William Plummer McRae (1863/1864 – July 26, 1901) was an American politician and lawyer from Virginia. He served as a member of 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 ...

, representing Petersburg, for three terms, until his death.

Early life

William Plummer McRae was born in 1863 or 1864 in

Warrenton, North Carolina Warrenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Warren County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 862 at the 2010 census. Warrenton, now served by U.S. routes 158 and 401, was founded in 1779. It became one of the wealthiest towns ...

, to Susan (née Plummer) and Cameron F. McRae. His father was rector at All Hallows Parish in

Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

. He lived in Anne Arundel County until his father's death and then the family moved to North Carolina. He received his early education in Warrenton,

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

and McCabe's University School in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

. McRae passed the examination for

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, but was rejected for being under the required age. In 1881, McRae attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

for one year. He then taught at McCabe's School for two years before returning to the University of Virginia and graduating after another year of study with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

Career

After graduating, McRae worked as a lawyer in Petersburg. He served as vice president and general counsel of the Petersburg Banking and Trust Company. He also served as a clerk of the school board in Petersburg. McRae served as a member of the

, representing Petersburg, from December 6, 1893, to March 4, 1898. He then served from December 6, 1899, to his death. He served on the committee of the American Bar Association on the Uniformity of Laws. At the time of his death, he was chairman of the committee on Courts of Justice.

Personal life

His brother was Cameron Farquhar McRae. McRae drowned on July 26, 1901, while attempting to rescue a boy in the water at

Nags Head, North Carolina Nags Head is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. It is a busy vacation spot because of its beaches and sand dunes of Jockey's Ridge. The population was 3,146 at the 2020 census. History Early maps of the area show Nags Head as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, William Plummer Year of birth uncertain 1860s births 1901 deaths People from Warrenton, North Carolina University of Virginia School of Law alumni Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia lawyers Deaths by drowning in the United States 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers