Gov. William Owsley

1782 - 1862  (80 years)

• Name	William Owsley  [1, 2]
  Title	Gov.
  Born	24 Mar 1782	Virginia
  Gender	Male
  Political	1844 - 1848	Governor, State of Kentucky
  		Public Service
  Died	9 Dec 1862	Danville, Boyle, Kentucky
  Buried	Bellevue Cemetery, Danville, Boyle, Kentucky
  Notes	The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume VII Paca, William page 161 OWSLEY, William, governor of Kentucky, was born in Virginia in 1782; son of William and Catharine (Bolin) Owsley; grandson of Thomas and Mary (Middleton) Owsley, and a descendant of the Rev. John and Dorothea (Poyntz) Owsley. He removed to Lincoln in 1783 with his parents; taught school and served as deputy sheriff, his father being sheriff of Lincoln county; studied law under John Boyle, and established a successful practice in Lancaster, Garrard county. He served in both branches of the state legislature several terms, and was a judge of the state supreme court, 1812-28. He maintained the principle of anti-repudiation advocated by Henry Clay in 1824, and remained firm when the majority in the state legislature tried to abolish the supreme bench, which act was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. supreme court. In 1828 he resumed the practice of law, again represented Garrard county in the state legislature and served on the bench of the court of appeals. Retiring from the practise of law in 1843, he lived on a farm near Danville, Ky., and in 1844 was elected by the Whig party governor of Kentucky, defeating Col. William O. Butler, Democrat, and re-elected in 1846, serving, 1844-48. Owsley county, Ky. was named in his honor. Centre college conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D. in 1843. He died in Danville, Ky., Dec. 9, 1862. [p.161]
  Person ID	I1615	Dickinson
  Last Modified	26 Oct 2009

  
  

  Father	William Owsley,   b. 29 Dec 1749, Virginia ,   d. 10 Oct 1819, Lincoln, Kentucky  (Age 69 years)
  Mother	Catherine Bolin,   b. 1750,   d. 31 Jan 1833, Liberty County, Kentucky  (Age 83 years)
  Family ID	F0506	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Gill,   b. 01 Aug 1788,   d. 17 Apr 1858, Danville, Boyle, Kentucky  (Age 69 years)
  Married	1804	Lincoln County, Kentucky
  Children	+ 1. Amanda M Owsley,   b. 1805, Kentucky + 2. Amelia Gill Owsley,   b. 06 Nov 1806, Kentucky ,   d. 20 Sep 1847, Gerrard County, Kentucky  (Age 40 years) + 3. Almira Owsley,   b. 1808, Kentucky  [Birth]   4. Erasmus Boyle Owsley,   b. 05 Feb 1811, Lancaster, Gerrard, Kentucky   5. Marie Elizabeth Owsley,   b. 1813, Lancaster, Gerrard, Kentucky
  Last Modified	28 Oct 2009
  Family ID	F1220	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Buried - - Bellevue Cemetery, Danville, Boyle, Kentucky  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Owsley, William Governor of Kentucky (1844-1848)

  
  

  Headstones

  Owsley, William

  
  

• Sources

  [S009480] Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, (Chicago and Philadelphia: John M. Gresham Co., 1896), p. 478. [S009749] Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Rossiter Johnson, ed., (Boston, Massachusetts: The Biographical Society, 1904), Vol. VII, p. 161.