William Story

Who was William Story?

William Story was a United States federal judge and later the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, serving from 1891 to 1893 under John Long Routt.

Born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, Story graduated from the University of Michigan in 1864, and was in the United States Army, Thirty-ninth Regular Wisconsin Infantry, from 1864 to 1865. He was in private practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1865 to 1866, and in Fayetteville, Arkansas from 1866 to 1867. He was a judge of the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Arkansas from 1867 to 1871, sitting as a "special Chief Justice" on the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1869.

On March 3, 1871, Story was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, created by 16 Stat. 471. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 3, 1871, and received his commission the same day. He married Ada B. Olin in October of that year. On June 17, 1874, Story resigned from his Arkansas judgeship after facing impeachment proceedings due to allegations of corruption and graft.

Story then moved to Colorado, settling first in Denver, in 1877, and then moving to Ouray, Colorado.