# William W. Bibb

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American politician and 1st Governor of Alabama

William W. Bibb Portrait, c. 1819 1st Governor of Alabama In office December 14, 1819 – July 10, 1820 Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Thomas Bibb 1st Territorial Governor of Alabama In office March 6, 1817 – December 14, 1819 Appointed by James Monroe Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Himself as Governor United States Senator from Georgia In office November 6, 1813 – November 9, 1816 Preceded by William B. Bulloch Succeeded by George Troup Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large district In office January 26, 1807 – November 6, 1813 Preceded by Thomas Spalding Succeeded by Alfred Cuthbert Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from Elbert County In office 1803–1805 Personal details Born William Wyatt Bibb (1781-10-02)October 2, 1781 Amelia County, Virginia Died July 10, 1820(1820-07-10) (aged 38) Elmore County, Alabama Resting place Bibb Family Cemetery, Coosada, Alabama Party Democratic-Republican Spouse Mary Freeman ​ (m. 1803)​ Alma mater College of William & Mary University of Pennsylvania Profession Physician Signature

**William Wyatt Bibb** (October 2, 1781 – July 10, 1820) was a [United States senator](/source/United_States_Senate) from [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)), the first governor of the [Alabama Territory](/source/Alabama_Territory), and the [first governor of the U.S. state of Alabama](/source/List_of_governors_of_Alabama). Bibb was a member of the [Democratic-Republican Party](/source/Democratic-Republican_Party) and served as governor of Alabama until his death on July 10, 1820, from a horse riding accident. He is the first of only three people in U.S. history to be elected a U.S. Senator from one state and the governor of another. [Bibb County, Alabama](/source/Bibb_County%2C_Alabama), and [Bibb County, Georgia](/source/Bibb_County%2C_Georgia), are named for him.

## Early life

William Wyatt Bibb was born on October 2, 1781, in [Amelia County](/source/Amelia_County%2C_Virginia), [Virginia](/source/Virginia), to Captain William Bibb, an officer in the [Continental Army](/source/Continental_Army) during the [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) (1775–1783) and a member of the state legislature, the [General Assembly](/source/Virginia_General_Assembly) of the newly independent Commonwealth of Virginia, and his wife, Sally (Wyatt) Bibb.[1]

Around 1784, Bibb Sr. moved with his family south to [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)) with a large number of Virginians who accompanied [General George Mathews](/source/George_Mathews_(Georgia)), hero of the [Battle of Brandywine](/source/Battle_of_Brandywine) in [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania). Most of the general's followers were also veterans and, with their families, took advantage of the new nation's offer of land bounties in lieu of pay for former soldiers. They established tobacco farms on the rich lands around the confluence of the [Broad](/source/Broad_River_(Georgia)) and [Savannah Rivers](/source/Savannah_River) in newly developing northeastern Georgia. The Bibbs are recorded as one of the earliest pioneer families in [Elbert County](/source/Elbert_County%2C_Georgia).[1]

Bibb was probably privately educated before he went to the [College of William & Mary](/source/College_of_William_%26_Mary) in [Williamsburg, Virginia](/source/Williamsburg%2C_Virginia), and the [University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine](/source/Perelman_School_of_Medicine_at_the_University_of_Pennsylvania) in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia). He was awarded a [Doctor of Medicine](/source/Doctor_of_Medicine) (M.D.) degree in 1801, returned to Georgia, and began to practice medicine in [Petersburg](/source/Petersburg%2C_Georgia).[2] In 1803, he married Mary Freeman.

## Early political career

Bibb was elected to the [Georgia House of Representatives](/source/Georgia_House_of_Representatives) in 1802 as a member at the age of 21. He took office in 1803 and served one two-year term.[3] In 1806 he was elected as a [Democratic-Republican](/source/Democratic-Republican_Party) to the [Ninth session](/source/9th_United_States_Congress) of the [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress) to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of [Thomas Spalding](/source/Thomas_Spalding), and was re-elected four times, serving until November 6, 1813.[4]

As was then the practice, he was elected at that time by the [state legislature](/source/Georgia_General_Assembly) to the [US Senate](/source/US_Senate) to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of [William H. Crawford](/source/William_H._Crawford), a nationally known presidential candidate. Bibb served until November 9, 1816.[5]

As a Senator in 1816, Bibb opposed the first attempt to abolish the Electoral College and elect the president by popular vote, speaking very forthrightly about the advantages slave states derived from the Electoral College. He stated on the Senate floor that with Popular Vote, these states "would lose the privilege the Constitution now allows them, of votes upon three-fifths of their population other than freemen. It would be deeply injurious to them."[6]

## Governor of Alabama

US President [James Monroe](/source/James_Monroe) appointed Bibb as the first governor of the newly formed [Alabama Territory](/source/Alabama_Territory) (from the larger previous [Mississippi Territory](/source/Mississippi_Territory)) in 1817. Alabama became the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.

Bibb's primary duties were establishing the state government.[7] [Huntsville](/source/Huntsville%2C_Alabama) was designated to be the site of the constitutional convention. Bibb was elected governor by defeating [Marmaduke Williams](/source/Marmaduke_Williams) and receiving 8,342 votes to Williams's 7,140 votes.[8] The capital was chosen to be the newly created town of [Cahawba](/source/Cahawba%2C_Alabama) in 1820 on the Alabama frontier but moved to [Tuscaloosa](/source/Tuscaloosa%2C_Alabama) in 1826 and finally to the central city of [Montgomery](/source/Montgomery%2C_Alabama) in 1846.

During Bibb's tenure, the Alabama state [militia](/source/Militia) was established, and the beginnings of the state judicial system, along with the organization of and appointments to the [Supreme Court of Alabama](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Alabama), were accomplished.

[Henry Hitchcock](/source/Henry_Hitchcock) was elected the first [Attorney General of Alabama](/source/Attorney_General_of_Alabama) and initially held the position of [Secretary of State of Alabama](/source/Secretary_of_State_of_Alabama) as well. However, shortly afterward, [Thomas A. Rodgers](/source/Thomas_A._Rodgers) was elected as the second [Secretary of State of Alabama](/source/Secretary_of_State_of_Alabama). The first session of the [Alabama state legislature](/source/Alabama_state_legislature) was held from October 25, 1819, to December 17, 1819. [William R. King](/source/William_R._King) and [John W. Walker](/source/John_Williams_Walker) were chosen as the state's first [US Senators](/source/US_Senators).

To date, Bibb is one of only three individuals to have served as governor of a state and as a US senator from a different state.[9] The others are [Sam Houston](/source/Sam_Houston), who (among his other political offices) served as the sixth [Governor of Tennessee](/source/Governor_of_Tennessee) and a [US Senator from Texas](/source/List_of_United_States_senators_from_Texas) (a state, like Alabama, which also had not existed when he held his governorship), and [Mitt Romney](/source/Mitt_Romney), who served as the seventieth [Governor of Massachusetts](/source/Governor_of_Massachusetts) and a [US Senator from Utah](/source/List_of_United_States_senators_from_Utah).[9]

## Death

On July 10, 1820, Bibb was thrown from his horse during a violent thunderstorm,[10] and died from internal injuries. He was 38 years old. His brother, [Thomas Bibb](/source/Thomas_Bibb), was president of the State Senate and filled out his term as governor.

William Bibb is buried in [Coosada, Alabama](/source/Coosada%2C_Alabama). His likeness appears on the [Alabama Centennial half dollar](/source/Alabama_Centennial_half_dollar) minted in 1921.

## See also

- [Thomas Bibb](/source/Thomas_Bibb) - William's brother

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Auburn_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Auburn_1-1) Daniel S. Dupre (University of North Carolina - Charlotte) (January 7, 2008). ["William Wyatt Bibb (1819-20)"](http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1416). Encyclopedia of Alabama - Auburn University. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["William Wyatt Bibb"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070708121131/http://www.archives.alabama.gov/govs_list/g_bibbwm.html). Alabama Department ofArchives & History. Archived from [the original](http://www.archives.alabama.gov/govs_list/g_bibbwm.html) on July 8, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Georgia Official and Statistical Register 1975-1976"](https://web.archive.org/web/20201205022121/http://statregister.galileo.usg.edu/statregister/view?docId=statregister/stat1975/stat1975-1486.xml). State of Georgia. p. 1484. Archived from [the original](http://statregister.galileo.usg.edu/statregister/view?docId=statregister/stat1975/stat1975-1486.xml) on December 5, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Georgia Official and Statistical Register 1975-1976"](http://statregister.galileo.usg.edu/statregister/view?docId=statregister/stat1975/stat1975-0553.xml). State of Georgia. p. 550. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Georgia Official and Statistical Register 1975-1976"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180527023119/http://statregister.galileo.usg.edu/statregister/view;jsessionid=83D04334399439800FE72B2E07448B48?docId=statregister%2Fstat1975%2Fstat1975-0552.xml&query=&brand=default). State of Georgia. p. 549. Archived from [the original](http://statregister.galileo.usg.edu/statregister/view;jsessionid=83D04334399439800FE72B2E07448B48?docId=statregister/stat1975/stat1975-0552.xml&query=&brand=default) on May 27, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["How Has the Electoral College Survived for This Long?" by Alexander Keyssar, New York Times, August 3, 2020](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/opinion/electoral-college-racism-white-supremacy.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Abernethy, Thomas Perkins (1990). *The Formative Period in Alabama, 1815-1828*. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. p. 5. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780817352134](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780817352134).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Dupre, Daniel S.; Webb, Samuel L.; Armbrester, Margaret E. (2014). *Alabama Governors : A Political History of the State*. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. p. 16. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780817318437](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780817318437).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_9-1) ["Mitt Romney Prepares for Unusual US Senate Bid | Smart Politics"](http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/2017/09/14/mitt-romney-prepares-for-unusual-us-senate-bid/). *editions.lib.umn.edu*. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NorthenGraves1910_10-0)** William J. Northen; John Temple Graves (1910). [*Men of Mark in Georgia: A Complete and Elaborate History of the State from Its Settlement to the Present Time, Chiefly Told in Biographies and Autobiographies of the Most Eminent Men of Each Period of Georgia's Progress and Development*](https://archive.org/details/menmarkingeorgi00nortgoog). A. B. Caldwell. pp. [145](https://archive.org/details/menmarkingeorgi00nortgoog/page/n200)–.

## External links

- [William Wyatt Bibb's *An inquiry into the modus operandi of medicines upon the human body* (Philadelphia, 1801).](https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-2543051R-bk)

- [Alabama Department of Archives and History](http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_bibbwm.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20111208134236/http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_bibbwm.html) 2011-12-08 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

- United States Congress. ["William W. Bibb (id: B000434)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000434). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*.

- [Political Graveyard](http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/beucher-biddis.html#R9M0IPFDW)

- [Image of "Voucher for the salary to be paid to Governor William Wyatt Bibb"](http://www.alabama200.org/educators/primary-sources/cotton-state/alabama-territorial-and-early-statehood/detail/william-wyatt-bibb-first-term-voucher) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210803030117/http://www.alabama200.org/educators/primary-sources/cotton-state/alabama-territorial-and-early-statehood/detail/william-wyatt-bibb-first-term-voucher) 2021-08-03 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

- [Library of Congress - Letter from "William Wyatt Bibb to Andrew Jackson, October 1, 1818"](https://www.loc.gov/resource/maj.01050_0275_0277/?st=gallery)

U.S. House of Representatives Preceded by Thomas Spalding Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large congressional district January 26, 1807 – November 6, 1813 Succeeded by Alfred Cuthbert U.S. Senate Preceded by William B. Bulloch U.S. senator (Class 2) from Georgia November 6, 1813 – November 9, 1816 Served alongside: Charles Tait Succeeded by George Troup Political offices Preceded by (none) Territorial Governor of Alabama 1817–1819 Succeeded by Governor of Alabama Preceded by Position established Governor of Alabama 1819–1820 Succeeded by Thomas Bibb

v t e United States senators from Georgia Class 2 Few Jackson Walton Tattnall Baldwin Jones Crawford Bulloch Bibb Troup Forsyth Walker Ware Cobb Prince Troup King Lumpkin Berrien Charlton Toombs H. Miller Norwood B. Hill Barrow A. Colquitt Walsh Bacon West Hardwick Harris Cohen Russell Gambrell Nunn Cleland Chambliss Perdue Ossoff Class 3 Gunn Jackson Milledge Tait Elliott Berrien Forsyth Cuthbert W. Colquitt Johnson Dawson Iverson J. Hill Gordon Brown Gordon Clay Terrell Smith Watson Felton George Talmadge Mattingly Fowler Coverdell Z. Miller Isakson Loeffler Warnock

v t e Governors and lieutenant governors of Alabama Governors W. Bibb T. Bibb Pickens Murphy G. Moore S. Moore Gayle Clay McVay Bagby Fitzpatrick Martin Chapman Collier Winston A. Moore Shorter Watts Parsons Patton Swayne Smith Lindsay Lewis Houston Cobb E. A. O'Neal Seay T. Jones Oates Johnston Samford Jelks Comer E. O'Neal Henderson Kilby Brandon Graves Miller Graves Dixon Sparks Folsom Sr. Persons Folsom Sr. Patterson G. Wallace L. Wallace Brewer G. Wallace James G. Wallace Hunt Folsom Jr. James Siegelman Riley Bentley Ivey Lieutenant governors Applegate Moren McKinstry Ligon Cunningham Gray Seed Kilby Miller McDowell Davis Merrill Knight Carmichael Ellis Inzer Allen Hardwick Boutwell Allen Brewer Beasley McMillan B. Baxley Folsom Jr. Siegelman Windom L. Baxley Folsom Jr. Ivey Ainsworth

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States People US Congress Other Open Library SNAC Yale LUX

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