William E. Stevenson

Who was William E. Stevenson?

William Erskine Stevenson was an American cabinet-maker, farmer, and Republican politician from Parkersburg, West Virginia. He was the third Governor of West Virginia from 1869 until 1871.

William was the son of Irish immigrants, and was born in Warren, Pennsylvania. His parents, James and Elizabeth Stevenson, had immigrated to America in 1817. In 1829 James moved his young family to Pittsburgh to work as a cabinet-maker. William apprenticed at his father's trade, then went into business for himself. In September 1842 he married Sarah Clotworthy, another second generation American whose parents came from Belfast, Ireland.

Largely self-educated, Stevenson began his interest in politics as a labor spokesman. He was associated with the Pittsburgh unit of the National Reform Association, and an advocate for the ten-hour workday. He became an adherent of the new Republican Party, and shared in their early success by being elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1857. Later that same year he bought a small farm and moved to Wood County in western Virginia.

Stevenson remained an advocate of labor and also became a supporter for continuing the union. As the American Civil War grew closer, a warrant was issued for his arrest in 1859. He was accused of sedition against the state for circulating a book, "The Impending Crisis of the South" by Hinton Rowan Helper, that was critical of slavery. Hoping to make a case for the freedom of ideas, Stevenson attempted to surrender to the Wood County sheriff, who declined to arrest him. But, from this point forward, he became a militant anti-slavery and pro-union activist.