William L. Sharkey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 25thGovernor of Mississippi | |
| In office June 13, 1865 – October 16, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Clark |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin G. Humphreys |
| 9th Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives | |
| In office January 5, 1829 – February 6, 1829 | |
| Preceded by | Charles B. Green |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Dunbar |
| Member of theMississippi House of Representatives from theWarren County district | |
| In office January 7, 1828 – February 6, 1829 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 12, 1798 Sumner County,Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | March 30, 1873 (aged 74) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Whig |
| Signature |  |
William Lewis Sharkey (July 12, 1798 – March 30, 1873) was an American judge and politician fromMississippi. A staunchUnionist during theAmerican Civil War, he opposed the 1861declared secession of Mississippi from the United States. After the end of the war, PresidentAndrew Johnson appointed Sharkey as provisionalgovernor of Mississippi in 1865.
William Lewis Sharkey was born on July 12, 1798, near Mussel Shoals inSumner County, Tennessee. He was the son of Patrick Sharkey, an Irish immigrant, and his wife, "the daughter of a German pioneer".[1] He had two younger brothers, Jacob Rhodes Sharkey and James Elliott Sharkey.[1] When William was six, he moved with his family in 1804 toWarren County, Mississippi. His parents died when he was young and he had to take care of his younger brothers.[1] At age 17, he enlisted in theWar of 1812 where he fought in theBattle of New Orleans.[1] He was educated at a college inGreenville, Tennessee, and read the law as an apprentice withEdward Turner.[1] In 1822, he wasadmitted to the bar inNatchez, Mississippi.
In 1825, Sharkey moved toVicksburg, where he formed a law partnership withJohn I. Guion.[1] He was later elected for two terms in theMississippi House of Representatives, where he served from 1828 to 1829. He served as theSpeaker of the House in1829.[1]
He served briefly in 1832 as acircuit court judge before being elected to the High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi (today theSupreme Court of Mississippi), where he sat as a justice for 18 years until his resignation on October 1, 1850.[1]
Sharkey was appointedSecretary of War by then-PresidentMillard Fillmore; however, he declined the position. He did accept a diplomatic appointment, and from 1851 to 1854, he served as US Consul inHavana,Cuba.[2] While he was serving as Consul, he swore inWilliam R. King as Vice President of the United States on March 24, 1853. This, which was permitted by a special Act of Congress passed on March 2, was, to date, the only occasion that an Americanvice presidential oath of office orpresidential oath of office has been administered on foreign soil. King, who was suffering fromtuberculosis, would die on April 18 two days after he arrived at his home in Alabama.[3]
A member of theWhig Party, Sharkey was vehemently opposed to thesecession of Mississippi in 1861. Throughout the Civil War, he remained a staunchSouthern Unionist and, according to one source, was "tolerated by hisConfederate neighbors only because of his towering reputation as a jurist."
GovernorCharles Clark appointed him in 1865 as a commissioner (along withWilliam Yerger) to confer on behalf of the state with PresidentAndrew Johnson. On June 13, 1865, Johnson appointed Sharkey the state's provisional governor.[4] Sharkey left office with the election ofBenjamin G. Humphreys in October.
He was electedSenator in 1865 but was denied his seat byCongress.
Sharkey died inWashington, D.C., in 1873. He is interred inGreenwood Cemetery inJackson, Mississippi.
Sharkey County, Mississippi, located in theMississippi Delta region, is named in his honor.
Accompanying Document No. 25 andAccompanying Document No. 42 to “Report of Carl Schurz on the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana,” 1865.| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor ofMississippi 1865 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi 1832–1851 | Succeeded by |
| Supreme Judges of Mississippi(1818–1832) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi(1832-1870) | ||
| Supreme Court of Mississippi(since 1870) | ||
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| National | |
| Other | |
