William V. Sullivan

William Van Amberg Sullivan (December 18, 1857 – March 21, 1918) was a United States representative and Senator from Mississippi.

William Van Amberg Sullivan
United States Senator from Mississippi
In office May 31, 1898 – March 3, 1901
Preceded by	Edward C. Walthall
Succeeded by	Anselm J. McLaurin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1897 – May 31, 1898
Preceded by	John C. Kyle
Succeeded by	Thomas Spight
Personal details
Born	(1857-12-18)December 18, 1857 Winona, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	March 21, 1918(1918-03-21) (aged 60) Oxford, Mississippi, U.S.
Resting place	St. Peter's Cemetery
Political party	Democratic

Biography

Born near Winona, Mississippi, he attended the common schools in Panola County and the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall.^[1]

He graduated from Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1875, was admitted to the bar that year, and commenced practice in Austin. He moved to Oxford in 1877, was a member of the board of city aldermen, and was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth Congress and served from March 4, 1897, to May 31, 1898, when he resigned, having been appointed Senator.

He was appointed and subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Edward C. Walthall and served from May 31, 1898, to March 3, 1901; he was not a candidate for reelection.

On September 8, 1908, Sullivan led a lynch mob which murdered a black man named Nelse Patton, who had been accused of killing a white woman. William Sullivan was quoted a day later as saying, "I led the mob which lynched Nelse Patton, and I'm proud of it. I directed every movement of the mob and I did everything I could to see that he was lynched."^[2]

Sullivan retired from active business and resided in Washington, D.C. In 1918, he died in Oxford. Interment was in St. Peter's Cemetery.