William Woodward Brandon papers

William Woodward Brandon was born on 5 June 1868, the son of Rev. Frank T.J. and Carrie Woodward Brandon. Although he was born in Talladega, Alabama, he grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He attended Tuscaloosa High School and studied law at the University of Alabama from 1891 to 1892. While still a law student, he was elected City Clerk of Tuscaloosa. He set up a law practice in Tuscaloosa in 1892, and was appointed a justice of the peace the same year.

He was a member of the Warrior National Guard and led the unit as a major of the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War. He was appointed Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard in 1899 by governor William J. Samford.

Brandon was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1896-1901. Then in 1906 was elected to the office of State Auditor. From 1911 until 1923 he served as Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge. In 1923 Brandon was elected governor on a platform calling for economy in government and no new taxes. In his single term as governor, he was able to keep his campaign promise to levy no new taxes, but he was instrumental in rescinding the tax exemption of the Alabama Power Company.

After leaving the governorship in 1927, Brandon returned to the Probate Judge's office in Tuscaloosa, this time by the appointment of the new governor, Bibb Graves. He married Elizabeth Andrews Nabors, a widow with two daughter, on 27 June 1900. Brandon died at the age of 66, on 7 December 1934, in Tuscaloosa.