William Washington Vance
| William Washington Vance | |
 | |
| In office 1886–1892 | |
| Preceded by | John Chappell Vance |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | G. L. P. Wren
W. A. Stroud |
| Born | 1849 Cokesbury Greenwood County |
| Died | February 16, 1900 |
| Resting place | Magnolia Cemetery in Baton Rouge |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Sidney Ballard Vance (married 1892-1900, his death) |
| Children | Two children |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh (Scotland)
Private study of law |
| Occupation | Attorney |
William Washington Vance, also known as W. W. Vance (1849 – February 16, 1900), was an attorney and Democratic politician in his adopted state of Louisiana.[1]
Vance was born in Cokesbury in Greenwood County in western South Carolina. His father, J. K. Vance, a military officer, was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives prior to the American Civil War. Vance received a bachelor's degree from the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity.[2]
Vance studied law privately in Abbeville in western South Carolina. In 1879, he relocated to Bellevue, then the parish seat of Bossier Parish (now the seat of government is in Benton) in northwestern Louisiana, where he established an extensive law practice. He won a special election in 1886 for the Louisiana State Senate, then District 21.and including Bienville, Bossier, Claiborne, and Webster parishes, to succeed John Chappell Vance, who resigned after five years in office.[3] It is unclear how or if William Vance is related to this John C. Vance, but they were not brothers. John Vance was six years the senior of William Vance and was born in 1843 in Abbeville County, South Carolina, but it is unclear if William Vance had any association with Abbeville prior to 1870[4]
William Vance served in the Senate from 1886 to 1892 and was also during the latter part of his tenure the assistant to state Attorney General Walter Henry Rogers. In 1892, Vance assumed his terminal position as the private secretary to two-term Governor Murphy James Foster, Sr. (1849-1921).[1]
In 1857, a cancerous bruise which would not heal developed on Vance's leg. Despite an amputation, he died in 1900, three months before Murphy Foster left the governorship and was soon headed to the United States Senate. Vance was survived by his widow of only eight years, the former Sidney Ballard, a native of New Orleans, and two young children. He is interred at Magnola Cemetery in Baton Rouge.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 William Washington Vance. findagrave.com based on a Baton Rouge newspaper clipping of February 17, 1900. Retrieved on February 11, 2021.
- ↑ The Chi-Phi Quarterly. googlebooks.com. Retrieved on February 11, 2021.
- ↑ Senate Directory, 1880-2024. Louisiana State Senate. Retrieved on February 11, 2021.
- ↑ John C. Vance: Ancestry. ancestry.com. Retrieved on February 11, 2021.
