| William W. Corlett | |
| Image Name: | William Wellington Corlett.jpg |
| State: | Wyoming Territory |
| District: | at-large |
| Term Start: | March 4, 1877 |
| Term End: | March 3, 1879 (Delegate) |
| Preceded: | William Randolph Steele |
| Succeeded: | Stephen Wheeler Downey |
| Birth Date: | 10 April 1842 |
| Birth Place: | Concord, Ohio |
| Death Place: | Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | Minerva C. Franklin (m. 1873) |
| Children: | 1 |
| Education: | University of Michigan Union Law College |
| Profession: | Attorney |
| Allegiance: |  United States Union |
| Branch: | Union Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1861–1862 1863–1865 |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Battles: | Civil War |
| Unit: | 28th Ohio Infantry 87th Ohio Infantry 25th Ohio Independent Light Artillery Battery 3rd Iowa Independent Battery Light Artillery |
William Wellington Corlett (April 10, 1842 – July 22, 1890) was a Delegate from the Territory of Wyoming.
Corlett was born in Concord, Ohio on April 10, 1842, a son of William Corlett and Mary Ann (Kneale), who was known as Ann.[1] He attended the schools of Concord and taught school while attending the Willoughby (Ohio) Collegiate Institute, from which he graduated in 1861.[2]
With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and served in the 28th Ohio Infantry and the 87th Ohio Infantry (a three-month regiment).[2] He was captured with the regiment at the Battle of Harpers Ferry on September 15, 1862.[3]
After receiving parole, Corlett returned to Ohio, where he taught school in Kirkland and Painesville.[2] Corlett reentered the army with the 25th Ohio Independent Light Artillery Battery.[2] He was later placed on detached service with the 3rd Iowa Independent Battery Light Artillery. He returned to Ohio in 1865 and mustered out of the army.[2]
He attended law school at the University of Michigan Law School and in July 1866 he graduated from Ohio State and Union Law College in Cleveland.[2] He was admitted to the bar the same year and became a professor in elementary law at the State University and Law College as well as lecturer at several commercial colleges in Cleveland.[2]
He settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1867, and engaged in the practice of law.[2] During some of the time in Wyoming, his law partner was John Alden Riner, who later served as a federal judge.[2] Corlett was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Delegate to the Forty-first Congress in 1869.[2]
He was appointed postmaster of Cheyenne in 1870, a member of the Territorial senate in 1871 and prosecuting attorney of Laramie County from 1872 to 1876.[2]
Corlett was elected as a Republican a Delegate to the Forty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1878.[2]
He resumed the practice of law and in 1879 declined the appointment as chief justice of Wyoming Territory.[3] He served as member of the legislative council from 1880 to 1882.[3]
He died in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 22, 1890.[2] He was interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.[4]
In 1873, Corlett married Minerva C. Franklin in Des Moines, Iowa.[5] They were the parents of a son, William W. Corlett Jr.[6] [7]
Retrieved on 2008-02-14