William E. Glasscock

William Ellsworth Glasscock ( born December 13, 1862 Monongalia County, West Virginia, † April 12, 1925 in Morgantown, West Virginia ) was an American politician and from 1909 to 1913 the 13th Governor of the state of West Virginia.

Early years and political rise

William Glasscock attended West Virginia University. After that, he was head of the school board in Monongalia County. This office he held from 1887 to 1890. After that, he was employed at the District Court and served as tax collector in his district. After studying law at the Law School West Virginia University and qualifying as a lawyer in 1903, he practiced as a lawyer in Morgantown. One of his major clients was the U.S. Senator Stephen Benton Elkins. Glasscock was a leading member of the Republican Party in West Virginia and at times even head of the state party. In 1908, he won with 50.7 percent of the vote, the gubernatorial election to Democrat Louis Bennett.

Governor of West Virginia

Glass Cocks four-year term began on March 4, 1909. During his time the emerging automobile traffic has been addressed by the creation of a Department of Transportation bill. In addition, a separate Ministry of Agriculture and a service Commission were established. His tenure was overshadowed by a conflict over the appointment of two U.S. senators. This led to an opposition against the governor that blocked its further plans. The other major problem at the end of his tenure were labor unrest in the coal mining industry. In Kanawha County, the miners occurred due to poor working conditions in the strike that escalated to violence. The Governor imposed in his last year of rule three times martial law in the region and put the National Guard against the strikers.

At the end of his tenure, Glasscock moved back to Morgantown, where he worked as a lawyer again. Here he is in 1925 also died. He was married to Mary Alice Miller.