Ambler, B. M.

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Volume 25 Issue 1 Article 2 November 1917 William P. Willey--An Appreciation B. M. Ambler Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/wvlr  Part of the Legal Biography Commons Recommended Citation B. M. Ambler, William P. Willey--An Appreciation, 25 W. Va. L. Rev. (1917). Available at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/wvlr/vol25/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the WVU College of Law at The Research Repository @ WVU. It has been accepted for inclusion in West Virginia Law Review by an authorized editor of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact ian.harmon@mail.wvu.edu. WEST VIRGINIALAW QUARTERLYAnd THE BARVOLUME XXV NOVEMBER, 1917 NUMBER 1WILLIAM P. WILLEY -AN APPRECIATIONBy B. N. AwB~szu'W HEREAS, The members of the State Bar Association nowattending this meeting, have greatly' missed the presenceof William P. Willey, our first Secretary and early President,whose loyal and efficient labors and loving care have, in manycapacities, contributed more than that of any other person to theupbuilding, development, and usefulness of this organization, andwe especially regret to learn that his absence is caused by ill health;we recognize and record our obligations to him for his work; andwe trust that we may in future assemblies enjoy his genial compan-ionship, his wise counsel and good example, therefore, be itRESoLVED, That the Secretary communicate to Mr. Willey thegreetings of this Association and the sentiments here expressed.The foregoing resolution of The West Virginia Bar Associationadopted on July 5, 1917, at the White Sulphur Springs meetingand prompted by the retirement of Professor Willey at his ownrequest from the editorship of TE BAR after twenty-four yearsof most useful, distinguished, and self-sacrificing service in thatcapacity, will find most cordial echo in the hearts of hundreds ofmembers of the legal profession both within and without themembership of the Bar Association.Professor Willey was graduated from Dickinson College in 1862and was admitted to the bar of Monongalia County in 1864. In'Of the Parkersburg pU.1Ambler: William P. Willey--An AppreciationPublished by The Research Repository @ WVU, 1917WEST VIRGINIA LAW QUARTEBLY1883 he resigned his position as editor of The Wheeling Register,which he had held since 1878, to become Professor of EquityJurisprudence and History in West Virginia University. In 1892,with the growth of the law school, he gave up his duties in teach-ing history and thereafter devoted his entire time to instructionin law until his retirement from active teaching service in 1912when he was made Professor of Law, Emeritus, at the end oftwenty-nine years of devoted service to the University and theState. During a very large part of this time he was also Secretaryof the University faculty and of the Board of Regents. Duringhis teaching days, Professor Willey also published a book on Pro-cedure at Law and Equity.But Professor Willey was more than a University teacher andadministrative officer. He made the whole state his campus. Hisservices to the state outside of his class room are no less dis-tinguished than his services to the'University. He was one of thefifty-seven members of the legal profession who founded The WestVirginia Bar Association at a meeting held in Grafton on July 8,1886, and was elected secretary of the Association at that meeting.In every sense he may be called a founder of The West VirginiaBar Association. He has also been its preserver. He performedefficiently the arduous duties of secretary of the Association dur-ing its formative period from 1886 to 1890 and was elected presi-dent of the Association in 1891. He was a member of the Execu-tive Council from 1892 to 1917, and during a large part of thistime was its chairman. In this capacity he was a most efficientoffi,_er and servant of the Association. He was always in attendanceat the meetings of the Council whether others could be there ornot. But it was as the founder of THE BAR in 1894 and its editoruntil 1917 that he made his influence most felt. The twenty-fourbound volumes of THE BAR, over two hundred and fifty numbers,represent an untold labor of love, done practically without com-pensation for the good of the legal profession of West Virginia.The service thus rendered especially in the early years of theAssociation's existence cannot be valued. His legal scholarship,kindly character, good-fellowship, fine example and untiring worktided the Association over many a shoal, and did more than canever be measured in making it a real force in the affairs of thestate.During the twenty-nine years from 1883 to 1912, when ProfessorWilley was a professor of law in West Virginia University, he was2West Virginia Law Review, Vol. 25, Iss. 1 [1917], Art. 2https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/wvlr/vol25/iss1/2WILLIAM P. WILLEYa moulding force for untold good on the minds and characters ofseveral hundred young men who studied under his guidance;many of them are now leaders of the profession. His classes arerepresented at nearly every West Virginia county-seat, and manyof his students have gone far beyond the bounds of the State. Tothem he gave inspiration for high ideals in scholarship and inprofessional efficiency and conduct. As a teacher of law he broughtinto touch with the University and with each other a very largenumber of lawyers of the state who otherwise would have beenstrangers. In his triple capacity as editor of THE BAR, as leaderin the work of the Bar Association, and as professor of law in theUniversity, he worthily followed his illustrious father as a makerfor good in the history of the state. Simple in his tastes, kindand cordial in his manner, sincere and upright in character, stead-fast in duty, and untiring in his labors, Professor Willey has beena worthy model as man, lawyer and educator. He may grow old inyears, but never in the affection of those who sat under his in-struction and of his brothers in professional life and in Universitywork. He has received many honors and all of them have beendeserved. His multitude of friends wish him health and happinessin the years that are before him.3Ambler: William P. Willey--An AppreciationPublished by The Research Repository @ WVU, 1917

William P. Willey--An Appreciation

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William P. Willey--An Appreciation

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