William A. Whittlesey

Who was William A. Whittlesey?

William Augustus Whittlesey was a U.S. Representative from Ohio, nephew of Elisha Whittlesey.

Born in Danbury, Connecticut, Whittlesey attended the common schools and was graduated from Yale College in 1816. He was a tutor at the college. He moved to Canfield, Ohio, in 1818. He studied law at Canfield with Elisha Whittlesey, and later studied with Joshua Reed Giddings. He was admitted to the bar in 1821 and commenced practice in Canfield. He moved to Marietta, Ohio, in 1821. Auditor of Washington County 1825-1837. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1839 and 1840. In 1841 he formed a partnership with Charles B. Goddard of Zanesville.

Whittlesey was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first Congress. He did not seek renomination in 1850. He resumed the practice of law. He served as mayor of Marietta in 1856, 1860, and 1862. He died in Brooklyn, New York, where he had gone for medical treatment, on November 6, 1866. He was interred in Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio.

Whittlesey was married to Jane Hobby, October 25, 1838. They had four children. Mrs. Whittlesey died February 10, 1896 at the home of her daughter in St. Cloud, Minnesota.