William Sebastian | |
|---|---|
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| United States Senator fromArkansas | |
| In office May 12, 1848 – July 11, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Chester Ashley |
| Succeeded by | Alexander McDonald (1868) |
| President of theArkansas Senate | |
| In office November 2, 1846 – May 12, 1848 | |
| Preceded by | John Williamson |
| Succeeded by | Richard C. Byrd |
| Member of theArkansas Senate from thePhillips County district | |
| In office November 2, 1846 – May 12, 1848 | |
| Preceded by | M. Irwin |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William King Sebastian (1812-06-12)June 12, 1812 Centerville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | May 20, 1865(1865-05-20) (aged 52) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Colombia College, Tennessee (BA) |
William King Sebastian (June 12, 1812 – May 20, 1865) was an American politician, judge, and lawyer fromHelena, Arkansas. He represented Arkansas as a United States Senator, from 1848 to 1861. Sebastian withdrew from the Senate at the start of theCivil War and was later formallyexpelled by the Senate. He took no active part in theConfederate government and was reinstated by a posthumous resolution in 1877.
Sebastian was born inCenterville, Tennessee, on June 12, 1812; sometime around 1834 he graduated from Colombia College, also in Tennessee, and began studying law. He moved to Arkansas in 1835, where he was admitted to the bar and began practice inHelena, Arkansas;[1] later he became a cotton planter. From 1835 to 1837 he was a prosecuting attorney; he served as acircuit court judge from 1840 to 1843, in which year he was made an associate justice of theArkansas Supreme Court.[1] In 1846 he became a member of theArkansas Senate, serving as its president until 1847. Also in 1846 he served as apresidential elector on the Democratic ticket.
In 1848, upon the death ofChester Ashley, he was appointed to the United States Senate, subsequently being elected in his own right. He was reelected in 1853 and 1859. During his time in the Senate, he served as the chair of the Committee on Manufactures, as well as on theCommittee on Indian Affairs. He supported Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and NevadaEdward Fitzgerald Beale's plans to form a series of Indian reservations in California, garrisoned by a military post, on government owned land. The Indians were to support themselves by farming. The first of these reservations, theSebastian Indian Reservation was named for him.[2]
When theAmerican Civil War began, "he did not resign, as did all the other southern senators saveAndrew Johnson, but remained a melancholy and helpless spectator of events".[1] In July 1861 he was expelled for his suspected support of theConfederacy.[1] Sebastian left the Senate and went back to Helena, where he resided and worked as a lawyer during the Civil War. After federal troops occupied Helena, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1864 and resumed the practice of law; he died there on May 20, 1865, and is buried in a private family cemetery inPhillips County.Sebastian County, Arkansas, is named for him. In 1877, the Senate revoked the resolution of expulsion which they had passed upon Sebastian, and consequently paid the compensation due to his children.[3][1]
| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Arkansas 1848–1861 Served alongside:Solon Borland,Robert Johnson,Charles B. Mitchel | Vacant Title next held by Alexander McDonald1868 |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Indian Affairs Committee 1853–1861 | Succeeded by |
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