Abram Trigg (1750 – unknown) was an American farmer and politician from

Bedford County, Virginia Bedford County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Bedford, which was an independent city from 1968 until rejoining the county in 2013. Bedford County was ...

. He fought with the Virginia militia in the Revolutionary War and represented

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 ...

in the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

from 1797 until 1809. He was a slaveholder.

Family life

Abram was born on his father's farm near New London in Lunenburg County, Virginia. He was one of the eight children of William Trigg (1716–1773) and Mary (Johns) Trigg (1720–1773). His father, William served as a judge in Bedford County (which was formed from part of Lunenburg County in 1754) for many years. His brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, would serve with him in congress. In 1779 Abram married Susannah Ingles, daughter of William Ingles and

Mary Draper Ingles Mary Draper Ingles (1732 – February 1815), also known in records as Mary Inglis or Mary English, was an American pioneer and early settler of western Virginia. In the summer of 1755, she and her two young sons were among several captives taken ...

, who escaped from Indian captivity and walked 800 miles to return to her home in 1755.

Career

He completed academic studies, studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in

Montgomery County, Virginia Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt Coun ...

. He lived on his estate, "Buchanan's Bottom," on the New River and held local offices, such as clerk and judge, and various other offices in Montgomery County. Abram married Susanna Ingles, daughter of William Ingles, and had ten children.Hale, John P. ''Trans-Allegheny Pioneers (West Virginia and Ohio): Historical Sketches of the First White Settlers West of the Alleghenies, 1748 and After.'' (1886) Heritage Books, reprint, 2009.
/ref> He served in the Revolutionary War as lieutenant colonel of militia in 1782 and later as general of militia in Virginia. Trigg was a delegate to the Virginia ratification convention of 1788, and voted with

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...

and the Anti-federalists against ratification of the United States Constitution.Elliot, Jonathan
''The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution...''
(Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1891), 3:665. He was elected as a Republican to the Fifth and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1809). He died and was buried on the family estate, death date unknown.

Electoral history

*1797; Trigg was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives unopposed. *1799; Trigg was re-elected with 88.47% of the vote, defeating Federalist William Preston. *1801; Trigg was re-elected unopposed. *1803; Trigg was re-elected unopposed. *1805; Trigg was re-elected unopposed. *1807; Trigg was re-elected defeating Federalist Daniel Sheffey.

References

Retrieved on 2009-02-26 {{DEFAULTSORT:Trigg, Abram 1750 births Year of death unknown People from Bedford, Virginia Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution Virginia lawyers Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia