William Brainerd SPENCER, Congress, LA (1835-1882)

SPENCER, William Brainerd, a Representative from Louisiana; born on “Home Plantation,” in Catahoula Parish, La., February 5, 1835; received his early schooling under private tutors; was graduated from Centenary College, Jackson, La., in 1855 and from the law department of the University of Louisiana at New Orleans in 1857; was admitted to the bar in 1857 and commenced practice in Harrisonburg, La.; served in the Confederate Army, with the rank of captain, until 1863, when he was captured; remained a prisoner of war at Johnsons Island, Ohio, until the close of the Civil War; resumed the practice of law in Vidalia, La., in 1866; successfully contested as a Democrat the election of Frank Morey to the Forty-fourth Congress and served from June 8, 1876, to January 8, 1877, when he resigned to accept a judicial appointment; appointed associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court January 9, 1877, which position he held until his resignation April 3, 1880; again resumed the practice of law in New Orleans, La.; died in Jalapa, Mexico, February 12, 1882; interment in Magnolia Cemetery, Baton Rouge, La.

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