William L. Winship

WILLIAM L. WINSHIP. - The present city attorney of Kansas City has well proved his powers in his profession, in which he has gained secure vantage ground as one of the essentially representative mmbers[sic] of the bar of Wyandotte county. He is a young man of distinctive energy and marked ability and his success in his chosen calling has been such as to demonstrate unequivocally the wisdom of his choice of vocation.

William L. Winship was born in the city of Sedalia, the metropolis and judicial center of Pettis county, Missouri, on the 23rd of August, 1878, and is a son of Enoch L. and Malinda (Jewell) Winship, the former of whom was born in the state of Maine, a scion of a family whose name has been prominent in the annals of New England since the Colonial epoch of our national history, and the latter of whom was born in the state of Missouri. Enoch L. Winship was reared to maturity in the old Pine Tree state and he was one of its valiant and patriotic sons who went forth to do yeoman service in defense of the Union when its integrity was thrown into jeopardy through armed rebellion. At the age of twenty-one years he enlisted in a Maine regiment of volunteers, and it was his portion to live up to the full tension of the great conflict between the North and the South. He served four years, or practically during the entire period of the war, and participated in many of the sanguinary battles marking its progress. Soon after the close of the war he came to the west and numbered himself among the pioneers of Nebraska, where he secured from the government a homestead claim and initiated the development of a farm. Later he went to Missouri, where he formed the acquaintanceship of the gracious young woman who became his devoted wife and helpmeet, and they thereafter maintained their home at Sedalia, that state, until 1886, when they removed to Kansas City, Kansas, where Enoch L. Winship passed the residue of his life. He was a carpenter by trade and was one of the prominent contractors and builders in Kansas City for a number of years prior to his death at the age of sixty-five years. His widow still maintains her home in this city.

William L. Winship was a lad of eight years at the time of the family removal to Kansas City, and here he was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools. He was graduated in the high school as a member of the class of 1898, and in preparation for the work of his chosen profession he entered the Kansas City Law School, at Kansas City, Missouri, in which institution he completed the prescribed course and was graduated in 1900, with the well earned degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the same year he was admitted to the Kansas bar, and for the ensuing four years he served as deputy probate judge of Wyandotte county. Official service has continued to demand much of his attention from the time of his admission to the bar, as after his retirement from the position of assistant probate judge he was city claim agent for two years, and since 1909 he has been city attorney, devoting his attention to the exacting work of this office in connection with his private practice, which is of substantial order. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Republican party and has been active as a worker in behalf of the cause of the "Grand Old Party." He enjoys marked popularity in both professional and business circles and he and his wife are valued factors in connection with the best social activities of their home city.

On the 9th of September, 1909, Mr. Winship was united in marriage to Miss Beulah Cooke, daughter of Joseph and Martha (Young) Cooke, of Kansas City, where her father is a prominent and representative citizen. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Winship rendered effective service in the office of deputy register of deeds of Wyandotte county.