William H. West

William Henry West (February 9, 1824 – March 14, 1911) was a Republican Party politician in the U.S. state of Ohio who served as Ohio Attorney General from 1866 to 1868, and a member of the Ohio Supreme Court from February 1872 to 1873. His failing eyesight and powerful oration led to the title Blind Man Eloquent.

Biography

William H. West was born in Millsborough, Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was born on the anniversary of William Henry Harrison's birthday, and was named in his honor. In 1830, his parents settled on a farm in Knox County, Ohio, near Mount Vernon. In 1840 he entered the Martinsburg, Ohio Academy. He taught and studied until entering Jefferson College in Pennsylvania in 1844. He graduated second in his class of 58 in 1846.

West taught school in Kentucky until 1848, when he accepted a tutorship at Jefferson College, and then a year later an adjunct professorship at Hampden–Sydney College. In 1850 he became a law student of William Lawrence at Bellefontaine, Ohio. After admission to the bar, West was law partner of Lawrence from July 1851 to February, 1854. In 1852, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Logan County, Ohio, where he lived at Bellefontaine the rest of his life. West was a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln.

West was elected to the Ohio Senate for the 56th General Assembly, 1864–1865. He was elected Ohio Attorney General in 1865 and then re-elected in 1867.

West was married twice. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Williams in Lima on June 19, 1851. They had four sons, and Elizabeth died in 1871. In 1872, West married Clara Riddle Gorton. She died in 1901. He died at his home in Bellefontaine on March 14, 1911. West was interred at Bellefontaine City Cemetery, where his wives had been buried.