Grate
Iron, steel
Maker: Oldham
c. 1780-1796

Bushrod Washington

American, 1762 - 1829

BiographyBorn June 5, 1762 in Westmoreland County, VA, Bushrod Washington was the son of John Augustine and Hannah Bushrod, and nephew of George Washington. Bushrod entered the College of William and Mary in 1775 and upon graduation in 1778 began his study of law under George Wythe. In 1781 he enlisted in the Continental Army as a private and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. At the end of the war, he resumed his study of law in Philadelphia in the office of James Wilson. In 1784, he was admitted to the Virginia bar and began to practice in Alexandria. Between 1785 and 1798, Washington built a private legal practice, living at times in Alexandria and Richmond. He also served his state as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1787 and as a delegate to the Virginia Convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1788. His legal career changed substantially in 1798 when President John Adams appointed him to the U. S. Supreme Court, a position he would occupy from February 1799 until his death. During his tenure on the Supreme Court, an institution whose prestige rose dramatically during these critical years, he was noted for being a diligent student of the law and clear in his reasoning. In 1785, Washington married Julia Ann Blackburn, daughter of Col. Thomas Blackburn of “Rippon Lodge,” and they had no children. In addition to owning “Belvidere” (former estate William Bird III) between 1795 and 1798, Washington inherited the Mount Vernon of his uncle, George Washington, in 1799, as well as his library and papers. He made Mount Vernon his principal residence in 1802, upon the death of Martha Washington. Bushrod and his wife died within two days of each other, on November 26 and 28, 1829 respectively. They are interred at Mount Vernon.

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