Wilkinson Call was an American lawyer and politician who represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1879 to 1897.
Background
Wilkinson Call, nephew of Territorial Governor of Florida Richard K. Call and cousin of Florida governor David S. Walker and United States. Senator from Arkansas James D. Walker, was born on January 9, 1834, in Logan County, Kentucky. He was the son of Doctor George W. Call and Lucinda Lee. His mother was a member of the prominent Lee family of Virginia.
Education
Call subsequently moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar and entered practice.
Career
Call served as adjutant general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Call was elected to represent Florida in the United States Senate as a Democrat on December 29, 1865, but was not permitted to enter office by the Republican majority there, like many other Confederate leaders. He was elected, again, as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1878, but this time was not prevented from taking the seat.
He was reelected to his seat in 1884 and 1890 and served from March 1879 to March 1897.
Along with Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Call became a leader of the Democratic Party"s populist agrarian faction, influenced by Florida"s agrarian movement of the 1890s. Call actively supported and campaigned for William Jennings Bryan when the latter ran for President of the United States in the 1896 election.
Florida Governor William Doctorate. Bloxham named John A. Henderson to serve until the state legislature selected a successor for Call. The United States. Senate, believing Bloxham had overstepped gubernatorial authority, refused to allow Henderson to take office, leaving the matter to the Florida legislature.
In the United States. Senate, Call served as chairman of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment during the 53rd Congress and also served on the Committee on Patents.
Upon retiring from the United States Senate, Call resided in Washington, District of Columbia, until his death on August 24, 1910. He was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Membership
He subsequently served as a member of the Democratic National Committee and again practiced law in Jacksonville.