Background
William Henry was born on April 8, 1822 on a plantation in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, of pioneering stock. His father, James Seevers, was a soldier in the War of 1812; his mother was Rebecca (Wilkins).
William Henry was born on April 8, 1822 on a plantation in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, of pioneering stock. His father, James Seevers, was a soldier in the War of 1812; his mother was Rebecca (Wilkins).
William Henry Seevers followed his parents, in June 1844, to Mahaska County, Iowa, where he continued the study of law he had begun in Virginia.
On March 28, 1846, Seevers was admitted to the bar and opened an office in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
It was not long before he entered politics. In 1848 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Mahaska County, and served two terms in that capacity. The Whigs nominated him for the office of state auditor in 1850, but he was defeated. Meanwhile, he had developed a reputation for being a capable attorney. In 1852 he was elected judge of the third judicial district of Iowa and occupied that office nearly four years, though he resigned before the end of his term to resume active law practice.
Seevers had several able partners at various times, among them his brother-in-law Micajah T. Williams, his cousin George W. Seevers, and Marcellus E. Cutts. His reputation attracted many clients with important cases commanding large fees. His first conspicuous public achievement was in the state legislature. As a representative in the seventh General Assembly, the first under the constitution of 1857, he served as chairman of the committee to which all bills were referred so that the statutes might be brought into conformity with the organic law. Again in 1876 he was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives.
Seevers was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Iowa supreme court caused by the resignation of the chief justice. For nearly thirteen years he was a member of that tribunal, in 1876, 1882, and 1887-1888 serving as chief justice. Indeed, he was so legalistic in his attitude that he lost popular favor, particularly by his decision that a constitutional amendment prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor had not been legally adopted (Koehler and Lange vs. Hill). The resolution adopted by the Eighteenth General Assembly had contained a meaningless phrase which was omitted in the enrolled amendment; the Nineteenth General Assembly had approved the amendment as enrolled and in that form it had been ratified by the people. In the opinion of the supreme court, written by Justice Seevers, the amendment was invalid because it had not passed two successive General Assemblies in the same form, though the meaning was identical. One of the five justices dissented.
Chiefly as a result of this decision, Seevers failed to be renominated by the Republicans and retired from the bench at the end of his term in December 1888. Thereafter, until a few weeks before his death, he was active in the legal profession, being engaged in a trial two days before he was stricken with paralysis.
Being the chairman of the commission of General Assembly, William Henry Seevers codified the statutes of Iowa, and in the result of his legislative competence The Code of the State of Iowa was published. During thirteen years he was a chief justice in the Iowa supreme court and became famous for his decision that a constitutional amendment prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor had not been legally adopted.
Seevers possessed the rare quality of judicial-mindedness and was a careful legalist.
Seevers married Caroline M. Lee, February 20, 1849, and made his home in Oskaloosa all the rest of his life. They had five children.
