Oil on canvas, 32 x 27 in., by Bessie Dennison, undated; copy of original by James Warrell (1780-1854)
Location: courtroom foyer, right

Born February 28, 1747 in York County, Virginia
Died January 6, 1813 in Charles City County, Virginia

Elected by the General Assembly to the Court of Admiralty on May 5, 1786 and became a member, ex-officio, of the Court of Appeals. Service terminated by the reorganization of the courts in 1788, which took effect March 5, 1789.

Education:
Attended the College of William and Mary, circa 1760-1765
Studied law with Robert Carter Nicholas

Other judicial service:
Judge, Court of Admiralty, 1786-1788
Judge, General Court, 1789-1808
Judge, United States District Court for Virginia, 1811-1813

Professional career:
Planter and private practice of law in Charles City County, Virginia, circa 1755-1786
Council of State, 1780-1781
Vice-president, convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution, 1788
Virginia state delegate, 1777-1788; speaker, 1781-1784
Governor of Virginia, 1808-1811

Military service:
Revolutionary war (Continental Army)

Further reading/Research collections

Sources:
Appointed and qualified as judge of the Court of Admiralty and the Court of Appeals on May 5, 1786, Wilmer L. Hall, editor, Journal of the Council of State of Virginia, December 1, 1781-November 29, 1786, 548; attended William and Mary, A Provisional List of Alumni, Grammar School Students, Members of the Faculty, and Members of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary in Virginia From 1693-1888 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1941), 41; birth, death, education, and career, Biographical Directory of Federal Judges; portrait, Ray O. Hummel, Jr., and Katherine M. Smith, Portraits and Statuary of Virginians Owned by the Virginia State Library, the Medical College of Virginia, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Other State Agencies (Richmond, Va.: The Virginia State Library, 1977), 126.