James Maury (3 Feb 1746 – 23 Feb 1840) was one of the first United States diplomats and one of the first American consuls appointed overseas. In 1790 he was appointed to the

Consulate of the United States in Liverpool The United States Consulate in Liverpool, England, was established in 1790, and was the first overseas consulate founded by the then fledgling United States of America. Liverpool was at the time an important center for transatlantic commerce a ...

,Virginia Historical Society
Retrieved June 1, 2010 one of the first overseas consulates founded by the then fledgling

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Maury held the position of consul for 39 years until he was removed from office by President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

in 1829.Liverpool Athenaeum
Retrieved June 1, 2010

Early life

James Maury was born in February 1746 in

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Char ...

.Maury Family Tree
Retrieved June 1, 2010 He was the son of The Reverend

James Maury James Maury (1717–1769) was a prominent Virginia 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 ...

(1719–1769), an educator and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

cleric in the American colonies, of

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 ...

ancestry. Among The Reverend Maury's notable pupils were

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

and James Madison, the First Bishop of Virginia. Young James attended his father's school and was part of a class of five pupils that included Jefferson. Maury frequently accompanied Jefferson to the latter's home on Saturdays when school was not in session

Consul at Liverpool

Secretary of State Jefferson petitioned the then United States President

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 th ...

for an appointment for his former classmate of two years. The petition was successful, and Maury, who was already living and working as a merchant in Liverpool, was appointed consul of the United States at Liverpool in 1790. The

was one of the first overseas consulates founded by the then fledgling

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Liverpool was at the time an important centre for Transatlantic commerce and a vital trading partner for the former

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...

. In 1801 Maury chaired the inaugural meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Liverpool, representing Liverpool merchants trading with the United States. Maury was the first signatory to the society's rules and was its first President. Maury held the position of consul for 39 years under six U.S. presidents, until 1829, when he was removed from office by President

. A Silver platter was presented to him by the merchants of Liverpool after his forty years of service. The inscription reads: "Presented by the merchants and other inhabitants of Liverpool to James Maury, Esq., Late Consul of the United States of America in that Town as a mark of general respect on his removal from an Office which he had honourably held for forty years, 1829." Maury's Liverpool residence is identified as number 4

Rodney St Rodney may refer to: People * Rodney (name) * Rodney (wrestler), American professional wrestler Places ;Australia * Electoral district of Rodney, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rodney County, Queensland ;Canada * Rodney, Ontario, a vi ...

. However he is also recorded (Gores directories) as occupying nos 37, 38 and 44. His portrait, painted by

Gilbert Stuart Newton Gilbert Stuart Newton (2 September 1795 – 5 August 1835) was a British artist. Life Newton was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the twelfth child and youngest son of Henry Newton, a customs official, and Ann, his wife, daughter of Gilbert St ...

, still hangs today in the West Reception Room in

Liverpool Town Hall Liverpool Town Hall stands in High Street at its junction with Dale Street, Castle Street, and Water Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed build ...

Personal life

Maury was married twice, firstly to Catherine Armistead, and secondly to Margaret Rutson. He and Rutson had five children: James Sifrein Maury (1797–1864); William Maury (1799–1849); Matthew Maury (1800–1877); Ann Maury (1803–1876); Rutson Maury (1805–1882).I''ntimate Virginiana: A Century of Maury Travels by Land and Sea'', Anne Fontaine Maury, ed (Richmond: Dietz Press, 1941. Ann Maury conducted considerable research on her family history and published a substantial genealogical chart of the Maury family, which can be still be obtained from The Fontaine Maury Society library.Maury Family webpage
Retrieved June 1, 2010 James Maury died on 23 February 1840 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and is buried in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

Early life

Consul at Liverpool

Personal life

Notes

External links