Aylett Hawes (April 21, 1768August 31, 1833) was a nineteenth-century doctor, politician, planter and slaveholder from

Virginia 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 ar ...

Early life and education

Born in

Culpeper County Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Cul ...

in the Colony of Virginia, Hawes received a private classical education. He then studied medicine and finished his education in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...

Career

Upon returning to Virginia, Hawes practiced medicine as well as bought several plantations in Culpeper County and what became Rappahannock County, Virginia, which he farmed using enslaved labor. He owned 25 slaves in Culpeper County in 1810. A decade later, Hawes owned 49 slaves. In the last census before his death, he owned 70 slaves. Culpeper County voters elected Hawes as one of their two representatives 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-number ...

. He won re-election several times, serving from 1802 to 1806, all alongside John Roberts.Cynthia Miller Leonard, Virginia's General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978), pp. 227, 231, 235, 239 In 1810, voters in what was then

Virginia's 9th congressional district Virginia's ninth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia, covering much of the southwestern part of the state. The 9th is Virginia's second-largest district in area, covering 9,113.87 sq ...

elected Hawes, who ran as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. However, the 1810 census necessitated redistricting, so in his re-election campaign, Hawes ran in

Virginia's 10th congressional district Virginia's 10th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is currently represented by Democrat Jennifer Wexton, who was first elected in 2018. The district includes all of Clarke County, ...

, whose incumbent John Dawson was moved into Virginia's 11th congressional district, much as Hawes was moved from the 9th. Hawes won re-election twice before resigning to resume his medical practice and plantations in Culpeper and Rappahannock Counties. He was succeeded by fellow Democratic Republican George F. Strother, who had succeeded him in the Virginia House of Delegates about a decade earlier.

Death and legacy

Hawes died on his farm in

Rappahannock County, Virginia Rappahannock County is a county located in the northern Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, US, adjacent to Shenandoah National Park. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,348. Its county seat is Washington. The name "Rappaha ...

, on August 31, 1833, and was interred on another plantation, in

Sperryville, Virginia Sperryville is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the western section of Rappahannock County, Virginia, United States, near Shenandoah National Park. It consists of a village with two main streets along the two branches of the Thornton Riv ...

. He was the uncle of

Richard Hawes Richard Hawes Jr. (February 6, 1797 – May 25, 1877) was a United States representative from Kentucky and the second Confederate Governor of Kentucky. He was part of the politically influential Hawes family. His brother, uncle, and cousin al ...

, Albert Gallatin Hawes and Aylett Hawes Buckner.

References

1768 births 1833 deaths Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Farmers from Virginia People from Culpeper County, Virginia American planters People from Rappahannock County, Virginia Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Hawes family 19th-century American politicians {{Virginia-Representative-stub