William John McConnell was born in Michigan in 1839, then moved out west in the 1860s to follow the gold rush into Idaho Territory. During his first time in Idaho (due to the young territory’s lawlessness), he organized a Vigilance committee that reduced inhabitants' experiences with thievery. In 1865 he was appointed a Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Idaho Territory for a two-year term. In 1867 McConnell moved to Oregon with his wife Louisa Brown and their young child, where he ran a general store and was eventually elected to the Oregon state senate in 1882 and then became the senate president. Then in 1884 he moved his family to Moscow, Idaho where he opened another general store, invested in the growing town and represented Latah County at the Idaho Constitutional Convention. When Idaho became a state in 1890, McConnell was one of the state’s first U.S. Senators. McConnell’s Senator term ended in March of 1891 and then he ran on the Republican ticket as the governor. After winning the election he moved to Boise, serving two terms. The McConnell Mansion is listed in the national register of historic places and there is a residence hall at the University of Idaho that is also named after him. McConnell died March 30, 1925, at the age of 85, he is buried in Moscow Cemetary in Moscow, ID.