William Burton (governor)
| William Burton | |
|---|---|
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| 39th Governor of Delaware | |
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In office January 18, 1859 – January 20, 1863 |
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| Preceded by | Peter F. Causey |
| Succeeded by | William Cannon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 16, 1789 Sussex County, Delaware |
| Died | August 5, 1866 (aged 76) Milford, Delaware |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Eliza Sorden Ann C. Hill |
| Residence | Milford, Delaware |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Profession | physician |
William Burton (October 16, 1789 – August 5, 1866) was an American physician and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as Governor of Delaware.
Burton was probably born in Indian River Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware. He first married Eliza Sorden . After Eliza's death in 1829, he married Ann C. Hill and had one child, Rhoda. They lived in the Parson Thorne Mansion at 501 NW Front Street in Milford, and were members of Christ Episcopal Church. He also lived at the "Towers," now a contributing property in the North Milford Historic District.
After receiving his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Burton had a practice in Lewes, Delaware for a time, and then permanently in Milford. He was Brigadier-General of the Sussex County militia in 1827, and was elected as a Whig to the office of Sheriff of Kent County, and served from 1830 until 1834. With the disintegration of the Whig Party over the issue of slavery, Burton moved to the more “states rights” Democratic Party in 1848. He was his party’s candidate for Governor in 1854, but lost to his neighbor, Peter F. Causey, a former Democrat who had left the increasingly conservative party for the seemingly more progressive American Party.
Delaware experienced all the contention and bitterness of a border state in the Civil War and the events leading up to it, but because of its location and certain decisive military action, was spared much of the bloodshed of Kentucky and Missouri. Nevertheless, the divisions in communities and families, and their corresponding strong feelings were the same. A slave state with very few slaves or slaveholders, many in Delaware had an attitude they called “states rights,” which really meant, “Outsiders are not going to tell us what to do.” Given the close economic ties to Philadelphia, and the geographical separation from the Confederacy, there was little sentiment for actual secession. However, the opposition to the abolitionist and voting rights agenda of the Republican federal government were strong enough to create considerable contentiousness. These feeling were strongest in the two lower counties, which still had a majority of the population in 1860, and completely dominated the General Assembly, the real decision maker in the state.
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