William Medill

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title: "William Medill" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1802-births", "1865-deaths", "comptrollers-of-the-united-states-treasury", "democratic-party-governors-of-ohio", "lieutenant-governors-of-ohio", "ohio-constitutional-convention-(1850)", "ohio-university-trustees", "people-from-lancaster,-ohio", "people-from-new-castle-county,-delaware", "speakers-of-the-ohio-house-of-representatives", "commissioners-of-the-u.s.-bureau-of-indian-affairs", "american-lawyers-admitted-to-the-practice-of-law-by-reading-law", "democratic-party-members-of-the-ohio-house-of-representatives", "democratic-party-united-states-representatives-from-ohio", "19th-century-american-businesspeople", "19th-century-united-states-representatives", "19th-century-members-of-the-ohio-general-assembly"] description: "22nd Governor of Ohio" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Medill" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 22nd Governor of Ohio ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
birthname	William Medill
name	William Medill
image	William Medill at statehouse.jpg
caption	Portrait by John Henry Witt
order	22nd
office	Governor of Ohio
lieutenant	James Myers
term_start	July 13, 1853
term_end	January 14, 1856
preceded	Reuben Wood
succeeded	Salmon P. Chase
office2	1st Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
governor2	Reuben Wood
term_start2	January 12, 1852
term_end2	July 13, 1853
preceded2	Position established
succeeded2	James Myers
office3	4th Commissioner of Indian Affairs
appointed3	James K. Polk
term_start3	1845
term_end3	1849
preceded3	Thomas Hartley Crawford
succeeded3	Orlando Brown
state4	Ohio
district4
term_start4	March 4, 1839
term_end4	March 3, 1843
preceded4	John Chaney
succeeded4	Elias Florence
office5	Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives
term_start5	December 5, 1836
term_end5	December 3, 1837
preceded5	William Sawyer
succeeded5	Charles Anthony
office6	Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
term6	1835–1838
party	Democratic
birth_date
birth_place	White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Lancaster, Ohio, U.S.
resting_place	Elmwood Cemetery
alma_mater	Newark Academy
::

| birthname = William Medill | name = William Medill | image = William Medill at statehouse.jpg | caption = Portrait by John Henry Witt | order = 22nd | office = Governor of Ohio | lieutenant = James Myers | term_start = July 13, 1853 | term_end = January 14, 1856 | preceded = Reuben Wood | succeeded = Salmon P. Chase | office2 = 1st Lieutenant Governor of Ohio | governor2 = Reuben Wood | term_start2 = January 12, 1852 | term_end2 = July 13, 1853 | preceded2 = Position established | succeeded2 = James Myers | office3 = 4th Commissioner of Indian Affairs | appointed3 = James K. Polk | term_start3 = 1845 | term_end3 = 1849 | preceded3 = Thomas Hartley Crawford | succeeded3 = Orlando Brown | state4 = Ohio | district4 = | term_start4 = March 4, 1839 | term_end4 = March 3, 1843 | preceded4 = John Chaney | succeeded4 = Elias Florence | office5 = Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives | term_start5 = December 5, 1836 | term_end5 = December 3, 1837 | preceded5 = William Sawyer | succeeded5 = Charles Anthony | office6 = Member of the Ohio House of Representatives | term6 = 1835–1838 | party = Democratic | birth_date = | birth_place = White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Lancaster, Ohio, U.S. | resting_place = Elmwood Cemetery | alma_mater = Newark Academy | children =

William Medill (February 1802September 2, 1865) was a 19th-century American lawyer and Democratic politician from Ohio. He was the 22nd governor of Ohio from 1853 to 1856. He had previously served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1839 to 1843.

Biography

Born in White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, William was the son of Irish immigrants, William and Isabelle Medill. He grew up on the family farm, in the rural outskirts of Newark. He attended the Newark Academy and graduated in 1825. After graduation, he read law and was admitted to the bar in Delaware in 1830. Medill moved to Ohio in 1830 and was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1832.

Career

Medill was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served from 1835 to 1838, serving as speaker of the House from 1836 to 1837. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1838, serving from 1839 to 1843. He lost a bid for a third term in 1842. After briefly serving as the second assistant postmaster general, Medill was appointed by President Polk as commissioner of Indian Affairs. He returned to Ohio in 1850 to serve as the president of the 1850–1851 Constitutional Convention. Elected to the new post of lieutenant governor of Ohio in 1851, Medill entered office in 1852, serving until the resignation of Governor Reuben Wood on July 13, 1853 to take up a Consular office in Chile. Medill was re-elected in his own right in 1853, but was defeated in a bid for a second full term in 1855 by the anti-slavery Salmon P. Chase. He was First Comptroller of the United States Treasury from 1857 to 1861.

Death

Medill died in Lancaster in 1865, and was interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio. Medill never married. A nephew inherited his property.

Notes

References

References

1. "Ohio Governor William Medill". National Governors Association.
2. "William Medill". The Ohio Historical Society.
3. [[#political. Poore 1878]] : 235
4. [[#political. Poore 1878]] : 226
5. "William Medill". National Governors Association.
6. {{Ohio History Central. 270. William Medill

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