# William Terrell

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{{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](/source/United_States_representative) from [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)).<ref name="Congress-Bio">{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000132 |title=William Terrell (1778–1855) |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |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](/source/Fairfax_County%2C_Virginia)<ref name="Congress-Bio"/> (or [Louisa County](/source/Louisa_County%2C_Virginia)),<ref name="Dicken"/> Virginia. He moved with his parents to [Wilkes County, Georgia](/source/Wilkes_County%2C_Georgia), about 1784.<ref name="Dicken"/> He pursued classical studies. Terrell later graduated from the [University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania_School_of_Medicine) at [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) and commenced practice in [Sparta, Georgia](/source/Sparta%2C_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](/source/Barack_Obama) and [Jimmy Carter](/source/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](/source/Georgia_House_of_Representatives), representing [Hancock County](/source/Hancock_County%2C_Georgia) from 1810 to 1813, and held various local offices.<ref name="Congress-Bio"/>

Terrell was elected as a [Democratic-Republican](/source/Democratic-Republican) to the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives), serving in the [15th](/source/15th_United_States_Congress) and [16th](/source/16th_United_States_Congress)  [Congresses](/source/United_States_Congress) 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](/source/University_of_Georgia) to establish a Department of Agriculture.<ref name="Dicken"/>

Terrell died in [Sparta, Georgia](/source/Sparta%2C_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](/source/Terrell_County%2C_Georgia), created in 1856 from portions of [Randolph](/source/Randolph_County%2C_Georgia) and [Lee](/source/Lee_County%2C_Georgia) Counties, was named for William Terrell. Dawson, the county seat, is named after [William C. Dawson](/source/William_Crosby_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=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |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)](/source/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](/source/Thomas_Telfair)
| after= [Wiley Thompson](/source/Wiley_Thompson)
| years= March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1821 
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{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

{{GeorgiaUS-GARepresentative-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Terrell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Terrell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Terrell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.