William H. Brawley

William Hiram Brawley (incorrectly reported in some works as William Huggins Brawley; May 13, 1841 – November 15, 1916) was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina and later a United States federal judge. He was the cousin of John James Hemphill and great-uncle of Robert Witherspoon Hemphill.

Born in Chester, South Carolina, Brawley attended the common schools, and graduated from South Carolina College at Columbia in 1860. He enlisted as a private in Company F, Sixth Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Confederate States Army, on April 11, 1861. He lost an arm in the Battle of Seven Pines and was retired from service in 1862. He managed his family plantation from 1862 to 1864, then traveled and studied in Europe in 1864 and 1865. He read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1866, commencing a private practice in Chester until 1868. Brawley was elected solicitor of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina in 1868 and served until his resignation in 1874. He moved to Charleston and continued in private practice until 1893.

Brawley was a Representative from Charleston, South Carolina House of Representatives from 1882 to 1890. He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses, and served from March 4, 1891, until February 12, 1894, when he resigned to accept a position on the bench.

Throughout his time as a federal judge, Brawley lived at 9 Legare Street, Charleston, South Carolina.

On December 20, 1893, Brawley was nominated by President Grover Cleveland to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by Charles H. Simonton. Brawley was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 18, 1894, and received his commission the same day. He retired on June 14, 1911.

He thereafter lived in retirement until his death in Charleston, South Carolina, November 15, 1916. He is interred in Magnolia Cemetery.