Andrew Beirne (1771 – March 16, 1845) was an Irish immigrant who became a merchant, militia officer and politician in western Virginia, representing

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in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

as well as the

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and the

Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830 Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are s ...

Early and family life

Beirne was born in Dangan,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, to Andrew Beirne, Dangan's Hereditary Chieftain, and Mary Plunkett Beirne, daughter of Edward Plunkett, 12th Baron Dunsany, the youngest of their five sons and a daughter. He received a classical education (possibly preparing for a career as a priest), and graduated from Trinity University in

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. In Virginia, Beirne dropped the "O" from his surname and married Ellen Keenan, the daughter of Edward Keenan, who had likewise immigrated from Ireland. Of their ten children, five sons and four daughters reached adulthood.

Career

Beirne immigrated to the

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in 1793 and settled in

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, investing his $150 savings in a business that failed. He then became a peddler, and about 1795 opened a store in Greenbrier County, Virginia on the farm of Edward Keenan, a fellow immigrant from Ireland, whose daughter he soon married (as discussed above). At about this time, two of his brothers emigrated to the United States and the three Beirnes formed a mercantile partnership, transporting merchandise from Philadelphia to Virginia, and accepting payment in ginseng, pelts, cattle or other goods. After the Virginia General Assembly created Monroe County from Greenbrier County, Beirne moved his store to the county seat,

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and when the business flourished, openedn other stores in Virginia and the South, eventually acquiring 72 tracts of land (some presumably to repay customers' debts). He also established a 2,200 acre plantation, which he named "Walnut Grove" on the best land in Monroe County, somewhat north of Union. Beirne at first aligned with the Jeffersonian Republican political party, and Monroe County voters elected him as their (part-time) representative in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

in 1806 and re-elected him.Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp He also became a captain in the county militia, and during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, that rifle company was ordered to Norfolk to protect the port and shipyard, but saw no action.. Beirne was delegate to the

and member of the

Virginia State Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senate, senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor ...

1831-1836. He was elected as a

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to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841). Beirne was not a candidate for reelection in 1840 to the Twenty-seventh Congress and resumed his former business activities. Beirne died while on a visit in Gainesville, Sumter County,

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, March 16, 1845, with interment in the family burying ground at Union, Monroe County, Virginia. His home at Union, known as " Walnut Grove," was listed on the

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in 1977. His son,

Oliver Beirne Oliver Beirne (March 26, 1811 - April 21, 1888) was a landowner from West Virginia, one of the owner of the Old Sweet Springs resort, and sole heir to plantation millionaire John Burnside, of whom he was a longtime friend. Early life Oliver Beirne ...

, inherited

The Houmas The Houmas, also known as Burnside Plantation and currently known as Houmas House Plantation and Gardens, is a historic plantation complex and house museum in Burnside, Louisiana. The plantation was established in the late 1700s, with the curre ...

slave plantation and another 9 plantations from John Burnside, a man that Andrew Beirne had helped became a successful businessman and that was considered part of the family (a legend said he was found as an infant by Andrew Beirne who raised him as a son) so that he is buried with the Beirnes at Green Hill Cemetery, Union.

References

# Biographical Directory of the United States Congress # White, Edward T. "Andrew and Oliver Beirne of Monroe County." West Virginia History 20 (October 1958): 16-23. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beirne, Andrew 1771 births 1845 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Military personnel from West Virginia American militiamen in the War of 1812 Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Union, West Virginia People from West Virginia in the War of 1812 Politicians from County Roscommon Democratic Party Virginia state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia