Emanuel Willis Wilson

Emanuel Willis Wilson ( born August 11, 1844 in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, † May 28, 1905 ) was an American politician and from 1885 to 1890, the seventh Governor of the State of West Virginia.

Early years and political rise

Emanuel Wilson grew up in his hometown. After he had himself acquired legal knowledge, he made ​​his law degree. In 1870 he was elected to the House of Representatives from West Virginia. In 1872, he sat for a short time in the state Senate, before he returned back into the lower house of the state parliament. During this time he sat down against the increasing monopoly in the industry and economy.

Governor of West Virginia

In 1884, Wilson was elected as a Democratic Party candidate for governor. His term began on March 4, 1885. During this time he fought against the formation of monopolies and corruption, especially in the political sphere. He was the only governor of this state, who served five years. The reason was the disputed gubernatorial election of the year, 1888.

The two competing candidates Aretas B. Fleming for the Democrats and Nathan Goff of the Republican Party split only about 100 votes. The losing candidate Fleming then challenged the election in some districts, and regarded himself as the new governor. As to the regular expiration of the term of office of Wilson no decision had been made, both Fleming and Goff left by their followers swear in as governor. To make things even more complicated, claimed the Senate President Robert S. Carr in his capacity as representative of the governor also President until a clarification of the election. The Supreme Court eventually ruled that the incumbent Governor Wilson should remain in office until the question of the election had been clarified. In January 1890, the Democratic majority in the state parliament declared their candidates for election winner Fleming, who could then take office on February 5, 1890. On this day, Wilson then retired from office. A similarly curious situation was to be repeated in 1946 in Georgia after the death of Governor Eugene Talmadge, as also fought three candidates for the office of governor.

Further CV

After leaving the office of Governor Wilson competed in 1896 unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives: He was defeated by Republican Charles Dorr. Wilson was then working as a lawyer in Charleston. He was also involved in several business ventures. He died in 1896.