William G. Conley

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William G. Conley

18^th Governor of West Virginia
In office 1929 – 1933
Preceded by	Howard M. Gore
Succeeded by	Herman G. Kump

Born	January 8, 1866 Kingwood, WV
Died	October 21, 1940 Charleston, WV
Political party	Republican
Profession	Politician

William Gustavus Conley (born January 8, 1866 in Preston County, West Virginia; died October 21, 1940 in Charleston, West Virginia) was an American politician who served as governor of West Virginia as a Republican from 1929 to 1933.

He was born near Kingwood to Major William Conley and Mary Courtney Freeburn. He was a school teacher from 1886 to 1891. In 1893 he graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in law. Afterwards, he began a law practice in Parsons, West Virginia. While there he served as Tucker County prosecuting attorney, and later as the mayor of Parsons. He also founded and was the editor of the Parsons Advocate newspaper. He also served as mayor of Kingwood from 1906 to 1908.

In 1908, Governor William Dawson appointed Conley to the post of state Attorney General. He continued in that role under Governor William Glasscock. In 1911, he argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Commonwealth of Virginia v. State of West Virginia 220 U.S. 1 (1911) which involved Virginia's pre-Civil War debt and West Virginia's share of it. He was also involved in State of Maryland v. State of West Virginia 225 U.S. 1 (1912) which involved the border between Garrett County, Maryland and Preston County, West Virginia.

In 1912, Conley ran for Congress as a Republican but lost by 14 votes. Over the next 12 years he was a lawyer in Charleston. In 1924, he was appointed to the State Board of Education. He served there until his resignation on March 1, 1929. He was elected as governor of West Virginia in November 1928 and was inaugurated on March 4, 1929. His time as governor was marked by the Great Depression. His time as governor, limited by the state constitution at the time to one term, ended on March 4, 1933. He remained in Charleston and organized the law firm of Conley, Thompson, and Neff.