David Jameson (governor)
David Jameson | |
|---|---|
| Acting Governor of Virginia | |
| In office November 22, 1781 – December 1, 1781 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Nelson, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Harrison V |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from Elizabeth City, Warwick and York Counties | |
| In office May 7, 1781 – May 4, 1783 | |
| Preceded by | John Cary |
| Succeeded by | William Lee |
| Member of the Virginia Governor's Council | |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from Elizabeth City, Warwick and York Counties | |
| In office October 7, 1776 – December 1776 | |
| Preceded by | position created |
| Succeeded by | Augustine Moore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1723 |
| Died | (aged 69–70) |
David Jameson (1723 – July 10, 1793) was a Virginia merchant and politician who briefly served the acting Governor of Virginia in November 1781, during an illness of Virginia governor Thomas Nelson, Jr..
Early life and education
Jameson was born at St. Anne’s Parish in Essex County in 1723, the son of James Jameson and his wife. His family included at least one brother, Thomas, who moved to frontier Culpeper County, served in the Revolutionary War and sired sons David (who represented Culpeper County in the Virginia house of Delegates 1789-1790) and John. This David Jameson attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).[1][2]
Career
Jameson became a prominent merchant in Yorktown, as well as an inventor. In 1773 he was elected treasurer of the "Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge" organized at Williasburg with John Clayton as president, and later John Page.[3]
During the initial session of the Virginia State Senate during the Revolutionary War, Jameson represented Elizabeth City, Warwick and York Counties from October 7, 1776 until he resigned because fellow legislators elected him to serve on Patrick Henry's Privy Council.[4][1][5] However, some confusion exists as to his exact position because Virginia's first constitution elimitated the Governor's Council of colonial times, and the position of lieutenant governor described below was only created by Virginia's Constitution of 1850.[6]
Jameson served from 1780 to 1781 as lieutenant governor under Thomas Nelson, Jr. (signer of the United States Declaration of Independence) and briefly served as Governor in August 1781 when Nelson took ill,[7] before the ascension of Benjamin Harrison V to the office.[8]
In 1783, Jameson was again elected to the Virginia State Senate.[1][9]
Personal life
Jameson wed Mildred Smith,[10] the marriage produced no children.[11].
Death and legacy
Jameson died on July 10, 1793.[1] His will dated October 14, 1792 was admitted to probate on July 2, 1793.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "David Jameson". www.nga.org. National Governors Association. January 13, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ↑ Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (1915) vol. 2, pp. 328-329, available at hathitrust.org.
- ↑ Tyler
- ↑ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 124 and note
- ↑ "Founders Online: To James Madison from David Jameson, 15 September 1781". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ↑ https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/governors-council-the/
- ↑ Raimo, John W. Biographical Directory of American Colonial and Revolutionary Governors, 1607-1789. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, c. 1980.
- ↑ "Virginia". Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ↑ Leonard pp. 144, 148, 152
- ↑ Marriages and Deaths from Richmond, Virginia Newspapers, 1780-1820. Special Publication Number 8. Richmond: Virginia Genealogical Society, c. 1983.
- ↑ Headley, Robert K. Jr. Genealogical Abstracts from 18th-Century Virginia Newspapers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987.
- ↑ Tyler