C.]], and met with [[U.S. President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] as a member of the first Women's Congress of Housing. After her father's defeat, Governor Edwards appointed her to the Louisiana Prison Board.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geesey-ferguson.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=786248|title=Willie Mae Cleveland Fulkerson Life Legacy|publisher=geesey-ferguson.com|date=September 15, 2009|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref>
After Cleveland and Willie Mae divorced, he married the former Patricia Jean Williamson (c. 1930-2010). They had a daughter, Doris Anne Cleveland Stark (born c. 1966)<ref name=patcleve/> and a son, Thomas William Cleveland (1967-1982). Thomas was born in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], and died at the age of fifteen in Kaplan in Vermilion Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cleveland&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=6024082&df=all&|title=Thomas William Cleveland|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> Cleveland acquired a stepson, Patrick James Barber (born c. 1955), a St. Louis native who was as of 2004 a real estate developer in Gulfport, [[Mississippi]]. Barber described his stepfather, who was also in the construction business, as a devotee of a strong work ethic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encore.bz/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/barber-deserves-an-encore-final.pdf|title=Barber Deserves an Encore|author=Timothy Boone|date=May 19, 2004|publisher=''The Biloxi Sun-Herald''|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> When Patricia Cleveland died of a brief illness in the summer of 2010 in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], her son, Patrick, and his wife, Stacey, and her daughter, Doris, and Doris's husband, Tim, were also living in Dallas.<ref name=patcleve>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?pid=144798301|title=Patricia Jean Williamson Cleveland|publisher=''Dallas Morning News''|date=August 19, 2010|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref>
Cleveland and his son Thomas are entombed in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in Crowley. Willie Mae Cleveland and Willie Mae Fulkerson and her husband, Jack Martin Fulkerson (1918-2000), are interred at the same cemetery.<ref name=findagrave/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Fulkerson&GSfn=Jack+&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=24187398&df=all&|title=Jack Martin Fulkerson|publisher=findagrave|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> Patricia Cleveland, whose obituary describes her as a devout [[Roman Catholic]], is interred at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.<ref name=patcleve/>
==Referemces==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Bill}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
| name=William Jennings "Bill" Cleveland, Sr.
| office= [[Louisiana]] State Representative for Acadia Parish
|term_start=1944
|term_end=1956
|preceded=Angelos Chaisson<br>
N. C. Petitjean
|succeeded=E. C. Frémaux<br>
Bernard Regan
|office 2=Louisiana State Senator for Acadia Parish and in first term St. Landry Parish too
| term_start2=1956
| term_end2=1964
| preceded2=Edward M. Boagni, Jr.<br>
Guy C. Gardiner
| succeeded2=[[Edwin Edwards]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| birth_date=October 19, 1902
| birth_place=Lena Station, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
| death_date=December 16, 1974 (aged 72)
| death_place=[[New Orleans]], Louisiana
| resting_place=Woodlawn Cemetery in Crowley, Louisiana
| residence=Crowley, Louisiana
| occupation=[[Real estate]] developer
| spouse=(1) Willie Mae Dean Cleveland (divorced)<br>
(2) Patricia Williamson Cleveland (died 2010)
| children=From first marriage:<br>
Willie Mae "Billie" Cleveland Fulkerson<br>
Ella Florence Cleveland<br>
William Jennings Cleveland, Jr.<br>
Children from second marriage:<br>
Doris Anne Cleveland Stark<br>
Thomas William Cleveland<br>
Stepson Patrick James Barber
|relations=[[Pap Dean]] (nephew by marriage)
|parents=Thomas E. and Ella Surelle Cleveland
}}
'''William Jennings Cleveland, Sr.''', known as '''Bill Cleveland''' (October 19, 1902 – December 16, 1974),<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url= http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cleveland&GSfn=William&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=6031768&df=all&|title=William J. "Bill" Cleveland|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> was a [[real estate]] developer from Crowley, [[Louisiana]], who served as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] lawmaker from 1944 to 1964, with service in both houses. Cleveland is best known for having been defeated in his bid for a third term in the state Senate by fellow Crowley Democrat [[Edwin Edwards]], an [[attorney]] who subsequently served less than two years in that body but in time became his state's only four-term [[governor]].
From 1944 to 1956, Cleveland represented his adopted Acadia Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024: Acadia Parish|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> From 1956 to 1964, he was a state senator for two terms from Acadia Parish. In the first term, he also represented neighboring [[St. Landry Parish, Louisiana|St. Landry Parish]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2024: Acadia and St. Landry parishes|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref>
In 1959, Cleveland was acting governor for a day for the observance in Baton Rouge by the Men's Goodwill Tour of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Marksville in Avoyelles Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm/ref/collection/LHP/id/8786|title=Acting Louisiaan Governor W. J. "Bill" Cleveland|publisher=llouisdl.louislibraries.org|accessdate=March 7, 2015}}</ref>
Cleveland was a delegate to the 1952 [[Democratic National Convention]] in [[Chicago]], which assembled the [[Adlai Stevenson II|Stevenson]]-[[John Sparkman|Sparkman]] [[Ticket (politics)|ticket]], which won the ten [[electoral vote]]s of Louisiana that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/cleveland.html|title=Cleveland, William J.|publisher=[[The Political Graveyard]]|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> He was subsequently an alternate delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Conventio], which also met in Chicago amid rioting and looting to nominate the [[Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey]]-[[Edmund Muskie|Muskie]] slate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reggiefamilyarchives.com/435-7/24/1968.html|title=State Democratic Delegates to Convention Are Listed|date=July 24, 1968|publisher=reggiefamilyarchives.com|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> However, the Louisiana electoral votes in 1968 went to [[George Wallace]] of [[Alabama]] on the American Independent Party ticket.
==Personal life==
Cleveland was born in Lena Station in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana.<ref name=findagrave/> His first wife, the former Willie Mae Dean (1903-1973), was a daughter of F. B. Dean (1861-1927) and the former Florence Nugent (1863-1935) and a native of Colfax in Grant Parish, north of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cleveland&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=141306289&df=all&|title=Willie Mae Dean Cleveland|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> Willie Mae Cleveland was an aunt of the Louisiana [[cartoonist]] [[Pap Dean]], affiliated for many years with ''The Shreveport Times.'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10965603|title=Florence Nugent Dean|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}</ref>
The couple had three children, Willie Mae "Billie" Cleveland Fulkerson (1924-2009); William Cleveland, Jr., known as "Jennings"; and Ella Florence Cleveland, all deceased. Willie Mae Fulkerson, a member of the Christian Church, served for eight years on the Crowley City Council and was instrumental in having her city designated as the first "Tree City" in the state. She was a member of the Acadia Parish Democratic Executive Committee. In 1956, she traveled to [[Washington, D.C.]], and met with [[U.S. President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] as a member of the first Women's Congress of Housing. After her father's defeat, Governor Edwards appointed her to the Louisiana Prison Board.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geesey-ferguson.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=786248|title=Willie Mae Cleveland Fulkerson Life Legacy|publisher=geesey-ferguson.com|date=September 15, 2009|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref>
After Cleveland and Willie Mae divorced, he married the former Patricia Jean Williamson (c. 1930-2010). They had a daughter, Doris Anne Cleveland Stark (born c. 1966)<ref name=patcleve/> and a son, Thomas William Cleveland (1967-1982). Thomas was born in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], and died at the age of fifteen in Kaplan in Vermilion Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cleveland&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=6024082&df=all&|title=Thomas William Cleveland|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 28, 2020}}</ref> Cleveland acquired a stepson, Patrick James Barber (born c. 1955), a St. Louis native who was as of 2004 a real estate developer in Gulfport, [[Mississippi]]. Barber described his stepfather, who was also in the construction business, as a devotee of a strong work ethic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encore.bz/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/barber-deserves-an-encore-final.pdf|title=Barber Deserves an Encore|author=Timothy Boone|date=May 19, 2004|publisher=''The Biloxi Sun-Herald''|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> When Patricia Cleveland died of a brief illness in the summer of 2010 in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], her son, Patrick, and his wife, Stacey, and her daughter, Doris, and Doris's husband, Tim, were also living in Dallas.<ref name=patcleve>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?pid=144798301|title=Patricia Jean Williamson Cleveland|publisher=''Dallas Morning News''|date=August 19, 2010|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref>
Cleveland and his son Thomas are entombed in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in Crowley. Willie Mae Cleveland and Willie Mae Fulkerson and her husband, Jack Martin Fulkerson (1918-2000), are interred at the same cemetery.<ref name=findagrave/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Fulkerson&GSfn=Jack+&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1109&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=24187398&df=all&|title=Jack Martin Fulkerson|publisher=findagrave|accessdate=March 6, 2015}}</ref> Patricia Cleveland, whose obituary describes her as a devout [[Roman Catholic]], is interred at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.<ref name=patcleve/>
==Referemces==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Bill}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Democrats]]