Painting, circa 1840, likely by James Westhall Ford; Image courtesy Lynchburg Museum System.

Born November 26, 1806, probably in Winchester, Virginia.
Died March 28, 1873, in Nelson County, Virginia.

Elected by the General Assembly on December 15, 1846 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Robert Carter Stanard and began his service on January 5, 1847.

Elected by popular vote May 27, 1852, under the Constitution of 1851. Service terminated by the defeat of the Confederacy and the adoption of the Virginia Constitution of 1864, ratified under the auspices of the Restored loyal government meeting in Alexandria.

Education:

Hampden-Sydney College, A.B., 1826.
Attended University of Virginia, 1827-1829; studied law, 1829.

Professional career:

Private practice of law in Lynchburg, Virginia,1829-1846, 1865-1873.
Virginia state delegate, 1831-1832, 1835-1838.

Further reading/Research collections

The Virginia Law Register, Vol. 7, No. 1 (May 1901).

Sources:

Elected by the General Assembly, 44 Va., 2; elected by popular vote, 49 Va., vi; term suspended, Thomas R. Morris, The Virginia Supreme Court: An Institutional and Political Analysis (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1975), 40; education, Alfred J. Morrison, College of Hampden Sidney; Dictionary of Biography, 1776-1825 (Hampden Sidney, Va.: Hampden Sidney College, 1921), 306; 272-273; birth, death, education, and career, Christopher M. Curtis, “William Daniel (1806-1873),” in Kneebone and Bearrs, Dictionary of Virginia Biography (Richmond, Va.: Library of Virginia, 1998), v. 3, 694; the portrait is owned by the Lynchburg Museum System and currently hangs at Point of Honor, the Cabell-Daniel family home in Lynchburg.