Home County: St. Louis
Term of service at the Supreme Court of Missouri: January1862-June 1865
Judge William Van Ness Bay was born November 23, 1818, in Hudson, New York.[i] Throughout his childhood, he attended public school and later studied law.[ii] After being admitted to the bar, Bay moved from his home state of New York.[iii] In 1836, he settled in Union, Missouri, in Franklin County.[iv]
In Union, Bay established his practice of law.[v] In addition to his law practice, Bay was elected to the state house of representative twice, once in 1844 and again in 1846.[vi] Bay continued his public service and was elected to the United States house of representatives in 1848, serving from 1849-1851. After fulfilling his term, Bay returned to his practice in Union.[vii]
In January 1862, Governor Hamilton Gamble appointed Bay to the Supreme Court of Missouri.[viii] Judge Bay’s appointment filled the vacancy left by Judge Ephraim Ewing.[ix] Bay then was elected to the same position in November 1863.[x] Because Bay refused to vacate his office in May 1865 under the "Ousting Ordinance" passed during the constitutional convention earlier that year, Governor Thomas C. Fletcher on June 13, 1865, by letter demanded Bay vacate his position; when Bay still refused to do so, he was removed by force and charged with "disturbing the peace by interference with the Supreme Court." [xi]
Bay subsequently returned once again to his private practice.[xii] At that time, he moved from Union to St. Louis.[xiii] Bay continued to practice law and wrote the book Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar of Missouri, published in 1878.[xiv] He continued practicing law until his retirement in 1886.[xv] Upon retirement, he moved to Eureka, Missouri, where he lived until his death.
Judge William Van Ness Bay died February 10, 1894.[xvi]
[i] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present Website. “Bay, William Van Ness, 1818-1894.”April 29, 2010, Accessed July 24, 2017. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000247.
[ii] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, “Bay, William Van Ness.”
[iii] Howard L. Conard, ed. “Bay, W.V.N.,” Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, Vol. I (St. Louis, MO: The Southern History Co., 1901), 187.
[iv] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, “Bay, William Van Ness.”
[v] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, “Bay, William Van Ness.”
[vi] Howard L. Conard, ed. “Bay, W.V.N.,” Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, 187.
[vii] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, “Bay, William Van Ness.”
[viii] “Supreme Court,” Columbia Statesman, Columbia, Missouri, January 24, 1862, page 2, column 3. Information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia Newspaper Database, accessed July 2017, available from, http://shsmo.org/newspaper/.
[ix] Howard L. Conard, ed. “Bay, W.V.N.,” Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, Vol I, 187. See also “Supreme Court,” Columbia Statesman. Information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia Newspaper Database, accessed July 2017, available from, http://shsmo.org/newspaper/.
[x] Howard L. Conard, ed. “Bay, W.V.N.,” Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, 187. See also: Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, ed., Official Directory of Missouri, 134.
[xi] Charles Whittelsey, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri Vol XXXV (St. Louis, MO: George Knapp & CO., 1865), iv-v. See also Howard L. Conard, ed. Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, 187. See also Jefferson City People’s Tribune, Jefferson City, Missouri, Wednesday, October 11, 1865, page 3, column 2. Information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia Newspaper Database, accessed July 2017, available from, http://shsmo.org/newspaper/.
[xii] Charles Whittelsey, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri Vol XXXV (St. Louis, MO: George Knapp & CO., 1865), iv-v. See also Howard L. Conard, ed. Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, 187. See also Jefferson City People’s Tribune, Jefferson City, Missouri, Wednesday, October 11, 1865, page 3, column 2. Information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia Newspaper Database, accessed July 2017, available from, http://shsmo.org/newspaper/.
[xiii] Howard L. Conard, ed. “Bay, W.V.N.,” Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, 187.
[xiv] Howard L. Conard, ed. “Bay, W.V.N.,” Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, 187.
[xv] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, “Bay, William Van Ness.”
[xvi] Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, “Bay, William Van Ness.”
Biographical information authored by Mr. Matt Orf, 2017, University of Missouri-Columbia.