James Maury (1717–1769) was a prominent

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 ...

educator and Anglican cleric during the American Colonial period and the progenitor of the prominent Maury political family. The Reverend James Maury was a figure in the notable lawsuit that became known as "The

Parson's Cause The "Parson's Cause" was a legal and political dispute in the Colony of Virginia often viewed as an important event leading up to the American Revolution. Colonel John Henry, father of Patrick Henry, was the judge who presided over the court case ...

" in 1763, in which the young attorney

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 ...

argued that the colony had the right to establish its own method of payment to clergy (which had been vetoed by the Crown). Born in Dublin of French Protestant "

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

" descent, James Maury came to the Virginia colony as an infant with his parents. He became educated and attended

The College of William and Mary ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. He went to England to become ordained as an Anglican minister in 1741. He established his own classical school for boys, where he taught the young

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

among others. In February 1742, Maury went to England and was ordained as an Anglican cleric of the established

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Returning to Virginia, The Reverend James Maury was in charge for one year of a parish in

King William County King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater R ...

and then served for 18 years in Louisa County at Fredericksville Parish. He was highly regarded for his piety and learning. Maury was in charge of his parish until his death on June 9, 1769.

Early life and education

He was the son of Matthew Maury, a French

, who was born in Castel Mauron, in Gascony, and his wife, Mary Anne Fontaine, daughter of Rev. James Fontaine and Anne Elizabeth Boursiquot. James Maury was born per his tombstone, April 8, 1717, in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. Shortly after his birth, the family emigrated to the

colony, where hundreds of Huguenot refugees had settled above the falls of the James River in the early 1700s. Maury was tutored and attended

. After ordination to the Anglican ministry on July 31, 1742, he was appointed usher of its grammar school.

Career

Educator

Maury had a private school where he taught the classics, manners and morals, mathematics,

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

. Most of Reverend Maury's pupils boarded at his school.

became one of his pupils for two years after the death of his father

Peter Jefferson Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", creat ...

in 1757 and is said to have learned more about the classics from Maury than from any other instructor. Reverend Maury's school is memorialized in a historical marker located near Gordonsville in Albemarle County, Virginia.

Ordained ministry

Ordained in 1742, The Reverend Maury first served for a year in King William County, then was called to Louisa County and Fredericksville Parish.

Loyal Land Company

In 1749 Maury became enthusiastic about expeditions to the west and, together with

, Dr. Thomas Walker, Joshua Fry, and others founded the Loyal Company of Virginia. They planned an expedition up the Missouri River to be led by Walker, but it was forestalled by the outbreak of hostilities between England and France in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

in 1753 (called the French and Indian War in the colonies). In a 1756 letter Maury described the proposed expedition, which foreshadowed the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

: "Some persons were to be sent in search of that river Missouri, if that be the right name of it, in order to discover whether it had any communication with the Pacific Ocean; they were to follow the river if they found it, and exact reports of the country they passed through, the distances they traveled, what worth of navigation those rivers and lakes afforded, etc."

Family

Rev. James Maury married Mary Walker (born November 22, 1724, in

King and Queen County, Virginia King and Queen County is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia, located in the state's Middle Peninsula on the eastern edge of the Richmond, VA metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,608. Its county seat is King and Qu ...

), on November 11, 1743, in Louisa County, Virginia. Mary was the daughter of Anne and Captain James Walker.Pecquet du Bellet, Louise (1907). ''Some Prominent Virginia Families'', Vol. IV, pp. 390-91. J. P. Bell Company. Their children were: *Matthew Maury, b. September 10, 1744, d. May 6, 1801 *"Consul" James Maury, b. February 3, 1746, d. February 23, 1840 *Leonard Maury, b. June 3, 1747, d. 1747 *Anne Maury, b. November 16, 1748, d. January 8, 1822 *Mary Maury, b. September 17, 1750 *Walker Maury, b. July 21, 1752, d. October 11, 1788 *Catherine Maury, b. July 15, 1754, d. July 26, 1786 *Elizabeth Maury, b. April 1, 1756 *Abram Maury, b. April 28, 1758 *Fontaine Maury, b. February 3, 1761, d. February 1824 *Benjamin Maury, b. January 17, 1763 *Richard Maury, b. May 19, 1766, d. January 31, 1843 father of

Matthew Fontaine Maury Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806February 1, 1873) was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the United States and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and i ...

*Matilda Hite Maury, b. October 28, 1769, d. November 7, 1821

The Parson's Cause

Maury opposed the colony's passage of the Two Penny Act of 1757, which proposed to pay clergy a set amount in cash rather than in tobacco, as had been the rule. The Crown had vetoed the colony's act and asserted clergy must be paid in tobacco. Maury sued the parish collectors, who gathered required payment for clergy, for the full amount of his salary in tobacco. This suit, known in American history as the

, was an important legal and political dispute in the Colony of Virginia as it involved the question of taxation, and whether it was controlled by the colony or the Crown. It is considered an important event contributing to the American Revolution. The case was defended by Peter Lyons, afterward president of the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

, and opposed by

. He denounced the interference of the King in setting aside the colony's law as treason to the people of

. Maury won the lawsuit but the jury awarded him only one penny in damages. He continued to hold the esteem of the people of Virginia. Afterward Maury wrote a letter discussing the case, which became known as "The Parson's Opinion of 'The Parson's Cause'". Rev. James Maury and Patrick Henry had no animosity as a result of the case.Saunders, James Edmonds (1899) (2001 reprint). ''Early Settlers of Alabama'', p. 298. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Later Martha Henry, the attorney's eldest daughter, married John Fontaine, a near relation of Rev. James Maury, and whose ancestor was Rev. Peter Fontaine. They had the common ancestor of John de la Fontaine. (John Fontaine (6 Aug 1750, Hanover Co., Va; d. 14 Apr 1792, Henry Co., Va.) married Martha Henry 1774, Hanover Co., Va. (b. Jun 1755, Hanover Co., Va; d. 1818, Charlotte Co., Va.) They managed the Henry plantation of Leatherwood after her father was elected a second time as governor of Virginia. :issue: # Martha Henry Fontaine b. 4 Jul 1781; d. 12 Sep 1845, Ponotoc, MS. # William Winston Fontaine b. 25 Nov 1786, Henry Co., VA; d. Nov 1816. # Patrick Henry Fontaine # Charles B. Fontaine # John J. Fontaine b. 1788; d. 3 Jan 1852.

Descendants

Maury's eldest son, James Maury (1746–1840), was appointed as the United States' first overseas consul.

petitioned then

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

for his appointment. Maury became America's first

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

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, a position which he held from 1790 to 1829. He resigned due to Jacksonian politics. During this overseas appointment, both he and his nephew

(born in 1806) had opportunities to discuss and study the

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancient wo ...

lectures (mainly

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

) of Thomas Young, published in 1807. "Consul" James Maury's portrait still hangs today in Liverpool Town Hall.

Notes

References

* Jacques de la Fontaine, (translated by Ann Maury), ''A Tale of the Huguenots or Memoirs of a French Refugee Family'', John S Taylor, 1839. ASIN: B002L40ZEY * ''Memoirs of a Huguenot Family'' by Jacques de la Fontaine, at wikisource.org * ''The Maury Family Tree,'' compiled by Sue C. West-Teague *Scott, Arthur P. "The Parson's Cause Case" "The Constitutional Aspects of the Parson's Cause," ''Political Science Quarterly'' 31 (Dec. 1916): 558-77 *McCants, David A., "The Authenticity of James Maury's Account of Patrick Henry's Speech in the Parsons' Cause", ''Southern Speech Communication Journal'', 42 (1976).
Article on the Reverend James Maury
Virginia center for Digital History

Virginia center for Digital History] * s:Maury, Reverend James vs Henry, Patrick -- "The Parson's Opinion Of The Parson's Cause", The Parson's Opinion of the Parson's Cause

External links

*
Maury's School historical marker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maury, James Irish people of French descent 1718 births 1760 deaths Maury family of Virginia Kingdom of Ireland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies College of William & Mary alumni British North American Anglicans 18th-century American Episcopal priests Virginia colonial people Educators from Virginia People from Louisa County, Virginia People from King William County, Virginia