William G. Conley | |
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| 18th Governor of West Virginia | |
| In office March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Howard Mason Gore |
| Succeeded by | Herman G. Kump |
| Attorney General of West Virginia | |
| In office May 9, 1908 – March 3, 1913 | |
| Governor | William M. O. Dawson William E. Glasscock |
| Preceded by | Clark W. May |
| Succeeded by | Armistead Abraham Lilly |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1866-01-08)January 8, 1866 Kingwood, West Virginia |
| Died | October 21, 1940(1940-10-21) (aged 74) Charleston, West Virginia |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Bertie Ison Martin Conley |
| Profession | Politician |
| Signature | .png) |
William Gustavus Conley (January 8, 1866 – October 21, 1940) was an American lawyer and politician who served as theAttorney General of West Virginia (1908–1913) and 18thgovernor of West Virginia as aRepublican (1929 to 1933).
He was born nearKingwood to Major William Conley and Mary Courtney Freeburn. He taught in the local public schools from 1886 to 1891. In 1892, he marriedBertie Ison Martin.[1] In 1893 he graduated fromWest Virginia University with a degree in law.
After admission to the West Virginia bar, Conley began a law practice inParsons, West Virginia. While there he served asTucker County prosecuting attorney, and later as the mayor of Parsons. He also founded and was the editor of theParsons Advocatenewspaper. He also served as mayor of Kingwood from 1906 to 1908.
In 1908, GovernorWilliam Dawson appointed Conley to the post of stateAttorney General. After being elected to the same office in 1908 by defeating Democrat Eskridge H. Morton, Conley continued in that role under GovernorWilliam Glasscock. In 1911, he argued before theSupreme Court of the United States in the case ofVirginia v. West Virginia,220 U.S.1 (1911) which involved Virginia's pre-Civil War debt and West Virginia's share of it. He was also involved inMaryland v. West Virginia,225 U.S.1 (1912) which involved the border between Maryland and West Virginia.
In 1912, Conley ran for Congress as a Republican but lost by 214 votes out of about 47,000. Over the next 12 years he was a lawyer inCharleston. In 1924, he was appointed to the State Board of Education. He served there until his resignation on March 1, 1929. He was elected as governor of West Virginia in November 1928 with the slogan of "Conley Commands Confidence" and was inaugurated on March 4, 1929. His time as governor was marked by theGreat Depression. His time as governor, limited by the state constitution at the time to one term, ended on March 4, 1933. He remained in Charleston and organized the law firm of Conley, Thompson, and Neff.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican Party nominee forGovernor of West Virginia 1928 | Succeeded by Thomas Chasteene Townsend |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of West Virginia 1908–1913 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of West Virginia 1929–1933 | Succeeded by |
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