Thomas Lee Shippen
| Thomas "Tommy" Lee Shippen | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1765 |
| Died | February 4, 1798 |
| near Charleston, S.C. | |
| Education | Needwood Forest Academy Inner Temple College of William and Mary |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Farley Bannister |
| Relatives | Thomas Lee (grandfather) Ludwell Lee (cousin) |
Thomas Lee Shippen was born in 1765 to Alice Home Shippen and Dr. William Shippen, a medical pioneer, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, and Director General and Chief Physician of the Continental Army.[1] Despite Dr. Shippen's reputation as the region's leading authority on obstetrics, Alice Shippen only saw two of her eight children live past birth — Nancy and Thomas "Tommy" Shippen.[2] During the Revolutionary War, Dr. Shippen was frequently away as physician to the army.[3] During this time Nancy was sent to Mistress Rogers' School and Tommy Shippen was sent to Needwood Forest Academy in Fredrick Town, Maryland.[4]
After completing his preparatory studies in Maryland, Thomas Shippen toured Virginia with his family's relatives, the Lees. While in Virginia, he studied law with George Wythe from 1784-1786.[5] Inspired by this experience, Dr. Shippen sent twenty-one-year-old Tommy to study law at the Inner Temple in England.[6] However, Shippen much preferred "[to] go out into society, to travel, and to chase women," but he did complete two years of legal study in England before returning to Pennsylvania to practice law. Despite having a brilliant legal mind, Shippen "immediately disliked the drudgery of legal practice." [7]
In 1790, Shippen accepted another family invitation to tour Virginia. While there, he visited the Nesting plantation and met a seventeen-year-old widow, Elizabeth (Farley) Bannister, and fell madly in love.[8] By the time Shippen returned to Pennsylvania, he was engaged. As Elizabeth was part of the notable Byrd family and granddaughter to King Carter, she had both a distinguished lineage and great wealth. Consequently, Shippen was able to happily retire from legal practice and lead the life of a country gentleman.[9] The two were married at Nesting on March 10, 1791, and the couple purchased a farm, "Farley," in Bucks County just outside of Philadelphia.[10]
Shortly after Shippen married, his health rapidly declined. His journal described "[a] worsening cough, his fight to breathe, the frequent times he was bled, his dependence upon laudanum (an alcoholic tincture of opium), his medications disasterous effects upon his gastro-intestinal system, and his morbid outlook as he lounged in his green silk dressing gown." [11] He remained at Farley, and comforted himself with his private library of over 800 volumes.[12] Shippen died of tuberculosis on February 4, 1798, and was buried in Charleston.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ Paul C. Nigel, The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family (Oxford University Press, 1990), 116, accessed September 16, 2015; Steve Sheppard, The History of Legal Education in the United States: Commentaries and Primary Sources, Volume 1 (The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2006), 153.
- ↑ Nigel, The Lees of Virginia, 116.
- ↑ "Alice Lee Shippen," Stratford Hall, accessed September 14, 2015.
- ↑ Nigel, The Lees of Virginia, 116.
- ↑ Sheppard, The History of Legal Education in the United States, 153.
- ↑ Nigel, The Lees of Virginia, 145.
- ↑ Ibid, 146.
- ↑ Ibid, 146-147.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid, 149; Edmund Jennings Lee, Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892: Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of the Descendants of Colonel Richard Lee (Heritage Books, 2008), accessed September 16, 2015.
- ↑ Nigel, The Lees of Virginia, 149-150.
- ↑ Ibid, 151.
- ↑ American National Biography Online, s.v. "Shippen, William, Jr.," by Randolph Shipley Klein, accessed September 16, 2015.
