William McWillie
William McWillie was the twenty-second governor of Mississippi from 1857 to 1859. He was a Democrat. McWillie was the last Governor of Mississippi prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War.Biography
He was born near Liberty Hill, Kershaw County, South Carolina, on November 17, 1795. His father Colonel Adam McWillie was in command of the 2nd Regiment SC militia during the War of 1812, and William served as an adjutant in his father's regiment in the war.
McWillie graduated from South Carolina College in 1817. Then he began the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1818.
He married Nancy Cunningham, and secondly Catherine Anderson, daughter of Dr. Edward H. Anderson of Camden, South Carolina, and granddaughter of a noted officer of the Maryland Line.
Between 1836 and 1840 he served in both the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate. In 1845 he moved to Mississippi. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1849, serving from December 3, 1849 to March 3, 1851. In 1858 he became Governor of Mississippi, serving until 1860. McWillie died in Kirkwood, Madison County, Mississippi, on March 3, 1869. He is buried in Kirkwood Cemetery, near Camden, Mississippi, the town he founded and named for his hometown of Camden, South Carolina.
His son Adam McWillie was killed in the Civil War during the First Battle of Bull Run.
