William W. Corlett (1842-1890) was born in Concord, Ohio, and died in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He graduated from Willoughby Collegiate Institute in 1861 and in 1862 enlisted in the Union Army in the American Civil War, serving until 1865. He was in the 28th and 87th Ohio Infantry, the 25th Ohio Independent Light Artillery Battery, and the 3rd Iowa Independent Battery Light Artillery. Corlett attended University of Michigan Law School and graduated from Ohio State and Union Law College in 1866. In 1867 he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he began practicing law. He became the postmaster of Cheyenne in 1870 and a member of the Wyoming territorial senate in 1871. Corlett was then elected as a delegate of Wyoming Territory to the United States Congress, serving from 1877 to 1879. Subsequently he returned to the practice of law for the remainder of his career, also serving on the Wyoming Legislative Council from 1880 to 1882 and helping found the Cheyenne & Northern Railroad. He married Minerva C. Corlett (b. Franklin) in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1873. In 1886, both Corletts studied Christian Science with Havilah A. Heathwood, who had received instruction in Christian Science from Mary Baker Eddy's students Huldah P. Read and Arthur T. Buswell. Heathwood indicated that the Corletts were interested in studying with Eddy themselves but the records do not reflect that they did so.

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