Diedrich Willers Jr. (November 3, 1833 – June 25, 1908) was aDemocratic politician fromVarick,New York who served asSecretary of State of New York. Born to a working class German immigrant family, his political fortune was a notable example of the effect of civil service reform.[1]
Born in ruralVarick, New York, he was the sixth of eight children of Reverend Diedrich WillersD.D. (1798–1883), an immigrant fromBremen, Germany. His father fought in theHanoverian Army at theBattle of Waterloo in 1815, immigrated toBaltimore, Maryland in 1819, and began preaching to variousSeneca County, New York congregations in 1821,[1] and was also notable as a critic ofMormonism.[2] His mother was born inNew Holland, Pennsylvania ofPennsylvania Dutch stock.[1]
Willers' early life was one of toil; he divided his time between working on the family farm in the summers and attending district school in the winter. With the exception of two terms at the Seneca Falls Academy, he had no schooling other than district school.[1] He began teaching at the district school at age 16, and at age 22 entered the printing business, but was forced to abandon that pursuit due to ill health.[1]
He was destined by his father for the ministry, but took an early interest in politics. Having managed to obtain at intervals a law degree fromAlbany Law School, he was admitted to the bar, but never actively practiced as an attorney.[1] By the age of 21, Willers was a Hard-ShellDemocrat, supporting the election ofGreene C. Bronson for governor in 1854.[1] He was appointed to a clerkship inNew York Secretary of StateGideon J. Tucker's office in 1857, and held this position during the succeeding terms ofDavid R. Floyd-Jones andHoratio Ballard until 1863, when GovernorHoratio Seymour appointed him as his personal secretary.[1]
He later returned to farming in Varick, where he was chairman of the board of supervisors in 1865 and 1866. In March 1867, Willers was appointed by PresidentAndrew Johnson as Second Auditor of the Treasury, for which he went toWashington, D.C., but he returned toNew York upon the success of the Democrats in the 1867 state elections, resulting in his appointment as Deputy Secretary of State.[1] He was the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State in1871 despite the objections of nearly all of the older or managing party politicians, but lost the election in a down year for the Democrats. He was again nominated in1873, and this time won,[1] serving from 1874 to 1875. He was a member of theNew York State Assembly (Seneca Co.) in1878.[3]
He was Deputy Secretary of State underFrederick Cook, retiring at the end of 1889,[4] and there was talk of nominating Willers for Secretary of State again, but he declined due to declining health.[5]
He died inVarick, New York on June 25, 1908.[6]
{{cite journal}}:|first= has generic name (help);Cite journal requires|journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | New York Secretary of State 1874–1875 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by Albert L. Childs | New York State Assembly Seneca County 1878 | Succeeded by |
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