Virgil Maxcy Lithograph
Virgil Maxcy
Gender:
Male
Born:
May 5, 1785
Died:
February 28, 1844
Home Town:
Attleboro, MA
Later Residences:
Anne Arundel County, MD
Marriage(s):
Mary Galloway Maxcy (unknown)
Biographical Notes:
Virgil Maxcy was a descendant of Alexander Maxcy who settled Attleborough, MA in 1791. His parents were Levi and Ruth [Newell] Maxcy. After graduating from the Law School, he moved to Maryland and opened a legal practice. Maxcy became a prominent lawyer and published three volumes under the title The Laws of Maryland with the Charter, The Bill of Rights, The Constitution of the State and its Alterations: 1692-1809 in 1811.
He campaigned actively for President Andrew Jackson and was rewarded for his support by being appointed the Solicitor of the Treasury, a position created especially for him. In 1829, he was nominated to be the Clerk of Congress and lost to Matthew St. Clair Clark by only one vote.
Four years later, in 1833, he gave an oration before ...
[more]
He campaigned actively for President Andrew Jackson and was rewarded for his support by being appointed the Solicitor of the Treasury, a position created especially for him. In 1829, he was nominated to be the Clerk of Congress and lost to Matthew St. Clair Clark by only one vote.
Four years later, in 1833, he gave an oration before ...
[more]
Quotes:
Maxcy was to marry Litchfield Female Academy student Maria Tallmadge but she broke off the engagement. A letter from Tapping Reeve consoling Maria on her decision indicates that the break may have come in 1807.
While still engaged, Maxcy's friend and Brown and Litchfield Law School classmate Lemuel Williams wrote to him on December 24, 1808 -- a week before his own wedding to Sarah Smith:
"I dwell with particular delight on the circumstance that the wife of my bosom will be the friend of my dearest Virgil."
"O! my Virgil! How ardently I wish that we might all meet together, you & your Maria, I and my Sarah, in the bonds of wedded love, to pass our days in each others vicinity; in the constant interchange of friendship. But such a prospect is too, too blissful ...
[more]
While still engaged, Maxcy's friend and Brown and Litchfield Law School classmate Lemuel Williams wrote to him on December 24, 1808 -- a week before his own wedding to Sarah Smith:
"I dwell with particular delight on the circumstance that the wife of my bosom will be the friend of my dearest Virgil."
"O! my Virgil! How ardently I wish that we might all meet together, you & your Maria, I and my Sarah, in the bonds of wedded love, to pass our days in each others vicinity; in the constant interchange of friendship. But such a prospect is too, too blissful ...
[more]
Education
Years at LLS:
1805
Other Education:
Attended Brown University in 1804.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Training with Other Lawyers:
He studied in Baltimore, MD under Robert Goodloe Harper.
Federal Posts:
Solicitor of the U.S. Treasury Department
U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Brussels (Belgium) 1837-1842
U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Brussels (Belgium) 1837-1842
State Posts:
State Representative (MD)
State Senator (MD)
State Senator (MD)
State Committees:
Member of the Executive Council of MD in 1815.
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
- Mary Galloway Maxcy
Wife - Ruth Newell Maxcy
Mother - Levi Maxcy
Father
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation. Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Litchfield County Bar Association Records, 1805, Helga J. Ingraham Memorial Library, Litchfield Historical Society.
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany, and Company, 1849/
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany, and Company, 1849/
Secondary Sources:
Dewey, Orville. The Appeal of Religion to Men in Power. C.S. Francis, 1844.
Contact Us
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