Weldon B. Heyburn | |
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United States Senator from Idaho |
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In office March 4, 1903 – October 17, 1912 |
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Preceded by | Henry Heitfeld |
Succeeded by | Kirtland Perky |
Personal details | |
Born |
Weldon Brinton Heyburn May 23, 1852 Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania |
Died | October 17, 1912 Washington, D.C. |
(aged 60)
Resting place | Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery West Chester, Pennsylvania 39°54′23″N 75°35′39.1″W / 39.90639°N 75.594194°W |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Gheretein Yeatman (1854–1934) (m. 1903–1912, his death) |
Children | none |
Parents | John Brinton Heyburn (1826–1874) Sarah Gilpin Heyburn (1830–1912) |
Residence | Wallace, Idaho |
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
Profession | Attorney |
Weldon Brinton Heyburn (May 23, 1852 – October 17, 1912) was a United States Senator from Idaho from 1903 to 1912.
Born in southeastern Pennsylvania near Chadds Ford, southwest of Philadelphia, Heyburn's parents were Quakers of English descent. He attended the public schools there, the Maplewood Institute in Concordville, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His brother, William Heyburn (1861–1939), eventually moved west to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became a leading citizen and president of Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company.
Heyburn studied law under Edward A. Price and was admitted to the bar in 1876, when he commenced practice in Media, west of Philadelphia. With the mining excitement in Colorado, he moved west to Leadville, where he practiced law for several years. In 1883, Heyburn moved to the Silver Valley of northern Idaho and continued the practice of law in Wallace in Shoshone County. Heyburn was a member of the convention that framed the constitution of the state in 1889.
Heyburn was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election in 1898 to the 56th Congress, losing to Silver Republican Edgar Wilson. In January 1903, Heyburn was elected by the Idaho Legislature to the U.S. Senate, defeating Democrat James Hawley, 50 to 17. Boise attorney William Borah was the runner-up for the Republican nomination, 28 to 22, and won the other Senate seat four years later. Others in the race were former Governor and Senator George Shoup, and Judge D.W. Standrod; both dropped out and gave their support to Heyburn.