William Casey Marland (1918 - 1965)

Born 26 Mar 1918 in Johnston City, Illinois

Ancestors

Died 26 Nov 1965 at age 47 in Barrington, Illinois

Preceded by 23rd Governor Okey L. Patteson

William C. Marland 24th Governor of West Virginia 1953—1957

Succeeded by 25th Governor Cecil H. Underwood

Biography

William Marland is Notable.

William Casey Marland was born in Johnson City, Illinois, and moved with his parents to Glen Rogers, Wyoming County, at age seven. After working in the coal mines, he attended the University of Alabama and received his law degree from West Virginia University. During World War II, Marland saw combat duty as a Navy gunnery officer in the South Pacific and attained the rank of lieutenant. He served briefly as a law clerk for the United States District Court for Southern West Virginia before being named the state Assistant Attorney General by Governor Clarence Watson Meadows in 1948. The following year, Marland was appointed Attorney General and was elected to that position the following year.

Three days after becoming governor, Marland proposed a severance tax on extractive industries, most notably coal. The legislature, heavily backed by the coal industry, blocked this tax and others which would have benefitted schools and roads. Marland advocated the desegregation of schools, expansion of the state parks and other recreational facilities, improved unemployment and workers' compensation laws, and an industrial development program.

After an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate in 1956, Marland established a law practice in Charleston. In 1958, he again was defeated for the Democratic Senate nomination and moved to Chicago to work for a coal company. In 1965, Marland returned to West Virginia as associate director of a horse racing enterprise. Soon thereafter, he was stricken with cancer. Marland died in Barrington, Illinois, later that year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Marland William Casey Marland (March 26, 1918 – November 26, 1965), a Democrat, was the 24th Governor of West Virginia from 1953 to 1957. He is best known for his early attempts to tax companies that depleted the state's natural resources, especially coal, as well as overseeing the generally non-violent implementation of school desegregation, during an era when other Southern governors opposed it. Biography Son of a mining boss, Joseph Wesley and Maude Casey Marland, he was born in Johnston City, Illinois on March 26, 1918. His family moved to the coal town of Glen Rogers in Wyoming County, West Virginia when he was seven. During World War II, he served as a Navy lieutenant in the Pacific theater, completing four tours. He attended the University of Alabama, where he was a star football player, and received a law degree from West Virginia University in 1947. He married Valerie Allen Marland in 1942, and they had three children: William Allen, Susan Lynn, and John Wesley. Allen was appointed law clerk to Federal Judge Ben Moore, and in August 1948, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General. Upon resignation of former Attorney General Ira J. Partlow December 1, 1949, he was appointed Attorney General. In November 1950, he was elected to the office. Later years The pressures on Marland may have contributed to the development of alcoholism. Accusations that he drank heavily in office or at inappropriate times during the day have been made by Underwood. After his second Senate loss, Marland worked as an attorney, eventually relocating to the Chicago area. In the early 1960s, the ex-governor gave up drinking. But it was not his fate to live out his life as a private individual. A few years after his recovery, he was recognized by a Chicago Sun-Times reporter. Marland indicated that he was working as a taxi driver, and a subsequent article was released to wire services on April 13, 1965. The story received great attention in West Virginia and nationally. Knowing that the story was about to break and concerned about damage to his family, he called a press conference and spoke candidly about his alcoholism, how he overcame it, and his reasons for driving a taxi: to hold in check a level of ambition that may have contributed to his drinking. His fortunes dramatically changed for the better. He was soon invited to appear on Jack Paar's television talk show, and was hired to run a West Virginia horse racing concern. But shortly thereafter, he was struck down by pancreatic cancer. He died of the disease in his Barrington, Illinois home, attended by his wife, children, other relatives, and family friends, on November 26, 1965. His widow followed him in death in 1977.

Sources

• West Virginia Archives and History; Compiled by the West Virginia State Archives

• William C. Marland on Wikipedia

WikiTree Governors of West Virginia Page