Governor William Casey Marland

WILLIAM CASEY MARLAND was born in Johnson City, Illinois. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alabama and an LL.B. in 1947 from West Virginia University. As a Navy Lieutenant, he took part in action on the Pacific Islands during World War II. He began the practice of law in Charleston, West Virginia and became Assistant Attorney General of the state in 1948 and Attorney General in 1949, serving until 1952, when he was elected governor. His gubernatorial administration was concerned with West Virginia’s industrial development. He took part in the Governors’ Fuel Conference, which urged Congress to enact a limit on the importation of residual oil. Marland also oversaw racial integration of West Virginia’s public schools in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education . After leaving office, he made an unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate seat, and later served as sales director of Western Kentucky Coal Company and Associate Director of Edwards Enterprises. Marland died in Barrington, Illinois in 1965.