Difference between revisions of "Kemp Plummer"

Latest revision as of 11:55, 13 January 2020

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Representative to the State House of Commons
In office
1794
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State Senator
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1815 & 1816
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Trustee of The University of North Carolina
In office
1817-1826
Preceded by
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In office
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In office
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Personal details
Born	1769 (some sources list 1767)
	Near Mobjack Bay, Gloucester County, Virginia
Died	January 19, 1826
Resting place
Residence(s)	Warrenton, Warren County, North Carolina
Education	Hampden-Sydney College, The College of William & Mary
Alma mater	The College of William and Mary
Profession	lawyer, politician
Spouse(s)	Susanna Martin (1776-1838), daughter of William Martin and granddaughter of Nicholas Long, "commissary general of North Carolina during the Revolution."[1]
Relatives	Children: Anne, Mary, Henry, William, Austin, Bettie, Lucy, Kemp, Alfred, Susanna, and Thomas. Ancestors: William Plummer I, Richard Kemp. Grandson: Kemp P. Battle.
Known for
Signature	[[File:|left|200px]]

Kemp Plummer was born in Gloucester County, Virginia, in 1768 to William Plummer II and Mary Hayes. He grew up in Virginia with his five siblings until his father's death in 1774. Afterwards, Plummer's mother moved the family to North Carolina to take advantage of "the cheaper lands and the superior healthiness of the hill country of North Carolina."^[2]

Plummer attended Hampden-Sydney College and graduated in 1786 as part of the first class to receive diplomas from the new school. He then attended the College of William & Mary, studying law with George Wythe.^[3] Significantly, out of the 3,551 persons included in the Dictionary of North Carolinian Biography, Plummer appears to be the only person to have studied law with Wythe.^[4] Rather than staying in Virginia, Plummer moved to Warrenton, North Carolina and became licensed to join the bar there.^[5] He opened a law office in Warrenton and practiced law in all the counties surrounding Warren County.^[6] Plummer become known as "the honest lawyer," and was praised for his "singing and story-telling abilities, his generosity, and his convivial disposition [which] attracted all classes."^[7]

In 1794, Plummer married Susanna Martin. Their hospitality became legendary in the upper Roanoke area, and among their circle were such politicians as Nathaniel Macon, James Turner, Weldon Edwards, William Hawkins, and William Miller.^[8]

In 1794 Plummer represented Warren County in the North Carolina House of Commons, and by the 1810's he had attained even higher recognition. In 1815 and 1816, Plummer represented Warren County in the state Senate. He chaired James Monroe's campaign organization in Raleigh, and became "dispenser of Republican patronage in the state."^[9] From 1817 until his death in 1826, Plummer served as a trustee of the University of North Carolina.^[10]

Plummer died from gout in his mid-fifties. After his wife's death in 1838, the citizens of Warrenton bought the Plummer home and converted it into the Warrenton Female College. ^[11]

See also

• Wythe the Teacher

References

1. ↑ Daniel M. McFarland, "Kemp Plummer," in Dictionary of North Carolinian Biography, ed. William S. Powell (University of North Carolina Press, 2000), Vol. 5, 104.
2. ↑ McFarland, "Kemp Plummer," 104; Kemp Plummer Battle, "An Old Time Lawyer," North Carolina Law Journal, Vol. 2, No. 9 (1901-1902), pp. 255-260, accessed September 2, 2015.
3. ↑ McFarland, "Kemp Plummer," 104.
4. ↑ Steve Sheppard, The History of Legal Education in the United States: Commentaries and Primary Sources, Volume 1 (The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2006).
5. ↑ McFarland, "Kemp Plummer," 104.
6. ↑ Battle, "An Old Time Lawyer," 257; McFarland, "Kemp Plummer," 104.
7. ↑ McFarland, "Kemp Plummer," 104.
8. ↑ Ibid.
9. ↑ Ibid.
10. ↑ Ibid.
11. ↑ Ibid.

Further Reading

• Kemp Plummer Battle, "An Old Time Lawyer," North Carolina Law Journal, Vol. 2, No. 9 (1901-1902), pp. 255-260, accessed online September 2, 2015.