William Leftwich Goggin was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

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Biography

Born near Bunker Hill, Virginia

Bunker Hill, West Virginia

Bunker Hill is an unincorporated town in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States located on Winchester Pike at its junction with West Virginia Secondary Route 26 south of Martinsburg. It is the site of the confluence of Torytown Run and Mill Creek, a tributary of Opequon Creek...

 (now West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

), Goggin attended country schools and was eventually graduated from Tucker’s Law School. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1828, commencing practice in Liberty, Virginia

Bedford, Virginia

Bedford is an independent city located within the confines of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 6,222. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bedford with surrounding Bedford...

. Goggin also engaged in agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 pursuits and politics. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

 from 1836 to 1837 and was later elected a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, serving from 1839 to 1843. In 1842, he unsuccessfully contested the election of Thomas W. Gilmer, but eventually got the seat when Gilmer resigned early, serving again from 1844 to 1845. He later returned for a third time serving from 1847 to 1849, serving as chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads. In 1859, Goggin ran for Governor of Virginia

Governor of Virginia

The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....

, but lost to John Letcher

John Letcher

John Letcher was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Representative in the United States Congress, was the 34th Governor of Virginia during the American Civil War, and later served in the Virginia General Assembly...

. He was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

 in 1861 and was captain of Home Guards for the Confederate Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Afterward, he continued practicing law until his death on January 3, 1870 near Liberty, Virginia

Bedford, Virginia

Bedford is an independent city located within the confines of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 6,222. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bedford with surrounding Bedford...

. He was interred in his family's burying ground, Goggin Cemetery near Bunker Hill, Virginia

Bunker Hill, West Virginia

Bunker Hill is an unincorporated town in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States located on Winchester Pike at its junction with West Virginia Secondary Route 26 south of Martinsburg. It is the site of the confluence of Torytown Run and Mill Creek, a tributary of Opequon Creek...

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External links

Retrieved on 2008-10-19

• William L. Goggin at The Political Graveyard
  The Political Graveyard
  The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 224,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information.-History:...