Willard Saulsbury Sr.
Chancellor of Delaware
In office November 14, 1873 – April 6, 1892
Preceded by	Daniel M. Bates
Succeeded by	James L. Wolcott
United States Senator fromDelaware
In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1871
Preceded by	Martin W. Bates
Succeeded by	Eli Saulsbury
10thAttorney General of Delaware
In office 1850–1855
Governor	William Tharp William H. H. Ross
Preceded by	Edward W. Gilpin
Succeeded by	George P. Fisher
Personal details
Born	(1820-06-02)June 2, 1820 Kent County, Delaware
Died	April 6, 1892(1892-04-06) (aged 71) Dover, Delaware
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Annie Ponder
Relations	Eli Saulsbury (brother) Gove Saulsbury (brother)
Children	3, includingWillard Jr.
Residence	Georgetown, Delaware
Alma mater	Delaware College
Profession	Lawyer

Willard Saulsbury Sr. (June 2, 1820 – April 6, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician fromGeorgetown, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served asAttorney General of Delaware, U.S. Senator from Delaware and Chancellor of Court of Chancery of Delaware.

Saulsbury was born inMispillion Hundred,Kent County, Delaware, son of William & Margaret Ann Smith Saulsbury. He was a younger brother of GovernorGove Saulsbury and U.S. SenatorEli Saulsbury. According to a localCaroline County history, Willard and his brothers attended the Chinquapin School inBurrsville.[1] He married Annie Ponder, sister of GovernorJames Ponder, and they had three children, John Ponder, Margaret, andWillard Jr. They were members of the Episcopal Church. Saulsbury was educated atDickinson College and Delaware College, which is now theUniversity of Delaware, studied law, was admitted to the Delaware Bar, and began his practice in Georgetown, Delaware. He was aslaveholder.^[1]

Saulsbury was theDelaware Attorney General from 1850 until 1855, and was elected to the United States Senate in 1858, defeating incumbent U.S. Senator Martin W. Bates. Saulsbury was reelected in 1864, but was defeated for a third term in 1870 by his older brother, Eli Saulsbury. He served two full terms from March 4, 1859, to March 4, 1871. He then continued his law practice and served as Chancellor of Delaware from 1873 until his death in 1892.

In 1863, Saulsbury was a vehement critic of President Abraham Lincoln's administration. Opposing the war in general and the suspension of habeas corpus specifically, Saulsbury attempted to prevent a vote sustaining that controversial executive order. Apparently intoxicated, Saulsbury verbally attacked the President on the Senate floor in whatJohn Hay described as "language fit only for a drunken fishwife". Senator Saulsbury called Lincoln "an imbecile" and stated that the President was "the weakest man ever placed in a high office". When Vice PresidentHannibal Hamlin called Saulsbury to order, the Senator refused to take his seat. Finally, the Senate's sergeant-at-arms approached to remove Saulsbury from the Senate floor when the Senator suddenly brandished a revolver, placed it against the sergeant's head and said, "Damn you, if you touch me I'll shoot you dead!" Eventually, Saulsbury was calmed and removed from the Senate floor.^[2]

Saulsbury died at Dover and is buried there in the Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery. His sonWillard Saulsbury Jr. was also a U.S. Senator.

The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who took office March 4 for a six-year term.

• Hoffecker, Carol E. (2004).Democracy in Delaware. Cedar Tree Books, Wilmington.ISBN 1-892142-23-6.
• Munroe, John A. (1993).History of Delaware. University of Delaware Press.ISBN 0-87413-493-5.
• Scharf, John Thomas (1888).History of Delaware 1609-1888. 2 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co.ISBN 0-87413-493-5.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Conrad, Henry C. (1908).History of the State of Delaware, 3 vols. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company.

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Delaware’s Members of Congress
• Willard Saulsbury Sr. atFind a Grave
• The Political Graveyard

• Delaware Historical Society;websiteArchived 1996-12-31 at theWayback Machine; 505 Market St, Wilmington, Delaware; (302) 655-7161.
• University of Delaware;Library website; 181 South College Ave, Newark, Delaware; (302) 831-2965.

• 1820 births
• 1893 deaths
• 19th-century American Episcopalians
• People from Georgetown, Delaware
• People of Delaware in the American Civil War
• University of Delaware alumni
• Dickinson College alumni
• Delaware lawyers
• Delaware Democrats
• Delaware attorneys general
• Democratic Party United States senators from Delaware
• Chancellors of Delaware
• Burials in Dover, Delaware
• Saulsbury family
• 19th-century Delaware state court judges
• 19th-century American lawyers
• United States senators who owned slaves
• 19th-century United States senators

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2024
• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Webarchive template wayback links