"An Illustrated History of Whitman County, state of Washington." San Francisco:
W. H. Lever, 1901.  p.  258.
 
WILLIAM E. MCCROSKEY

     A prominent attorney of Palouse City and an active participant in political
affairs of county, state and nation, the man whose name initiates this review is
one of the most widely known citizens of the Palouse country. A lawyer by
profession, he has, though a young man, already attained a very enviable
standing in the courts, while his political acumen and statesmanlike grasp of
the questions of policy and statecraft have made him quite a leader in the
councils of his party.
     Born in Tennessee, soon after the close of the Civil war, he grew to
manhood in that state, acquiring there his preliminary educational discipline,
the same being such as was to be had in the public schools there established and
in a good, thorough academy. In 1888 Mr. McCroskey went to Texas and engaged in
the cattle business, also for a short time was employed in a hardware store, but
in 1891 he determined to try his fortune in the newly admitted state of
Washington, so came to Palouse city. After working a short time in a sash and
door factory he began the study of law, and so vigorously did he dive into
the depths of Blackstone and Kent and the other
authors who initiate the would-be attorney into the mysteries of the law that in
July, 1893, he was admitted to the bar. Since that date he has devoted himself
assiduously and diligently to the practice of his profession, in which he now
enjoys a lucrative and constantly increasing patronage. He already holds
rank among the leading attorneys of the county.
     Deeply interested in local affairs, his public spirit and ability received
clue recognition in 1895, when he was elected to the mayoralty of Palouse city.
He held the office for nearly half a decade, but in February, 1900, resigned. A
further testimony to the appreciation of his abilities and token of the
confidence in which he is held was tendered him in the last campaign, when he
was nominated on the Democratic ticket for the office of lieutenant-governor.
The vote polled for him was larger than for any other man on the ticket, with
the single exception of the governor.
     Mr. McCroskey is also quite a leader in fraternal circles, having passed
all the chairs in Oriental Lodge, No. 27, I. 0. 0. F., which he has represented
as delegate in the grand lodge, and being actively identified with the A. 0. U.
W. and the W. of W. His marriage was solemnized in Spokane in July, 1895,
Miss Rose Pickrell, a native of Missouri, then becoming his wife. Mrs. McCroskey
is president of the Rebekah Assembly of the state of Washington, and a prominent
worker in the Women of Woodcraft circle.
 

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Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in August 2008 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.