Oil on canvas, 19 x 14 in., Cephas Thompson, 1809, circa
Location: courtroom foyer, right

Born April 4, 1762 in Essex County, Virginia
Died September 4, 1822 in Warm Springs, Virginia

Elected by the General Assembly on December 2, 1794 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Henry Tazewell. Qualified on April 13, 1795. Service terminated by death.

Education:
Attended the College of William and Mary, 1779-1781, circa
Legal Society of Philadelphia, 1781-1782, circa

Other Judicial Service:
Judge, General Court, 1789-1794

Professional career:
Private practice of law in Essex County, Virginia, 1782-1789, circa
Virginia state delegate, 1783-1785
Privy council, 1785-1787
Virginia state senator, 1788-1789

Further reading/Research collections

Sources:
Elected on December 2, 1794, Thomas R. Morris, The Virginia Supreme Court: An Institutional and Political Analysis (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1975), 13; qualified April 13, 1795, Supreme Court Order Book, April 13, 1795, 44 and 45 (miscellaneous microfilm 3955, reel 1, Library of Virginia); birth, education, and professional career, David J. Mays, “Judge Spencer Roane,” Proceedings of the Thirty-Ninth Annual Meeting, Virginia State Bar Association¸ August 1-3, 1928, 446-464; 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), 34; 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), 103.