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WYTHE, George, a Delegate from Virginia; born near Back River, Elizabeth City County, Va., in
1726; privately instructed by his mother and attended the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg,
Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1746 and commenced practice in Elizabeth City County
in 1755; moved to Williamsburg about 1755; member of the house of burgesses 1758-1768;
appointed a member of the committee of correspondence in 1759; moved to his estate in Elizabeth
City County in 1763 and returned to Williamsburg in 1768; clerk of the house of burgesses
1768-1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1776; a signer of the Declaration of
Independence; speaker of the house of delegates in 1777; judge of the Virginia Chancery Court in
1777; appointed sole chancellor of Virginia in 1778; professor of law at the College of William and
Mary from 1779 to 1791, when he resigned and moved to Richmond, Va.; conducted a private school
in Richmond and continued teaching until his death; delegate to the Federal Convention at Philadelphia,
Pa., in 1787; a member of the State ratification convention in 1788; died in Richmond, Va., June 8,
1806; interment in St. Johns Churchyard.
BibliographyKirtland, Robert B. George Wythe: Lawyer,
Revolutionary, Judge. New York: Garland, 1986.
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