William Oscar Atkeson was a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Representative

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...

 representing Missouri's 6th congressional district

Missouri's 6th congressional district

Missouri's 6th congressional district takes in a large swath of land in rural northwest Missouri. Its largest voting population is centered in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the town of St. Joseph. The district includes all of Kansas City north of the Missouri River...

 from March 4, 1921-March 3, 1923.

Atkeson was born on a farm Buffalo, West Virginia

Buffalo, West Virginia

Buffalo is a town in Putnam County, West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. The population was 1,236 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Buffalo is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of...

 in Putnam County, West Virginia

Putnam County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 51,589 people, 20,028 households, and 15,281 families residing in the county. The population density was 149 people per square mile . There were 21,621 housing units at an average density of 62 per square mile...

. He attended the University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

 at Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

; taught school in Mason County, West Virginia

Mason County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,957 people, 10,587 households, and 7,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile . There were 12,056 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

 and at New Haven, West Virginia

New Haven, West Virginia

New Haven is a town in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,559 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Point Pleasant, WV–OH Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

. He graduated from Fairmont Normal School

Fairmont State University

Fairmont State University is a public university located in Fairmont, West Virginia, USA. Enrollment of the university is about 7,700 and offers masters degrees in business, education, teaching, criminal justice and nursing in addition to 90 baccalaureate and 50 associate degrees...

 in 1875.
He moved to Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census...

 in 1876 and edited and published the West Virginia Monitor; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1877 and commenced practice in Council Grove, Kansas

Council Grove, Kansas

Council Grove is a city in Morris County, Kansas, United States. It was named after an agreement between European Americans and the Osage Nation about allowing settlers' wagon trains to pass through the area and proceed to the West. Pioneers gathered at a grove of trees so that wagons could band...

.

He moved to Rich Hill, Missouri

Rich Hill, Missouri

Rich Hill is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,461 at the 2000 census.The current mayor of Rich Hill as of April 2011 is Jim Kithcart.-Geography:Rich Hill is located at ....

 in Bates County, Missouri

Bates County, Missouri

Bates County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2000, the population is 16,653. Its county seat is Butler. The county was organized in 1833 and named after Frederick Bates, the second governor of Missouri....

, in 1882 and to Butler, Missouri

Butler, Missouri

Butler is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,209 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bates County.Butler was the first city west of the Mississippi River to have electricity.-Geography:...

, in 1889. He was prosecuting attorney of Bates County, 1891–1893; unsuccessful candidate for circuit judge of the twenty-ninth judicial circuit in 1892; owner and editor of the Butler Free Press 1894-1902; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1906 to the Sixtieth Congress and in 1908 to the Sixty-first Congress; served as deputy State hotel inspector in 1910 and 1911 and as deputy State labor commissioner 1911-1913; owner and editor of the Bates County Record 1915-1918; elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1921-March 3, 1923); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress; served as State warehouse commissioner in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, from July 1, 1923, until February 5, 1925, when he resigned; resumed the practice of law and also engaged in literary pursuits; died in Butler, October 16, 1931; interment in Oak Hill Cemetery.