Richard Henry WHITELEY, Congress, GA (1830-1890)

WHITELEY, Richard Henry, a Representative and Senator-elect from Georgia; born in County Kildare, Ireland, December 22, 1830; immigrated to the United States in 1836 with his parents, who settled in Georgia; received private instruction in elementary education; engaged in manufacturing; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1860 and commenced practice in Bainbridge, Ga.; opposed secession, but after the adoption of the ordinance entered the Confederate Army and served throughout the Civil War, attaining the rank of major; member of the State constitutional convention in 1867; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1866 to the Fortieth Congress; presented credentials as a Senator-elect to the United States Senate on July 15, 1870, to fill the vacancy in the term beginning March 4, 1865, but as the election took place prior to the readmission of Georgia into the Union was not admitted to a seat; elected as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the House declaring Nelson Tift not entitled to the seat; reelected to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses and served from December 22, 1870, to March 3, 1875; unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Forty-fourth Congress and for election to the Forty-fifth Congress; moved to Boulder, Colo., in 1877 and resumed the practice of his profession; died in Boulder, Colo., September 26, 1890; interment in the Masonic Cemetery.

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