Vilas, William Freeman 1840-1908
Lawyer, Politician, Senator, Cabinet Officer and Philanthropist
William F. Vilas
Studio portrait of William Freeman Vilas. View the original source document: WHI 10712
b. Chelsea, Vermont, 1840
d. Madison, Wisconsin, August, 1908
William Freeman Vilas was a lawyer, politician, U.S. Senator, cabinet officer and philanthropist. He was the son of Levi B. Vilas.
Education
He moved with his parents to Wisconsin in 1851, and settled in Madison. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with in 1858, and the Albany, N.Y., Law School in 1860. He returned to Wisconsin, and set up a law practice in Madison. During the Civil War, Vilas was commissioned captain of Company A, 23rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in August 1862. He participated in the Vicksburg campaign, and resigned with the rank of lieutenant colonel in July 1863.
Political Career
He returned to Madison and resumed his law practice. He also served as professor of law at the University of Wisconsin from 1868 to 1885. A "Doctrinaire Democrat," Vilas had been active in politics for several years. He was especially interested in tariff reform and the sound money issue. He presided at the national Democratic convention of 1884, and served in the cabinet of President Grover Cleveland, first as Postmaster General from 1885 to 1888 and from 1888 to 1889 as Secretary of the Interior.
Later Life
In 1891, Vilas was chosen U.S. Senator by the Wisconsin legislature. He served one term from March 1891 to March 1897. Vilas broke with his party in 1896 over the issue of free Silver, joined the Gold Democrats. He was not a candidate for re-nomination to the Senate. After 1897, he devoted very little time to politics, and instead turned his interest to his law practice, his investments in pine lands and paper manufacturing. Vilas was a regent of the University of Wisconsin from 1881 to 1885, and again from 1898 to 1905. At his death, he bequeathed a major part of his fortune to the university.
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H.S. Merrill, W. F. Vilas (Madison, 1954); Biog. Dir. Amer. Gong. (1928); Proc. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 1909 (1910); Milwaukee Journal, Aug. 27, 1908; W. F. Vilas Papers.