William Theophilus Dortch Jr.
Born: August 23, 1824
Birthplace: Nash County, North Carolina
Father: William Theophilus Dortch Sr. 1786 – 1830
Mother: Druscilla Whitefield Bunn 1784 – 1878
1st Wife: Mary Elizabeth Pittman 1827 – 1870
(Buried: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina)
2nd Wife: Harriet Williams 1844 – 1928
(Buried: Grace Episcopal Church, Berryville, Virginia)
Children:
Private Harrod Pittman Dortch 1846 – 1915
(Buried: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina)
Corinne R. Dortch 1848 – 1926
(Buried: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina)
Isaac Foote Dortch 1849 – 1910
(Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh, North Carolina)
Lewis Jackson Dortch 1855 – 1856
(Buried: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina)
Annie Laurie Dortch Hill 1860 – 1931
(Buried: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina)
William Theophilus Dortch III 1862 – 1918
(Buried: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina)
Fitzhugh Lee Dortch 1866 – 1951
(Buried: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina)
Helen Williams Dortch 1877 – 1922
(Buried: Grace Episcopal Church, Berryville, Virginia)
Selene Wilmer Dortch 1883 – 1962
(Buried: Grace Episcopal Church, Berryville, Virginia)
Political Party: Democratic Party
Occupation before War:
1845 – 1848: Attorney in Nashville, North Carolina
1848 – 1861: Attorney in Goldsboro, North Carolina
1852 – 1861: Member of North Carolina House of Commons
1860 – 1861: Speaker of North Carolina House of Commons
Civil War Career:
1862 – 1865: Confederate States Senator from North Carolina
1862 – 1865: Member of Senate Accounts Committee
1862 – 1865: Member of Senate Commerce Committee
1862 – 1864: Member of Senate Naval Affairs Committee
1863 – 1865: Senate Chairman of Engrossment and Enrollment Committee
Friend of Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin
Acted as intermediary between Secretary Benjamin and Gov. Vance
Supporter of all major programs designed to strengthen Confederacy
Wished to pay better prices for impressed produce
Supporter to guarantee the habeas corpus when military status in question.
Supporter of making inflation curbs a little less arbitrary
His suggestions were made to keep production and state government in satisfactory operation.
North Carolina’s strongest opponent of peace negotiations
Occupation after War:
Emerged from the war almost bankrupt
His law library was lost and much of his property destroyed when Sherman’s army occupied Goldsboro.
Attorney in Goldsboro, North Carolina
1879 – 1885: North Carolina State Senator
1879: President of North Carolina State Senate
Director of North Carolina State Owned Railroad
Chairman of Commission to revised the North Carolina Code
1889: Suffered from the effects of a stroke
Died: November 21, 1889
Place of Death: Goldsboro, North Carolina
Age at time of Death: 65 years old
Burial Place: Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, North Carolina
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