William Harrell FELTON, Congress, GA (1823-1909)

FELTON, William Harrell, (husband of Rebecca Latimer Felton), a Representative from Georgia; born near Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Ga., June 19, 1823; attended the common and primary schools; was graduated from the University of Georgia at Athens in 1843 and from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta in 1844; practiced medicine, taught school, and also engaged in agricultural pursuits near Cartersville, Ga.; member of the State house of representatives from Cass (now Bartow) County in 1851; ordained as a Methodist minister in 1857; served as a surgeon during the Civil War; elected as an Independent Democrat to the Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, and Forty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1881); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1880 to the Forty-seventh Congress; resumed his activity as a minister and again followed agricultural pursuits; again served in the State house of representatives 1884-1890; trustee from the State at large for the University of Georgia 1886-1892; died in Cartersville, Ga., September 24, 1909; interment in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Bibliography

Jones, George L. “William H. Felton and the Independent Democratic Movement in Georgia, 1870-1890.” Ph.D. diss., University of Georgia, 1971; Roberts, William P. “The Public Career of Dr. William Harrell Felton.” Ph.D. diss., University of North Carolina, 1953.

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