Background
William Hiram Brawley was born on May 13, 1841 in Chester, South Carolina and was a son of Hiram Brawley and Harriet Foote.
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William Hiram Brawley was born on May 13, 1841 in Chester, South Carolina and was a son of Hiram Brawley and Harriet Foote.
William Brawley received his primary education from the preparatory schools of his native town. After finishing school he attended South Carolina College and graduated in 1860.
William Brawley became a Confederate soldier before he was twenty years of age, was with the 6th South Carolina Volunteers in the attack on Fort Sumter, fought with his regiment in the battles in Virginia, and was wounded at the battle of Seven Pines, May 31, 1862. This wound necessitated the amputation of his left arm.
After a short time spent in managing his father's plantation in April 1864, he successfully ran the blockade to England, where he completed his studies in law and literature. He returned home in November 1865, was admitted to the bar in 1866, elected solicitor of the sixth circuit in 1868, and in 1874 resigned that office to move to Charleston, where he practised law in association with Hon. W. D. Porter, and later with Hon. Joseph Barnwell.
He was elected to the state legislature in 1882 and served continuously till 1890. In this year he was elected to the Fifty-first Congress where he served till February 1894 when he was appointed by President Cleveland district judge for South Carolina.
He died in Charleston, November 15, 1916 and was interred in Magnolia Cemetery.
Brawley's early and continued success in law practice was due to his high power of clearly stating and analyzing current issues as well as legal principles. His personal influence and his position as chairman of the judiciary committee made him the acknowledged leader in the South Carolina legislature. Added to this was oratorical ability marked even in a state much given to oratory. His appeal to the legislature in 1886 in behalf of the sufferers from the Charleston earthquake of that year was one of the bursts of impassioned eloquence heard only from gifted speakers on rare occasions. His address on the causes of the Civil War, delivered at Chester, South Carolina, May 10, 1905, on the occasion of the laying of the cornerstone of a monument to the Confederate dead, awakened interest in the whole country and formed the subject of an editorial in Harper's Weekly. Probably his greatest service as a speaker was in opposition to the Free Silver movement. His speech against the Bland Silver Bill was one of three opposition speeches from Southern members, and he was the only Southern member to vote against the bill. He spoke with equal ability on the bill to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, and it was doubtless in recognition of this service that President Cleveland offered him without solicitation the post of federal judge.
Brawley was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses, and served from March 4, 1891, until February 12, 1894.
Brawley was severely wounded during the battle of Seven Pines in 1862, so this wound caused the amputation of his left arm. But didn't prevent him from being polished in manners, widely read, courteous but forceful in address, striking in appearance, and courageously honest in his convictions. He could win to his support even those who differed from his financial views.
Brawley was married twice: in 1868 to Marion E. Porter, daughter of his law partner, and July 11, 1907, to Mildred Frost.
