Background
William Creighton was born on October 29, 1778, in Berkeley County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of Robert and Margaret Creighton.
William Creighton was born on October 29, 1778, in Berkeley County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of Robert and Margaret Creighton.
At seventeen Creighton was graduated from Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. He studied law for two years in Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), and emigrated to Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1799. Shortly afterward he was admitted to the bar.
When statehood was achieved Creighton’s abilities were recognized by his appointment on March 5, 1803 as the first secretary of state. He continued to hold this office by repeated appointment until his resignation in December 1808. Shortly after his resignation he acted as one of the attorneys in defense of two Ohio judges who were impeached for having declared an act of the legislature void because unconstitutional. The acquittal of the two judges marks the establishment in Ohio of the practise of judicial review. This trial and the subsequent ousting of the judges and other appointive officials through the “sweeping resolution” led to a schism in the Republican party in the state.
Later his friend Worthington obtained his appointment as United States district attorney, a position which he held during the years 1809, 1810, and a part of 1811.
In 1813 Creighton was elected to Congress to fill a vacancy, and in 1814 was elected to the subsequent Congress. His attention was then directed (1817) to his legal business and it was not until 1827 that he again appeared in Congress. He was elected in 1828 as an Adams man.
President Adams sought to recognize Creighton’s ability by appointing him federal district judge in August 1828, but his appointment was not confirmed by the Senate. He was sent back to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses, but, judging by the Annals of Congress and the Congressional Debates, he played no important role. He was identified with the Whig party and continued to serve its interests after his retirement to his legal practise in 1833.
Creighton was identified with the conservative wing of the Republican party and for a time was the leader of the opposition to Thomas Worthington and Edward Tiffin, particularly at the time when these men were seeking to control the state through the medium of a Tammany Society (1810 - 1811). In his late years, he became a member of the Whig Party.
Creighton married Elizabeth Meade Creighton on September 5, 1805. They had two daughters, Susan and Sarah.