Augustus E. Willson was born on October 13, 1846, in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of
Hiram Willson, Sr. and Ann Colvin Ennis.
In 1847 he was taken by the family to their new home in Covington and in 1852 to New Albany, Indiana, opposite Louisville. Following the death of his mother in 1856 and his father three years later, the boy went to live with his grandmother in Allegany County, New York.
He attended Alfred Academy and in 1865 entered Harvard College. After receiving the degree of A. B. in 1869, he studied for a short time in the Harvard Law School and in the office of Lothrop, Bishop & Lincoln in Boston.
In 1870 he entered the law office of John M. Harlan, in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was admitted to the bar.
He was a junior partner in Harlan's firm from 1874 to 1879, though his law practice was interrupted by a brief service (December 1875 - August 1876) as chief clerk of the United States Treasury Department. Willson's inherited Republicanism was intensified by association with Harlan and it became one of his fixed ambitions to build up the Republican party in Kentucky where, at that time, it was distinctly moribund. With this idea in mind he secured the Republican nomination for the Kentucky Senate in 1879. His defeat for this office was followed by a succession of defeats, 1884 - 1892, for the United States House of Representatives. Such chagrin as he may have felt over these failures was assuaged, at least partially, by his selection as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884, 1888, and 1892.
Following his unsuccessful campaign for Congress in the last-named year, he retired from politics until 1903, when he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for governor.
In 1904 he was again a delegate to the Republican National Convention and in 1907 he was elected governor of Kentucky by a small majority. During his entire term he was checkmated by a hostile Democratic legislature, with the result that his administration was barren of constructive acts. He aroused much criticism by pardoning two men convicted of the murder of Gov. William Goebel and by declaring martial law in certain sections of western Kentucky where "night-riders" were waging war against the tobacco companies and against planters who refused to join the "pool. " Partisan criticisms of his use of the militia alleged that martial law was enforced only in Democratic communities.
After his four years as governor, Willson did not again hold public office, although he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1908 and 1916. He died on August 24, 1931, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Augustus Everett Willson was a renowned politician, who served as the 36th Governor of Kentucky, and advocated for the sanctioning of temperance legislation, called for martial law in several western counties during the Black Patch War, and pardoned former Governor William S. Taylor and several others who were involved in the assassination of Governor William Goebel.
Augustus E. Willson was a member of the board of overseers of Harvard University, 1910 - 1918.
Augustus E. Willson was amiable in disposition and noted for his courtesy.
On July 23, 1877, Augustus E. Willson married Mary Elizabeth Ekin. They had a son, who died in infancy.
