William Fitzhugh
Encyclopedia
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
for Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1779.
Life
Fitzhugh and his wife, Ann Bolling Randolph Fitzhugh (1747-1805), built Chatham ManorChatham Manor
Chatham Manor is the Georgian-style home completed in 1771 by William Fitzhugh, after about 3 years of construction, on the Rappahannock River in Stafford County, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg. It was for more than a century the center of a large, thriving plantation. Flanking the main house...
on property across the Rappahannock River
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...
from Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, completing it in 1771 after 3 years of construction. It still stands today as the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
Headquarters for the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and elsewhere in Spotsylvania County, commemorating four major battles in the American Civil War.-Park:...
. The Fitzhughs lived a lavish life there that included experimental farming and horse racing. After the Revolutionary War, as the economy floundered, Fitzhugh sold Chatham Manor and 1,288 acres (5.2 km²) to Churchill Jones for $20,000.
About 1799, William Fitzhugh bought the house at 607 Oronoco St., Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, that has become known as "The Boyhood Home of Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
." The house was built in 1795 by John Potts, Jr. After William Fitzhugh's death, it then passed to William Henry Fitzhugh
William Henry Fitzhugh
William Henry Fitzhugh was a prominent member of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1829–1830 and an officer of the American Colonization Society....
, his only son, and was rented to the Lee family.
Fitzhugh had built another mansion, Ravensworth
Ravensworth (plantation)
Ravensworth was an 18th-century plantation near Annandale in Fairfax County, Virginia. Ravensworth was the Northern Virginia residence of William Fitzhugh, William Henry Fitzhugh, Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, and William Henry Fitzhugh Lee...
, in 1796, where North Springfield, Virginia
North Springfield, Virginia
North Springfield is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,173 at the 2000census.-Geography:North Springfield is located at ....
, is now located. This was his country home, with the Alexandria one being his townhouse. Ravensworth stood until about 1925, when it burned under mysterious circumstances.
William Fitzhugh and George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
visited one another frequently until Washington's death in 1799, with Washington mentioning Fitzhugh in his diary and the two serving together on the Pohick Church vestry. Fitzhugh was the last person that Washington visited outside of Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
before his death in 1799.
Political career
Fitzhugh was chosen as an elector for the 1789 election from Westmoreland District . That District consisted of King George CountyKing George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 23,584 people, 9,411 households, and 4,525 families residing in the county. The population density was 93 people per square mile . There were 6,820 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
, Lancaster County
Lancaster County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,567 people, 5,004 households, and 3,412 families residing in the county. The population density was 87 people per square mile . There were 6,498 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...
, Northumberland County
Northumberland County, Virginia
Northumberland County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state in the United States. In 2010, its population was 12,330. Its county seat is Heathsville...
, Richmond County
Richmond County, Virginia
Richmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 9,254. Its county seat is Warsaw. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state capital Richmond, Virginia, which is over...
, Stafford County
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state, and just across the Rappahannock River from the City of Fredericksburg. As of the 2000 census, the population was 92,446, increasing to 128,961 in 2010.. Its county seat is Stafford. In 2006, and again in 2009,...
and Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,718 people, 6,846 households, and 4,689 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,286 housing units at an average density of...
, which cover the area between the Rappahannock and Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
s.
All of the 10 electors who voted cast one of their two votes for George Washington. 5 of them cast their other vote for John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
. 3 cast theirs for George Clinton
George Clinton (vice president)
George Clinton was an American soldier and politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was the first Governor of New York, and then the fourth Vice President of the United States , serving under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He and John C...
. 1 cast his for John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
. 1 cast his for John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
. In a letter written by James Madison to Thomas Jefferson on 29th March 1789, 'Mr W Fitzhugh of Chatham' is described as a Federalist
Federalist
The term federalist describes several political beliefs around the world. Also, it may refer to the concept of federalism or the type of government called a federation...
Family
He was the great-grandson of immigrant Colonel William Fitzhugh who came to Virginia in about 1671 and owned 54,000 acres (220 km²) when he died in 1701. William of Chatham inherited most of the land. As a child he suffered the loss of an eye when accidentally hit with a horse riding crop by one of his stepbrothers.In 1804 Fitzhugh's daughter Mary Lee Fitzhugh
Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis
Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis was an Episcopal lay leader in Alexandria County...
was married in the parlor of the Alexandria townhouse to George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis , the step-grandson of United States President George Washington, was a nineteenth-century American writer, orator, and agricultural reformer.-Family:...
, grandson of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington and adopted grandson of George Washington. In 1831 their daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis
Mary Anna Custis Lee
Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee was the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.-Biography:Mary Anna Custis Lee was the only surviving child of George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington's step-grandson and adopted son and founder of Arlington House, and Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, daughter...
, married Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
.
Fitzhugh died in 1809 at the age of 69, leaving behind his three children who survived to adulthood. He was initially buried at Ravensworth, but when the mansion was destroyed, his remains and gravestone were moved to the Pohick Church
Pohick Church
Pohick Church is an Episcopal church in the community of Pohick near Lorton in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.-History:Originally founded around 1695 as Occoquan Church, in the Anglican Truro Parish of Virginia, it was later renamed Pohick Church in 1732 after relocating near Pohick Creek,...
graveyard.