William Edward Purcell was a United States Senator from North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

. Born in Flemington, New Jersey

Flemington, New Jersey

Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....

, he attended the common schools, studied law, and was admitted to the bar

Bar (law)

Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 of New Jersey in 1880, commencing practice in Flemington. He moved to Wahpeton

Wahpeton, North Dakota

The first European explorer in the area was Jonathan Carver in 1767. He explored and mapped the Northwest at the request of Major Robert Rogers, commander of Fort Michilimackinac, the British fort at Mackinaw City, Michigan, which protected the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...

, Dakota Territory

Dakota Territory

The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...

, in 1881 and continued the practice of law; in 1888 he was appointed by President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...

 as United States attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 for the Territory of Dakota. He resigned in 1889, having been elected a member of the constitutional convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

 for the new State of North Dakota. From 1889 to 1891 he was district attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

 of Richland County, North Dakota

Richland County, North Dakota

-History:Richland County wa formed in 1873. It was named for Morgan T. Rich, an early settler in the area.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 17,998 people, 6,885 households, and 4,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There...

 and was a member of the North Dakota Senate

North Dakota Senate

The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives.North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as determined by the decennial census...

 from 1907 to 1909.

Purcell was appointed as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Martin N. Johnson

Martin N. Johnson

Martin Nelson Johnson was a North Dakota politician who served as a United States Representative and Senator from North Dakota.-Biography:...

 and the resignation of Fountain L. Thompson

Fountain L. Thompson

Fountain Land Thompson was a North Dakota politician who served as a United States Senator from his state.-Biography:...

, and served from February 1, 1910, to February 1, 1911, when a successor was elected and qualified; he was an unsuccessful candidate for election, and continued the practice of law until his death. In 1917, he was appointed chairman of the Food Conservation Commission. Johnson died in 1928, and interment was in Calvary Cemetery.