Wythe the Lawyer

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Portrait by David Silvette (1979), College of William & Mary Law School.

George Wythe may be best known for being a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a judge on the High Court of Chancery, and for training some of the most influential legal minds of the 18th century at William & Mary, but before any of that Wythe spent a large portion of his life as a successful lawyer. Like most of Wythe's life what we know about his legal career comes not from his own legal notes, but from contemporaneous letters and newspapers as well as what cases we can find in county court records and Thomas Jefferson's case notes.[1] From these sources, however, we can sketch the contours of a successful legal career that extended over 30 years.

At the time Wythe entered the profession, legal training varied and was not as regimented as it is today. Often men who wanted to be attorneys learned in a current attorney's practice, called an apprenticeship.[2] George Wythe's legal training was no different. While his first teacher was likely his mother, who taught him reading, writing, and arithmetic, Wythe had no formal legal training like law school.[3] There is some conjecture that he attended William & Mary for some formal education between 1730 and 1735.[4] But, he begins his formal legal training by studying under his uncle, Stephen Dewey — the husband of his mother's sister — in Prince George County.[5] Dewey was a justice of the peace and served as member of the House of Burgesses.[6]

When reflecting on this experience later in life, Wythe suggested that this apprenticeship was more about clerk work and printing duties than it was about actually learning the practice of law.[7] This lead some scholars to suggest that the experience informed Wythe's commitment to training prospective attorneys differently later in his life, both when he had apprentices and when he became the nation's first law professor.[8] While we do not know the day to day experience that Wythe had while apprenticing under his uncle, we can assume that he would have had access to his uncle's legal library.[9][10]

Early legal career (1746 – 1754)

It is not until 1745, that there was any law in colonial Virginia on requirements for admission to the legal bar.[11] Wythe becomes licensed under these requirements and admitted to the legal bar in 1746. A copy of Wythe’s law license exists in the order books of Augusta County records and his license was signed by Peyton Randolph, St. Lawrence Burford, Stephen Dewey, and William Nimmo.[12] Once licensed, attorneys could practice in county courts but had to be admitted to each county court that they would practice in. Several county courts admit Wythe in 1746 and 1747, including Elizabeth City and Spotsylvania.[13]

Map of Virginia counties for 1761 – 1770, from Michael F. Doran's Atlas of County Boundary Changes in Virginia, 1634-1895 (Athens, GA: Iberian Pub. Co., 1987).

Now, in his early 20s, Wythe moves to western Virginia, specifically to Spotsylvania County. Very quickly, Caroline, Orange, and Augusta Counties admit him to practice.[14] Most county court attorneys rode the circuits in various counties so it is likely that Wythe qualified in other counties in the area, such as Albemarle and Louisa County, but there are no official records.[15] During his time as an attorney in western Virginia, Wythe befriended and worked alongside Zachary Lewis, which aided his success as a young lawyer.[16] His case load during this time would have covered a diversity of issues, including criminal, civil, and chancery cases. His time on the western county circuits was likely successful and stretched the vast territory that was western Virginia at the time (including what is today West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin).[17]

Wythe remained a county court attorney in western Virginia until 1748 when he moves back to Williamsburg or the Elizabeth County area.[18] Upon moving back to the capital area, Wythe begins his parallel career as politician when the House of Burgesses selects him to serve as clerk to two standing committees.[19] He stays in this role until the governor appoints him to be interim attorney general from January 1754 through December 1754 while Peyton Randolph, the current attorney general, went off to England to advocate for the colony to the crown.[20]

It is assumed that Wythe continued to ride the circuits of nearby counties such as James City, York, New Kent, and Charles City Counties during this time, though we cannot be sure because the court records for these counties have been lost.[21] There is evidence, however, that he was still practicing as a county court attorney in this period because there is record of him arguing at least three cases in Warwick County in 1749.[22] There are also records that he had clients at this time including John Blair in 1751 and the Custis family in 1754.[23] In 1754, Wythe was appointed to the Williamsburg seat in the House of Burgesses and he would provide counsel for candidates in the House of Burgesses that had legal issues within the House.[24]

For the rest of his legal career, Wythe would balance the practice of law with his service in the colonial government.

Pre-Revolutionary attorney (1754 – 1778)

Sometime between 1754 and 1755, the General Court admits George Wythe to practice, ending his time serving on the county court circuit.

General Court cases

County Court cases

See also

References

  1. ↑ Source Material on George Wythe is hard to come by. See Kirtland, George Wythe: Lawyer, Revolutionary, Judge (New York: Garland, 1986).
  2. ↑ Frank L. Dewey, Thomas Jefferson Lawyer (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1987), 3.
  3. ↑ Kirtland, 36-37.
  4. ↑ William Edwin Hemphill, "George Wythe the Colonial Briton: A Biographical Study of Pre-Revolutionary Era in Virginia," 34 (citing the History of the College of William and Mary from its Foundation, 1660 to 1874, 84).
  5. ↑ Kirtland, 40; see also Dewey, 3.
  6. ↑ See Hemphill, 36. Both positions Wythe would later also hold.
  7. ↑ Hemphill, 37; Kirtland, 40-41.
  8. ↑ Hemphill, 38.
  9. ↑ Hemphill, 38.
  10. ↑ Kirtland, 40-41.
  11. ↑ Hemphill, 41 (citing Henning Statutes).
  12. ↑ Hemphill, 42 (citing entry of May 21, 1747, Order Book No. 1, 196, Augusta County Records.
  13. ↑ Hemphill, 42. For record of Elizabeth County admission see June 18, 1746, minutes in Order Book, 1731-1747, 489, Elizabeth County Records. For Spotsylvania County admission, see November 4, 1746, Orders, 1738-1749, 395, Spotsylvania County Records; see also Kirtland, 42.
  14. ↑ Hemphill, 43-46 (qualified in Carolina County in February of 1747 and Augusta/Staunton in May of 1747); see also Kirtland, 42.
  15. ↑ Hemphill, 45.
  16. ↑ Zachary Lewis also becomes his father-in-law. Hemphill, 49.
  17. ↑ Hemphill, 48-49.
  18. ↑ There is some speculation that Wythe moves back home because of the death of his first wife, Ann Lewis. Hemphill, 52.
  19. ↑ Hemphill, 55.
  20. ↑ Hemphill, 66-71.
  21. ↑ Hemphill, 55.
  22. ↑ Hemphill, 55 (citing entries of April 6, 1749, Minutes, 1748-1762, 29-31, Warwick County Records).
  23. ↑ Hemphill, 56-57. For John Blair see entries of March 20, 22, October 2, November 7, 1751, William and Mary College Quarterly 1st Series, VII, 137, VIII, 5, VII, 146, 148; for Custis family see letter from Wythe to Daniel Parke Custis, April 10, 1754).
  24. ↑ Hemphill, 57.

External links

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