Wilson S. Bissell
American politician (1847–1903)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilson Shannon Bissell (December 31, 1847 – October 6, 1903) was an American politician from New York and considered one of the foremost Democratic leaders of Western New York.[1]
Wilson S. Bissell | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chancellor of the University of Buffalo | |
| In office 1902–1903 | |
| Preceded by | James O. Putnam |
| Succeeded by | Charles Phelps Norton |
| 36th United States Postmaster General | |
| In office March 6, 1893 – March 1, 1895 | |
| President | Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | John Wanamaker |
| Succeeded by | William Lyne Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wilson Shannon Bissell December 31, 1847 New London, New York, U.S. (now Rome) |
| Died | October 6, 1903 (aged 55) Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Louise Fowler Sturges
(m. 1890–1903) |
| Relations | Arthur D. Bissell (brother) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
Early life
Bissell was born on December 31, 1847, in Rome, New York. He was the son of John Bissell, a prominent forwarding merchant in Buffalo,[2] and Isabella Jeanette (née Hally) Bissell. His older brother, Arthur D. Bissell, was the president of the New York State Bankers Association and president of the People's Bank of Buffalo.[1] He was of Scotch-Irish ancestry.[3]
He prepared at Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale University in 1869 and was a member of Skull and Bones.[4]: 489
Career
Following his graduation from Yale, he began the study of law in Buffalo with Lanning, Cleveland & Folsom.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1871 and began practicing.[1]
From 1873 to 1882 he was a law partner of future President Grover Cleveland and acted as chief groomsman when Cleveland was married.[5] Bissell entered Democratic Party politics as a candidate for presidential elector in 1888. He served as Postmaster General under Cleveland from 1893 to 1895.[6] In 1896, he was a delegate to the 1896 Democratic National Convention.[7]
Apgar's Corners in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, was renamed in 1893 to the village of Bissell in an effort to sway him into ordering that a post office be created in the settlement. A small post office building (no longer in existence) was established soon thereafter.[8]
From 1902 until his death in 1903, Bissell served as the Chancellor of the University of Buffalo.[9]
Personal life
On February 6, 1890, Bissell married Louise Fowler Sturges of Geneva, New York.[1] They were the parents of one child.[2]
Bissell died at age 55 on October 6, 1903, at his residence in Buffalo, New York.[10] After a funeral at Trinity Episcopal Church in Buffalo (where former President Cleveland was a pallbearer),[3] his body was cremated and his ashes were buried in the family lot at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo.[10]