Paul Carrington (March 16, 1733 – June 23, 1818) was a
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 ...
planter, lawyer, judge and politician. He served in the
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...
before being elected a justice of the Virginia Court of Appeals (now the
Supreme Court of Virginia). He was a delegate to the
Virginia Ratifying Convention
The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...
in 1788, and cast his vote for ratification of the
United States Constitution.
Early life and education
Carrington was born on March 16, 1733 at "Boston Hill" in what was then
Goochland County of the
Colony of Virginia, later
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberla ...
. His parents were Col. George Carrington (1711–1785) and his kinswoman Johanna Mayo (1712–1785). His paternal grandparents, Dr. Paul Carrington and Henningham Codrington, had migrated from
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to the
Island of Barbados. His father immigrated to the Colony of Virginia in 1723. A family tradition claims that the father accompanied William Mayo on the 1728 expedition to survey the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. If accurate, Col. Carrington, William Mayo and William Cabell (1700-1774) were three of the largest landowners in southern Virginia. Col. Carrington did patent land that became Albemarle, Buckingham, Cumberland and Goochland Counties.
Paul Carrington's maternal grandparents were Major William Mayo and Frances Gould.
[Brown, Alexander. ''The Cabells and Their Kin''. Garrett and Massie, 1939, p. 223.]
After a private education, at about age 17 Carrington began to study (read) law under the direction of Colonel Clement Read in
Lunenburg County.
On October 1 of that year he married Margaret Read, Col. Read's second daughter, and they resided at
Mulberry Hill. Their children included George Carrington (1756–1809), Mary Scott Carrington Venable (1758–1837), Ann Carrington Cabell (1760–1838), Clement Carrington (1762–1847) and Paul Carrington (1764–1816).
His wife died May 1, 1766; Carrington referred to her as "the best of wives and a woman of innumerable virtues."
Career
In May 1755, Carrinton received a license to practice law in Virginia, signed by
Peyton Randolph
Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia' ...
,
John Randolph and
George Wythe
George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...
. In 1756, he accepted an appointment as king's attorney (prosecutor) for
Bedford County. As he gained legal and political experience, and colonial settlement moved westward, he accepted additional appointments as king's attorney—for
Mecklenburg County in 1767, of
Botetourt County
Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mou ...
in 1770, and of Lunenburg County in 1770.
Carrington also became an officer of the
Lunenburg County militia, with the rank of major in 1761. In 1764, he became colonel of the
Charlotte County militia in 1764. He also served for years a vestryman and churchwarden of Cornwall Parish.
After practicing law in various southern Virginia counties, Carrington was elected as a representative to the
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...
for Charlotte County, which had been formed from then-vast Lunenburg County. He served in that position from 1765 until 1775. He was additionally made county lieutenant and presiding justice of Charlotte in 1772 and clerk of
Halifax County that year. He was chairman of the Charlotte County Committee from 1774–1776, which endorsed the resolutions of the Continental Congress,
[Brown, Alexander. ''The Cabells and Their Kin''. Garrett and Massie, 1939, p. 224.] and in 1775 became a member of the first Board of Trustees in the founding of
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census.
Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all- ...
.
![SB Mulberry Hill (16149945742)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/SB_Mulberry_Hill_%2816149945742%29.jpg)
Legislators elected Carrington as a Judge of the first Virginia General Court under the newly adopted Virginia state constitution on January 23, 1778. He was the second Justice appointed to the new Court of Appeals, which was then composed of judges from the General, the Admiralty and the Chancery Courts. In 1780 he became the chief justice of the Virginia General Court. In 1789, he was elected by the Virginia General Assembly to be a justice of the reorganized
Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
In 1788, Carrington was a delegate to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, which narrowly ratified the
United States Constitution, by a vote of 89 – 79. Although he voted in favor of ratification, he also played a vigorous role in the development of the
Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to reform or abolish "inadequate" government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaratio ...
, which was a model for the
U.S. Bill of Rights
The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections rais ...
.
On March 6, 1792 Carrington married his second wife, Priscilla Sims, aged 16. Their children were: Henry Carrington (1793–1867), Lettice Priscilla Carrington Coles (1798–1875), and Robert Carrington (1802–1845). She died in September 1803 and he recorded that her loss was irreparable to him and to her family.
[Brown, Alexander. ''The Cabells and Their Kin''. Garrett and Massie, 1939, p. 226.]
Retirement and death
At age 75, concerned as to his ability to continue judicial duties, Carrington resigned from the bench in 1807. On August 1 of that year he wrote, "I have served the public a great many years, and I know with faithful integrity, I had arrived to a time of life that every man ought, in my opinion, to retire, and not remain and die at his post as some of my brethren have." Judge Carrington lived in retirement another 11 years until he died at the age of 85.
Judge Carrington is buried between his wives on the grounds at
Mulberry Hill near
Randolph, Virginia; his home was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1973. His papers, with those of his sons Clement and Robert Carrington, are held by the
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...
. They include powers of attorney, judicial records, receipts, tax records, and deeds for the purchase of land and
slaves.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrington, Paul
House of Burgesses members
Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Virginia lawyers
1733 births
1818 deaths
People from Charlotte County, Virginia
Delegates to the Virginia Ratifying Convention
18th-century American politicians
People from Cumberland County, Virginia
U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
18th-century American judges
19th-century American judges