William Slocum Groesbeck (July 24, 1815 – July 7, 1897) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
Born in Kinderhook, New York, Groesbeck moved with his parents to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1816. He attended the common schools and Augusta (Kentucky) College. He was graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1835 and was responsible for founding the Miami University chapter of Alpha Delta Phi, the first fraternity chapter west of the Allegheny Mountains. He studied law and was a law clerk in the office of Salmon P. Chase. He was admitted to the bar in 1836 and commenced practice in Cincinnati, Ohio. He served as member of the State constitutional convention in 1851. He served as commissioner to codify the laws of Ohio in 1852.
Groesbeck was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress. He served as member of the Peace Convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war. He served in the State senate 1862-1864. He served as delegate to the Union National Convention at Philadelphia in 1866. He was one of President Andrew Johnson's counsel in his impeachment trial in 1868. In 1872 he was nominated for president of the United States by Liberal Republicans who were displeased with Horace Greeley, but his ticket was forgotten during the excitement of the campaign, at the end of which he received one electoral vote for vice-president.[1] He served as delegate to the International Monetary Conference in Paris, France, in 1878. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 7, 1897. He was interred in Spring Grove Cemetery.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Scott Harrison |
United States Representative from Ohio's 2nd congressional district 1857–1859 |
Succeeded by John A. Gurley |
| Ohio Senate | ||
| Preceded by Thomas W. Key, George W. Holmes, E. A. Ferguson |
Senator from 1st District 1862-1863 Served alongside: Benjamin Eggleston, Thomas H. Whetstone |
Succeeded by Thomas H. Weasner, Benjamin Eggleston, Thomas H. Whetstone |