predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place jr/sr party article_title birth_date term_start state term_end name
fountain l. thompson asle gronna 23 november 1928 flemington , new jersey wahpeton , north dakota united states senator democratic william e. purcell
 3 august 1856 february 1 , 1910 north dakota february 1 , 1911 william edward purcell
william e. purcell

william edward purcell -lrb- august 3 , 1856november 23 , 1928 -rrb- was a united states senator from north dakota .
born in flemington , new jersey , he attended the common schools , studied law , and was admitted to the bar of new jersey in 1880 , commencing practice in flemington .
he moved to wahpeton , dakota territory , in 1881 and continued the practice of law ; in 1888 he was appointed by president grover cleveland as united states attorney for the territory of dakota .
he resigned in 1889 , having been elected a member of the constitutional convention for the new state of north dakota .
from 1889 to 1891 he was district attorney of richland county , north dakota and was a member of the north dakota senate from 1907 to 1909 .
purcell was appointed as a democrat to the u.s. senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of martin n. johnson and the resignation of fountain l. thompson , and served from february 1 , 1910 , to february 1 , 1911 , when a successor was elected and qualified ; he was an unsuccessful candidate for election , and continued the practice of law until his death .
in 1917 , he was appointed chairman of the food conservation commission .
purcell died in 1928 , and interment was in calvary cemetery .
