Kellian Van Rensalear Whaley | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 3rd district |
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In office December 7, 1863 – March 4, 1867 |
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Preceded by | District created |
Succeeded by | Daniel Polsley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 12th district |
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In office March 4, 1861 – March 4, 1863 |
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Preceded by | Henry A. Edmundson |
Succeeded by | District eliminated |
Personal details | |
Born |
Utica, New York, US |
May 6, 1821
Died | May 20, 1876 Point Pleasant, West Virginia, US |
(aged 55)
Political party |
Unionist Unconditional Unionist Republican |
Profession | Politician, Lumberman |
Kellian Van Rensalear Whaley (May 6, 1821 – May 20, 1876) was a nineteenth-century congressman from Virginia and West Virginia and major of the 9th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.
Whaley was born in Utica, New York on May 6, 1821. He worked in Point Pleasant, Virginia (now West Virginia) in the lumber business until the Civil War. Whaley was elected a Unionist to the United States House of Representatives in 1860, representing a Virginia district, serving one term from 1861 to 1863. He lost his seat due to Virginia's secession from the Union.
During the Civil War, Whaley became a recruiter for the Union Army and was major of the 9th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was captured by Confederate forces under the command of General Albert Gallatin Jenkins on November 10, 1861 when the town of Guyandotte, West Virginia was overrun by Confederate troops. During the march from Guyandotte up the Guyandotte River Major Whaley escaped his captors at Chapmanville, West Virginia and made his way to safety by traveling up Big Harts Creek in Lincoln and Logan counties to Queens Ridge in Wayne County, West Virginia.