William Joseph Sears was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

Born in Smithville, Georgia

Smithville, Georgia

Smithville is a city in Lee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 774 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Smithville is located at ....

, Sears moved with his parents to Ellaville, Georgia

Ellaville, Georgia

Ellaville is a city in Schley County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,609 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Schley County.Ellaville is part of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, and thence to Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County...

, in January 1881.
He attended the public schools.
He was graduated from Florida State College at Lake City in 1895 and from Mercer University

Mercer University

Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...

, Macon, Georgia

Macon, Georgia

Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...

, in 1896.
He studied law.
He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1905 and commenced practice in Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County...

.
He served as mayor of Kissimmee 1907-1911.
Superintendent of public instruction of Osceola County 1905-1915.

Sears was elected 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 Sixty-fourth

64th United States Congress

The Sixty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth...

 and to the six succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1915-March 3, 1929).
He served as chairman of the Committee on Education (Sixty-fifth

65th United States Congress

The Sixty-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth...

 Congress).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1928.
He resumed the practice of his legal profession at Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County...

.
He moved to Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

, and continued the practice of law.

Sears was elected to the Seventy-third

73rd United States Congress

The Seventy-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1935, during the first two years...

 and Seventy-fourth

74th United States Congress

-House:Also 2 Delegates, 3 Resident Commissioners-Senate:*President of the Senate: John N. Garner *President pro tempore: Key Pittman -Majority leadership:*Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson...

 Congresses (March 4, 1933-January 3, 1937).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1936.
He served as associate member of the Board of Veterans' Appeals of the Veterans' Administration in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, from 1937 until his retirement in October 1942.
He died in Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee, Florida

Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County...

, March 30, 1944.
He was interred in Rose Hill Cemetery.