William Alexander MASSEY, Congress, NV (1856-1914)

MASSEY, William Alexander, a Senator from Nevada; born in Oakfield, Trumbull County, Ohio, October 7, 1856; moved with his parents to Edgar County, Ill., in 1865; attended the common schools, Union Christian College, Merom, Ind., and the Indiana Asbury (now De Pauw) University, Greencastle, Ind.; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1877 and commenced practice in Sullivan, Ind.; moved to San Diego, Calif., in 1886; moved to Nevada in 1887, where he prospected and mined, subsequently taking up the practice of law in Elko, Nev.; member, State house of representatives 1892-1894; district attorney 1894-1896; justice of the State supreme court 1896-1902, when he resigned; moved to Reno, Nev., and resumed the practice of law; appointed as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George S. Nixon and served from July 1, 1912, to January 29, 1913, when a successor was elected; unsuccessful candidate for election to the remainder of Nixon’s term, ending March 3, 1917; chairman, Committee on Mines and Mining (Sixty-second Congress); resumed the practice of law in Reno, Nev.; died on a train near Litchfield, Nev., March 5, 1914; interment in Mountain View Cemetery, Reno, Nev.

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