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Biography
William Yates Gholson (December 25, 1807 – September 21, 1870) was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was an Ohio Supreme Court judge from 1859 to 1863.
William Yates Gholson was born at his father's plantation on Christmas Day in 1807 in Southampton County, Virginia. His father was Thomas Gholson, a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1808 to 1816.
Gholson graduated from Princeton University and its law school in 1825. He moved to Mississippi, where he practiced. He helped found the University of Mississippi and was an original member of its board of trustees. He had strong anti-slavery views, and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. He formed a law practice with James P. Holcombe and Salmon P. Chase. He was elected Judge of the Superior Court in that city in 1854.
In 1859, he was nominated by the State Republican Convention for the State Supreme Court, and defeated Democrat Henry C. Whitman. Due to a resignation immediately after the election, he was appointed to fill the term in November of that year. He resigned his seat late in 1863, and was replaced by Horace Wilder. He returned to Cincinnati, resumed law practice, and authored several books about legal topics.
Gholson died September 21, 1870, in Cincinnati. He was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery.
Gholson married Martha Anne Jane Taylor in Virginia, who had two children and died in 1831. He married Elvira Wright in 1839, who also had two children.