William Clay COLE, Congress, MO (1897-1965)

COLE, William Clay, a Representative from Missouri; born on a farm near Fillmore, Andrew County, Mo., August 29, 1897; attended the public schools; served ten months as a mounted scout on the Mexican border with the Missouri forces in 1916; during the First World War served fourteen months in the war zone; was graduated from St. Joseph (Mo.) Law School in 1928; was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in St. Joseph, Mo.; member of the State house of representatives at a special session in 1942; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-eighth, Seventy-ninth, and Eightieth Congresses (January 3, 1943-January 3, 1949); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress and for election in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress; elected to the Eighty-third Congress (January 3, 1953-January 3, 1955); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1954 to the Eighty-fourth Congress; member, Board of Veterans Appeals, Washington, D.C., from January 21, 1955, to July 31, 1960; resumed the practice of law in St. Joseph, Mo., where he resided until his death September 23, 1965; interment in Fillmore Cemetery, Fillmore, Mo.

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