Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Schley, William

SCHLEY, William, governor of Georgia, b. in Frederick, Md., 15 Dec., 1786; d. in Augusta, Ga., 20 Nov., 1858. He was educated at the academies of Louisville and Augusta, Ga., studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1812, and practised in Augusta. In 1825-'8 he was a judge of the superior court. In 1830 he entered the legislature, and in 1832 he was elected as a Democrat to congress. When his term ended he was chosen governor of the state for the two years ending with October, 1837. He was an ardent Democrat and strict constructionist. The building of the first railroad in Georgia was undertaken on his recommendation. He also advocated the establishment of a lunatic asylum and a geological survey of the state. Gov. Schley published a “Digest of the English Statutes in Force in Georgia” (Philadelphia, 1826).