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William Elliott | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina | |
| In office March 4, 1887 – September 23, 1890 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Smalls |
| Succeeded by | Thomas E. Miller |
| Constituency | 7th district |
| In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas E. Miller |
| Succeeded by | George W. Murray |
| Constituency | 7th district |
| In office March 4, 1895 – June 4, 1896 | |
| Preceded by | James F. Izlar |
| Succeeded by | George W. Murray |
| Constituency | 1st district |
| In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | George W. Murray |
| Succeeded by | George S. Legaré |
| Constituency | 1st district |
| Member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives fromBeaufort County | |
| In office September 5, 1866 – December 21, 1866 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Elliott, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 3, 1838 |
| Died | December 7, 1907(1907-12-07) (aged 69) Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Resting place | Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Beaufort College Harvard University University of Virginia |
| Profession | lawyer,politician |
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant Colonel |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
William Elliott (September 3, 1838 – December 7, 1907) was an American attorney and politician, serving asU.S. Representative fromSouth Carolina.
Born inBeaufort, South Carolina, Elliott attendedBeaufort College andHarvard University.He studied law at theUniversity of Virginia at Charlottesville, and wasadmitted to the bar inCharleston in 1861.Upon the outbreak of theCivil War he entered theConfederate States Army as a lieutenant. He served throughout the war, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel.
At the close of the war, he returned to Beaufort, where he developed a law practice. Elliott became involved in politics, serving as a member of the State house of representatives in 1866. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1876.
He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1884 to theForty-ninth Congress.
Elliott was elected as aDemocrat to theFiftieth Congress (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889) fromSouth Carolina's 7th congressional district, but the election was contested byThomas E. Miller. An African-American Republican candidate, Miller alleged electoral fraud, which was prevalent in these years as Democrats struggled to retain control of government.
Elliott presented credentials as a Member-elect to theFifty-first Congress and served from March 4, 1889, until September 23, 1890. Congress determined fraud had taken place, and declared the election won by Thomas E. Miller, who took his seat in late 1890.
Elliott was elected to theFifty-second Congress (March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893). He was not a candidate in 1892.
Due to redistricting by the state legislature, Elliott ran in 1894 fromSouth Carolina's 1st congressional district, a black-majority district. He won, but the election was contested by the Republican candidateGeorge W. Murray, an African-American attorney who alleged widespread cases of fraud in the precincts. Elliott presented credentials as a Member-elect to theFifty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1895, until June 4, 1896. Murray presented extensive documentation to Congress of his complaint, and it determined the contested election in Murray's favor; he was seated at the end of the first session.
Over the objections of its black voters and politicians, in 1896 South Carolina ratified a new constitution that effectivelydisfranchised nearly all black citizens as voters. The Republican Party ceased to be competitive in the state. From 1890 to 1908 all states of the former Confederacy passed similar constitutions to disfranchise blacks and many poor whites; the Democrats ruled a one-party region and gained great power in the US Congress by controlling all the region's apportionment although many of its citizens had been excluded from politics.
The one-party state was dominated for decades by Democrats, so the important contests took place in the primaries. Elliott was elected to theFifty-fifth,Fifty-sixth andFifty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903).
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1902. He ran unsuccessfully that year to gain legislative election to theUnited States Senate.
In 1906 Elliott was appointed by PresidentTheodore Roosevelt as commissioner of the United States to identify and mark the graves of Confederate dead in the North. He directed the operations of this group until his death inBeaufort, South Carolina, on December 7, 1907. He was interred in St. Helena Churchyard.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 7th congressional district 1887-1890 | Succeeded by Thomas E. Miller |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 7th congressional district 1891-1893 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 1st congressional district 1895-1896 | Succeeded by George W. Murray |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 1st congressional district 1897-1903 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
