George Wesley ATKINSON, Congress, WV (1845-1925)

ATKINSON, George Wesley, a Representative from West Virginia; born near Charleston, Kanawha County, Va. (now West Virginia), June 29, 1845; attended the public schools of Charleston and was graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware in 1870; was graduated from Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio, and Howard University Law School, Washington, D.C.; collector of tolls on the Kanawha River Board 1869-1871; postmaster of Charleston 1871-1877; was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Charleston; later attended lectures on law at Columbia University; moved to Wheeling, Ohio County, W.Va., in 1877; editor of the Wheeling Standard in 1877 and 1878; internal-revenue agent of the Treasury Department 1879-1881; United States marshal for the district of West Virginia 1881-1885; successfully contested as a Republican the election of John O. Pendleton to the Fifty-first Congress and served from February 26, 1890, to March 3, 1891; declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1890; resumed the practice of law in Wheeling, W.Va.; editor of the West Virginia Journal 1891-1896; Governor of West Virginia 1897-1901; served as United States district attorney for the southern district of West Virginia from July 1, 1901, to April 18, 1905; appointed associate judge of the Court of Claims at Washington, D.C., on April 15, 1905, and served until April 16, 1916, when he retired; died in Charleston, W.Va., April 4, 1925; interment in Spring Hill Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present