Thomas Griffin (1773 – October 7, 1837) was an eighteenth and nineteenth century politician, planter, lawyer and judge 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 and family life

Born in

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Cou ...

to Dr. Corbin Griffin and his wife. His father was a prominent local patriot during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

: as a member of the York County Committee of Safety (1775-1776), and then as surgeon in the Virginia line. Meanwhile, young Thomas remained in the Hampton Roads area and received a private education suitable to his class, then studied law. He married his cousin Mary, daughter of prominent lawyer and patriot, then U.S. District Judge

Cyrus Griffin Cyrus Griffin (July 16, 1748 – December 14, 1810), a Virginia lawyer and politician, was the final President of the Congress of the Confederation and first United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vir ...

Career

After being admitted to the Virginia bar, Griffin practiced law, as well as operated a plantation using enslaved labor. In the last census before his death, he owned 29 enslaved people, and his household also included a free Black woman of between 24 and 35 years old. Voters in York County first elected Griffin 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-numbe ...

in 1793, and he won re-election each year until 1800. During this part-time legislative service, Griffin also accepted an appointment as a justice of the court of

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...

on October 17, 1796, serving until 1810. In 1802, Congressman John Stratton having announced his retirement, Griffin won election as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1802, serving from 1803 to 1805. Democratic Republican

Burwell Bassett Burwell Bassett, Jr. (March 18, 1764 – February 26, 1841) was an American planter and politician from New Kent County and for two decades from Williamsburg in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like his father, he served in both chambers of the ...

defeated him in 1804 (and would win re-election several times He was then appointed chief justice of the

Court of Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

in Yorktown on September 1, 1805, serving until 1810 when he became a justice of the York County Court, serving as this until 1812. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, British ships threatened the Hampton Roads area. Griffin served as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of Infantry, and was second in command during the Battle of Hampton. After the war, Griffin again became a justice of the court of

, this time as chairman of the court, serving from 1814 to 1820. In 1819, voters again elected Griffin as one of their representatives in the

, and re-elected him, so he served from 1819 to 1823. He again won election and re-election from 1827 to 1830,Leonard pp. 341, 346, 351 but following the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830, the Tidewater area lost representatives and more were allocated to western Virginia, so the York County district was merged with neighboring James City County.

Death and legacy

Griffin died at "The Mansion" near

on October 7, 1837.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Thomas 1773 births 1837 deaths Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia lawyers Virginia state court judges People from Virginia in the War of 1812 Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 18th-century American lawyers 19th-century American lawyers People from Yorktown, Virginia