FATHERS OF THE REVOLUTION
23
died June zj, 1795. and was buried in the
churchyard at Jamestown. He left one son,
William Ludweli Lee, who died without
i« sue ; and two daughters — Portia, who mar-
ried William Hodgson, of White Haven,
England, and Cornelia, who married John
Hopkins, Esq.. of Richmond, Virginia.
Lewis, Andrew (q. v., i-277).
Lewis, Thomas (q. v., i-278).
Lyons, Peter, a native of Ireland, mi- grated to Virginia about 1750, and studied law under James Power, an English gentle- man, resident in King William county, Vir- ginia, whose daughter he married. He was the attorney tor Mr. Maury in the famous parson's cause in 1763, when Patrick Henry made his famous debut as an orator. He was a friend of the revolution, and in 1779 was made judge of the general court, and thereby became cx-officio a judge of the first supreme court of appeals. In 1789 he was appointed a judge of the new court of appeals, consisting of five judges, and held office till his death. In 1803 he became president on the death of Judge Pendleton. He died July 30, 1809.
Madison, James, son of Colonel James Madison, and Eleanor (Rose) Conway, his wife, was descended from John Madison, a shipwright, who took out a patent for land in 1653. His father was a man of large estate, president of the county court of Orange, and colonel of the county militia. He was born March 16, 1751, and as a boy attended the schools of Donald Robertson and Rev. Mr. Martin. In 1769 he went to Princeton College, where he showed his natural brilliancy of mind in graduating in two years. He continued a year longer
studying under the advice of President
Withcrspoon, and on his return to Virginia
continued the life of a student at home, as
his health was bad. He was a member of
the revolutionary committee of Orange
county, in 1774, and was elected two years
later a member of the May convention, 1776.
Notwithstanding his youth, his influence
was promptly felt, and it was on his motion
that the word "toleration" was struck from
George Mason's draft of the Declaration of
Rights, and the word "freedom" used in its
place. He lost his election to the general
a.<*sembly, in 1777, because of his refusal to
treat and electioneer, but was elected to the
executive council by the general assembly in
the winter of 1 777-1 778. He remained a
member two years, when he was elected by
the general assembly a member of Congress,
in which body he served until the fall of
1783. It was in this assembly that Madison
began the work which ultimately led to a
new constitution and the granting of na-
tional powers to the Federal government.
He zealously advocated the grant to Con-
gross for twenty-five years of the authority
to levy an impost duty, independent of the
states, and his address to the people of the
Lnited States in advocacy was one of his
ablest state papers. He served in the house
of delegates of Virginia in 1784 and 1785,
and as chairman of the judiciary committee
was particularly instrumental in securing
the adoption of many of the laws proposed
by Jefferson and the other revisors in 1779.
He supported the grant of the impost to
Congress, and advocated retaliation against
Great Britain for its commercial restric-
tions : and when the motion of John Tyler
v^'as adopted for a general commercial meet-
ing of the states at Annapolis, he was ap-
Digitized by
Google
