William Weightman Valk was a soldier in the American 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...

 and a U.S. Congressman.

In 1830, Valk earned a degree in medicine, graduating from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1830. He opened a practice in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. He joined the Navy during the Mexican-American War and became chief surgeon on the USS Constellation

USS Constellation (1797)

USS Constellation was a 38-gun frigate, one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. She was distinguished as the first U.S. Navy vessel to put to sea and the first U.S. Navy vessel to engage and defeat an enemy vessel...

. Valk joined the California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 Gold Rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

 in 1849 and, upon failure, opened a practice on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

. From March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1857, Valk served in New York's 1st District in the United States House of Representatives.

Finally settled in Flushing, New York, and continued the practice of medicine until elected to Congress. He was elected as a candidate serving in New York's 1st District, as a member of the American Party

Know Nothing

The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...

 to the Thirty-fourth

34th United States Congress

The Thirty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1855 to March 4, 1857, during the last two years...

 Congress (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1857). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. Upon the breakout of Civil War, he volunteered as chief surgeon of the 2nd Maryland (USA) Volunteer Infantry

2nd Maryland Infantry

The 2nd Maryland Infantry was an American military regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It should not be confused with the 2nd Maryland Infantry, CSA, which was composed of Maryland volunteers who fought for the Confederacy during the war....

 of the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

. He later became a pension office clerk in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He was interred in Flushing Cemetery.