William Terrell

{{short description|American politician (1786–1855)}} {{for|the Florida Supreme Court justice|William Glenn Terrell}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} thumb|Official portrait, c.1850s '''William Terrell''' (1786 – July 4, 1855) was an American politician and medical doctor who was elected as a United States representative from Georgia.<ref name="Congress-Bio">{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000132 |title=William Terrell (1778–1855) |author= |website=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=22 Oct 2014}}</ref><ref name="Dicken">{{cite book |last=Dicken |first=Emma |title=Terrell Genealogy |location=San Antonio, Texas |publisher=The Naylor Company |pages= 121–123|quote=He became a distinguished figure in Georgia, and was a most useful citizen.}}</ref>

==Family== {{see also|Terrell (surname)}}

He was one of two children born to Joel and Lucy (Ragland) Terrell.<ref name="Dicken"/><ref>Based on ''A History of the Terrell and Dabney Families'', by John Dabney Terrell, Sr. (courtesy of Alabama State Archives), where it mentions the doctor of Hancock County, Ga., and his father, and their connections with John's family.</ref> He was born in either Fairfax County<ref name="Congress-Bio"/> (or Louisa County),<ref name="Dicken"/> Virginia. He moved with his parents to Wilkes County, Georgia, about 1784.<ref name="Dicken"/> He pursued classical studies. Terrell later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine at Philadelphia and commenced practice in Sparta, Georgia.<ref name="Congress-Bio"/>

In 1818, Terrell married Eliza Rhodes, the daughter of William Rhodes. To this union was born a daughter, Lucy.<ref name="Dicken"/>

He is a great-great-grandson of William and Susannah (Waters) Terrell.<ref name="Dicken"/> As a result, he is related to both Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter.<ref name="WARGS-Obama">{{cite web |url=http://www.wargs.com/political/obama.html |title=Ancestry of Barack Obama |last=Reitwiesner|first=William Addams |author-link=William Addams Reitwiesner |website=William Addams Reitwiesner Genealogical Services |location=Washington, DC |access-date=22 October 2014 }}</ref>

==Career== He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing Hancock County from 1810 to 1813, and held various local offices.<ref name="Congress-Bio"/>

Terrell was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the United States House of Representatives, serving in the 15th and 16th Congresses serving from March 4, 1817, until March 3, 1821. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1820, and resumed the practice of medicine.<ref name="Congress-Bio"/>

==Later years==

After he left Congress, Terrell devoted more of his time to the promotion of Agricultural Science than his medical practice. In 1853, he donated $20,000 to the University of Georgia to establish a Department of Agriculture.<ref name="Dicken"/>

Terrell died in Sparta, Georgia, on 4 July 1855 and was interred in Sparta Cemetery.<ref name="Congress-Bio"/>

His house still stands in Sparta today.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2238 | title=Sparta | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001052818/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2238 | archive-date=2012-10-01}}</ref>

==Legacy==

Terrell County, Georgia, created in 1856 from portions of Randolph and Lee Counties, was named for William Terrell. Dawson, the county seat, is named after William C. Dawson, his daughter's father-in-law.<ref name="Dicken"/><ref name="TerrellCo">{{cite web |url=http://www.terrellcounty.georgia.gov/ |title=Terrell County |author= |website=Georgia.gov |access-date=22 Oct 2014 |quote=Terrell County was created from Randolph and Lee counties in 1856. It is named for Dr. William Terrell of Sparta who served in both the state legislature and the Congress. Dawson, the county seat, is named for another legislator and jurist, William C. Dawson. |archive-date=July 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718231932/http://www.terrellcounty.georgia.gov/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also== Terrell (surname)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{CongBio|T000132}} * [http://www.terrellcounty.georgia.gov terrellcounty.georgia.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718231932/http://www.terrellcounty.georgia.gov/ |date=July 18, 2011 }} * {{Find a Grave|7179282}} * [https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/sparta/m-8435/ William Terrell]

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Georgia | district = AL | before= Thomas Telfair | after= Wiley Thompson | years= March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1821 }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, William}} Category:1786 births Category:1855 deaths Category:Politicians from Fairfax County, Virginia Category:People from Sparta, Georgia Category:Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Category:Medical doctors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Category:Terrell County, Georgia Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Slave owners from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly