William Augustus Lake (January 6, 1808 – October 15, 1861) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Mississippi from 1855 to 1857.

William Lake
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
Preceded byWiley P. Harris
Succeeded byOtho R. Singleton
Personal details
Born
William Augustus Lake

(1808-01-06)January 6, 1808
near Cambridge, Maryland, U.S.
DiedOctober 15, 1861(1861-10-15) (aged 53)
Hopefield, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyKnow Nothing
EducationWashington and Jefferson College (BA)

Biography

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Born near Cambridge, Maryland on January 6, 1808, Lake pursued classical studies and was graduated from Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1827. He served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1831, after which he moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1834 and started practicing in Vicksburg. He served as member of the Mississippi State Senate in 1848.

Congress

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Lake was elected as an American Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1856 to the Thirty-fifth Congress. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1859 to 1861, and was its Speaker in the January 1861 session.[1]

Later career and death

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He then resumed the practice of law. He was a candidate for the Confederate Congress in 1861 and, during the canvass was killed in a duel by his opponent, Colonel Chambers, of Mississippi, October 15, 1861, at Hopefield, Arkansas, opposite Memphis, Tennessee. He was interred in the City Cemetery, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 84.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's 4th congressional district

1855–1857
Succeeded by

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress