John Wayles Eppes

John Wayles Eppes

John Wayles Eppes (April 19, 1773 – September 13, 1823) was a United States Representative and a Senator from Virginia.

Personal life

Eppes was born at Eppington, Chesterfield County, Virginia the only son and youngest of six children of Francis Eppes and Elizabeth (née Wayles) on April 19, 1773. He attended the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia and graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia in 1786. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1794 and commenced practice in Richmond, Virginia.

He married his cousin Mary Jefferson (known also as "Polly" and "Maria"), the daughter of Thomas Jefferson, October 13, 1797 at Monticello. Amongst the wedding presents received from Jefferson was the 14-year-old slave Betsy Hemmings (who may have been Jefferson's illegitimate daughter). Eppes and Maria had three children: a daughter born December 31, 1799 who lived only weeks; a son Francis W. Eppes (September 20, 1801–May 30, 1881) and Martha (February 20, 1804–July 1807). His wife Maria died just two months after bearing Martha, on April 17, 1804 at her father's home. Eppes moved to a new plantation called Milbrook where Betsy Hemmings is recorded as being the nurse of his son Francis. When Betsy had a daughter by Eppes the child was named Frances.

In 1809 Eppes married nineteen-year-old Martha Jones from North Carolina; she was known as Patsy. They had their first child in 1810 and the last in 1820.

Political career

Eppes was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1801 to 1803 and on March 4, 1803 he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the Eighth United States Congress and the next three succeeding Congresses. He chaired the Ways and Means Committee for the Eleventh Congress but failed to be elected to the Twelfth. and spent two years planting at Milbrook. He was elected to the Thirteenth Congress (March 4, 1813-March 3, 1815) and chaired the Committee on Ways and Means again. After losing the election to the Fourteenth Congress he was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1817, until December 4, 1819, when he resigned because of ill health. He chaired the Committee on Finance during the second session of the Fifteenth Congress.

Retirement and death

Eppes retired to his estate, ‘Millbrook’, in Buckingham County, Virginia, where he died September 13, 1823 and was interred in the private cemetery of the Eppes family at Millbrook, near Curdsville, Virginia. When Betsy Hemmings died in 1857 she was buried next to Eppes' grave with an elaborate stone. Patsy Eppes died at Millbrook in 1862 and was buried at her daughter's home in nearby Chellowe instead of beside her husband at Millbrook. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Patsy Eppes would not be buried near her husband's mistress, Betsy Hemmings.

A portrait of Eppes hangs in the dining room of Weston Manor house in Hopewell, Virginia. The plantation was a wedding gift to his cousin Christian Eppes and William Gilliam.

References

* [http://www.buckinghamhemmings.com/ Edna Bolling Jacques, "The Hemmings Family in Buckingham County, Virginia"] Retrieved March 7, 2005

External links

* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000197 biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Wayles Eppes — (* 19. April 1773 in Eppington, Chesterfield County, Virginia; † 13. September 1823 im Buckingham County, Virginia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker (Demokratisch Republikanische Partei), der den Bundesstaat Virginia in beiden Kammern des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Eppes — may refer to several American people: *Francis Eppes *Francis W. Eppes Intendant Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida. *John Wayles Eppes Democrat; U.S. Representative from Virginia; U.S. Senator from Virginia *Nelda Eppes Republican; Presidential… …   Wikipedia

  • Eppes — Der Name Eppes bezeichnet: eine Gemeinde in Frankreich, siehe Eppes (Aisne) John Wayles Eppes (1773–1823), einen US amerikanischen Politiker Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson — Infobox Person name = Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson image size = caption = birth name = Martha Wayles birth date = birth date|1748|10|30 birth place = death date = death date and age|1782|09|06|1748|10|30 death place = death cause = resting… …   Wikipedia

  • Mary Jefferson Eppes — Born August 1, 1778 Died April 17, 1804(1804 04 17) (aged 25) Mary Jefferson Eppes, born Mary Jefferson (August 1, 1778 – April 17, 1804), was the younger of Thomas Jefferson s two daughters who survived infancy. At the age of nine, she… …   Wikipedia

  • Francis W. Eppes — Francis Wayles Eppes VII (September 20, 1801 ndash; May 10, 1881) was the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson being born to Maria Jefferson and John Wayles Eppes. Francis Eppes was born at Monticello in Albemarle County Virginia. He studied… …   Wikipedia

  • Mary “Polly” “Maria” Jefferson Eppes — Mary Jefferson Eppes (August 1, 1778 – April 17, 1804) was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, and his only wife Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. She is the younger of Jefferson s two children to survive… …   Wikipedia

  • Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson — (* 19. Oktober 1748 in Charles City County; † 6. September 1782 in Charlottesville, Virginia) war die Ehefrau des dritten US Präsidenten Thomas Jefferson. Sie wurde nie First Lady, da sie vor dem Beginn der Präsidentschaft ihres Mannes gestorben… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martha Wayles Skelton — Jefferson Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson (19 octobre 1748 – 6 septembre 1782) fut l épouse de Thomas Jefferson avant que celui ci ne devienne le troisième président des États Unis d Amérique (1801 1809). Elle était la fille aînée de John Wayles… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson — Portrait de Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson (19 octobre 1748 – 6 septembre 1782) fut l épouse de Thomas Jefferson avant que celui ci ne devienne le troisième président des États Unis (1801 1809). Elle était la… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”