William F. Vilas

William F. Vilas
United States Senator from Wisconsin
In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1897
Preceded by	John Coit Spooner
Succeeded by	John Coit Spooner
17th United States Secretary of the Interior
In office January 16, 1888 – March 6, 1889
President	Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Lucius Lamar
Succeeded by	John Willock Noble
33rd United States Postmaster General
In office March 6, 1885 – January 6, 1888
President	Grover Cleveland
Preceded by	Frank Hatton
Succeeded by	Donald M. Dickinson
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 1st district
In office January 5, 1885 – March 9, 1885
Preceded by	Dexter Curtis
Succeeded by	Michael J. Cantwell
Personal details
Born	William Freeman Vilas (1840-07-09)July 9, 1840 Chelsea, Vermont, U.S.
Died	August 27, 1908(1908-08-27) (aged 68) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic National Democratic (1896)
Spouse	Anna M. Fox ​ (m. 1866⁠–⁠1908)​
Children	Cornelia Vilas (b. 1867; died 1893) Henry Vilas (b. 1872; died 1899) Mary Esther (Hanks) (b. 1873; died 1959)
Parent	Levi Baker Vilas (father)
Education	University of Wisconsin, Madison (BA) Albany Law School (LLB)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Volunteers Union Army
Years of service	1862–1863
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel, USV
Unit	23rd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War Vicksburg campaign

William Freeman Vilas (July 9, 1840 – August 27, 1908) was an American lawyer, politician, and United States Senator. In the U.S. Senate, he represented the state of Wisconsin for one term, from 1891 to 1897.^[1] As a prominent Bourbon Democrat, he was also a member of the cabinet of U.S. President Grover Cleveland, serving as the 33rd Postmaster General and the 17th Secretary of the Interior.

He was a major donor to the University of Wisconsin, leaving $30,000,000 to the school at his death in 1908. He is the namesake of Vilas Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, as well as Vilas County, Wisconsin, and the towns of Vilas, Colorado, and Vilas, South Dakota.^[2]

Vilas was born in Chelsea, Vermont, the son of Esther Greene (Smilie) and Levi Baker Vilas, a politician. His grandfather was Nathan Smilie, a Democratic politician who ran for Governor of Vermont in 1839.^[3] Vilas moved to Madison, Wisconsin with his family in 1851. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1858, and from the Albany Law School in 1860.

He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War and was a captain in the 23rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment and later served as the lieutenant colonel of that regiment.^[4]

Following the war, Vilas was a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a regent of the University from 1880 to 1885 and 1898 to 1905. Vilas served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1885, until he was appointed the Postmaster General between 1885 and 1888, and as Secretary of the Interior from 1888 to 1889, both under President Grover Cleveland.^[4]

After leaving the cabinet, he led Wisconsin German Americans in the protest against the Bennett Law of 1889 which required schools to only use the English language. From 1891 until 1897, he was a member of the United States Senate, in which, during President Cleveland's second term, he was recognized as the chief defender of the Administration, and he was especially active in securing the repeal of the silver purchase clause of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.^[5] He was unsuccessful in an 1896 reelection bid, having been defeated by Senator John Coit Spooner, who held the seat before him and whom Vilas had defeated for reelection in 1890.

Vilas was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1896, but withdrew after the adoption of the free-silver plank. He then became one of the chief organizers of the National Democratic Party, attended the convention at Indianapolis, and was chairman of its committee on resolutions.^[5] He was also the main drafter of the National Democratic Party's platform. Vilas, a favorite of the delegates, refused to run as the party's sacrificial lamb.

Back in Wisconsin, he was from 1897 to 1903 a member of the commission that had charge of the erection of the State Historical Library at Madison, and from 1906 to 1908 of the commission for the construction of the new state capitol.^[5]

He married Anna M. Fox, who had been born in the territory of Wisconsin. Their younger son died in early childhood and their elder daughter, Nellie, died in 1893. The surviving children were Henry and Mary Esther.^[6]

He is interred at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wisconsin.^[7]

Vilas County, Wisconsin, is named for William F. Vilas.^[8] Senator Vilas is also the namesake of the towns of Vilas, Colorado^[9] and Vilas, South Dakota.^[10] His childhood home in Madison is located in what is now the Langdon Street Historic District. His family donated land to the city of Madison to build a public park, which later became a part of the Henry Vilas Zoo.

• United States Congress. "William F. Vilas (id: V000099)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on February 15, 2008

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• Works by or about William F. Vilas at the Internet Archive