John Minor (politician)

John Minor Jr. (May 13, 1761 – June 8, 1816) was an American politician and lawyer from Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates.

John Minor Jr.
Personal details
Born(1761-05-13)May 13, 1761
Caroline County, Colony of Virginia, British America
DiedJune 8, 1816(1816-06-08) (aged 55)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeMasonic Cemetery
Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Mary Berkeley
(m. 1786; died 1787)

Lucy Landon Carter
(m. 1793)
RelationsMatthew Fontaine Maury (grandson)
Charles Minor Blackford (grandson)
Children7, including Mary
Occupation
  • Politician
  • lawyer

Early life

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John Minor Jr. was born on May 13, 1761, at Topping Castle in Caroline County, Virginia, to John Minor.[1][2][3] His grandfather John Minor was justice of the peace in Spotsylvania County.[3]

Career

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Minor was the first commonwealth's attorney for Fredericksburg.[4] He served in the Virginia House of Delegates. In the 1770s or 1780s, he proposed a bill in the Virginia General Assembly for the emancipation of slaves.[4][5][6] He was a presidential elector during James Monroe's election.[3]

Minor served as a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He attained the rank of general while serving in the War of 1812.[2][3][7] He was a slave owner.[8]

Personal life

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Minor married Mary Berkeley, daughter of Nelson Berkeley, of Airwell, Hanover County, Virginia, in February 1786. His wife died in 1787.[2][9] He married Lucy Landon Carter, daughter of Landon Carter, of Cleve, King George County, Virginia, on December 12, 1793.[1][2][4][10] They had seven children, including Lucian, Mary Berkeley, Lancelot Byrd and John.[1][3][5][8][7] His grandsons were Matthew Fontaine Maury[4] and Charles Minor Blackford.[2] He lived at Hazel Hill on Princess Anne Street in Fredericksburg.[6][11] He was friends with James Monroe.[3]

Minor died on June 8, 1816, in Richmond.[1][12] He was interred at the family burial ground at Hazel Hill (Sligo).[3][13] He was reinterred at the Masonic Cemetery in Fredericksburg on December 29, 1855.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d The Minor Family of Virginia. p. 10. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Lyon Gardiner Tyler, ed. (1915). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Vol. 5. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 845–859. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "To Mark Graves of Early Patriots". The Free Lance-Star. September 11, 1929. p. 2. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 
  4. ^ a b c d e Fleming, Vivian Minor (1921). Historic Periods of Fredericksburg, 1608–1861. W. C. Hill Printing Company. p. 22. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  5. ^ a b Tyler-McGraw, Marie (2007). An African Republic. The University of North Carolina Press. p. 89. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org.
  6. ^ a b Lathrop, Elise (1927). Historic Houses of Early America. Tudor Publishing Company. p. 131. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  7. ^ a b Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. S. B. Nelson. 1900. pp. 639–640. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  8. ^ a b Dunn, D. Elwood (1992). A History of the Episcopal Church in Liberia, 1821–1980. p. 57. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org.
  9. ^ "Virginia Council Journals, 1726–1753". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Vol. 35, no. 1. pp. 39–40. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  10. ^ Garber, Virginia Armistead (1910). The Armistead Family, 1635–1910. pp. 38–39. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  11. ^ Goolrick, John T. (1922). Historic Fredericksburg: The Story of an Old Town. p. 168. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Archive.org. 
  12. ^ "Communication". Richmond Enquirer. June 12, 1816. p. 3. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. 
  13. ^ "Departed this life." Richmond Enquirer. June 15, 1816. p. 2. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.