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William L. May (c. 1793 – September 29, 1849) was aU.S. representative fromIllinois.

Born in Kentucky, May attended the common schools. He moved toEdwardsville, Illinois, and afterward toJacksonville. He was appointedJustice of the Peace inMadison County on December 10, 1817, and served as captain of militia in 1822.

May was elected Justice of the Peace inMorgan County on August 6, 1827, and resigned August 29, 1829. He served as member of theIllinois House of Representatives in 1828. May then moved toSpringfield, having been appointed by PresidentAndrew Jackson as receiver of public monies for the United States Land Office in that city. He studied law, wasadmitted to the bar and practiced. Other previous jobs have involved operating a ferry across theIllinois River atPeoria and organizing the Peoria Bridge Co.

May was elected as aJacksonian to theTwenty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofJoseph Duncan. He was reelected as a Jacksonian to theTwenty-fourth Congress and elected as aDemocrat to theTwenty-fifth Congress and served from December 1, 1834, to March 3, 1839.

May served as chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims (Twenty-fifth Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1838 to theTwenty-sixth Congress. May continued the practice of law after he moved to Peoria. After having been elected as mayor of Springfield in May 1841, he went toCalifornia during thegold rush.

He died inSacramento, California on September 29, 1849.

• United States Congress."William L. May (id: M000277)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• 1790s births
• 1849 deaths
• Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
• Mayors of Springfield, Illinois
• Illinois Jacksonians
• Politicians from Jacksonville, Illinois
• People from Edwardsville, Illinois
• Democratic Party United States representatives from Illinois
• 19th-century mayors of places in Illinois
• 19th-century United States representatives
• 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly

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