Biography

09/21/1828 - 06/03/1897

Judge William Bell Waddell (R5) Chester and Delaware Counties 1872-1873 

Early Life: 

Judge William Bell Waddell, born, September 21, 1828, city of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania;  Princeton College (now Princeton University), 1849; read law under Joseph Hemphill; major, 10th Regiment, Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, Civil War, 1862; attorney, 1852-1887; married, Mary Jane Worthington, 1855, two children; burgess, West Chester 1857; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, March 15, 1872-1873; elected, delegate, Republican National Convention, 1884; appointed, judge, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Chester County, 1887; elected, judge, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 1888-1897; served as, president judge, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 1888-1897; died, heart attack, June 3, 1897, West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania; interment, Oaklands Cemetery, West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Major, 10th Regiment, Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, Civil War, 1862; attorney, 1852-1887. 

Pennsylvania Politics: 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1864-1866; not a candidate for reelection, 1867. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 5th district, Chester and Delaware Counties, March 15, 1872-1873; committee assignments, Compare Bills, Federal Rations, Judiciary General, Judiciary Special and Retrenchment and Reform. 

Names of any service after Senate:

Unsuccessful candidacy, United States Congress, twice. 

Elected, delegate, Republican National Convention, 1884. 

Appointed, judge, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Chester County, 1887. 

Elected, judge, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 1888-1897, president judge, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 1888-1897.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members W". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1873). Smull, J.A., (Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 515, 517, 522-524.

The Lancaster Examiner (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) Saturday, June 5, 1897, Page 2

Judge William Bell Waddell (1828-1897) - Find a Grave Memorial