And now for something not so completely different....

Thomas Jefferson's hero was George Wythe (1726-1806). Wythe was a 
Professor of Law at William and Mary, 1769-1789; Elected to Continental 
Congress, 1775-76; Speaker of the Virginia House, 1777-78; Judge of the 
Chancery Court of Virginia, 1789-1806. He taught law to both Jefferson 
and John Marshall.

Wythe, like Jefferson, was also a slaveholder but unlike Jefferson he 
later freed his slaves and provided for their support. He was poisoned 
because of it by his nephew.  His nephew got away with murder because at 
the trial the only witness in the case, Lydia Broadnax (Wythe's slave 
and most likely his lover) was an African American and was therefore 
prevented from testifying because of the color of  her skin. How 
Virginian of them.

Today's Richmonders will know where Wythe's Richmond house stood (and 
where he was murdered). It is where the old Lane Bryant's Store stood on 
the 500 block of E. Grace Street opposite Miller and Rhoads. There is a 
small historic marker on the building mentioning Wythe as a signer of 
the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

The details of the murder and trial are here:

http://www.historynet.com/the-mysterious-death-of-judge-george-wythe.htm

The American Memory site has some great images of the correspondence 
between Thomas Jefferson and Major William Duval (Wythe's Richmond 
neighbor) about the incident (just search the site below using the term 
"Duval"):

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjabout.html


-- 
Ray Bonis
Special Collections and Archives
James Branch Cabell Library
VCU Libraries
[log in to unmask]
804-828-1108











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