Some Virginia Lawyers of the Past and Present.
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SOME VIRGINIA LAWYERS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT. By Sallie E. Marshall Hardy.
IV. "Virginia! The pathway of whose splendid civilization, trodden with the civic crown of law on her brow, and the torch of liberty in her unmailed hand, has been illumined by the genius, the patriotism and learning of her sons." — Judge T. K. B. Wright. JAMES ALEXANDER SEDDON was born July 13, 1815, at Falmouth, 'Staf ford County, Va. He came of noble an cestry. Thomas Seddon, his father, first a merchant and then a banker of wide re pute, was descended from John Seddon, of Lancashire, England, who settled in Staf ford County in col onial days. Susan Alexander, his moth er, was of Scotch de scent, a lineal de scendant of the Earl of Stirling. Mr. Sed don was never a ro bust man, and inearly life was so delicate that his education was much neglected. He was taught at JAMKS a. home and at the Fred ericksburg grammar school. It was later in life he acquired the great knowledge, especially of ancient clas sics and literature, which distinguished him as a scholar and made him ever one of the most agreeable of men. He was twenty-one when he entered the law school of the Uni versity of Virginia. He graduated with the degree of B. L., and had attained such dis tinction as a speaker that he was unani mously selected by his professors and fel low-students " First Orator," which, in that
day was the highest honor conferred at the famous Virginia University. He began the prac tice of law in Rich mond and soon was retained in most of the important cases of the day. As a law yer, it is said : " He was noted for his 1 great learning, pene I trating intellect and persuasive elo quence." For years he occupied a con spicuous place in pol . itics. In 1845 he was nominated by the Democrats in t h e Richmond district for Congress and was elected, although the district had been a doubtful one, by a handsome majority. seddon In 1847 he was again nominated, but not being in accord with the resolutions of the nominating convention, he declined the nomi nation and their candidate was defeated. Two years later he again received the nomination and was elected by a large majority over two opponents. He had been inclined to the Whig party, but after much thought and study he became a Democrat and he was considered " one of the most ardent expon ents of the doctrines of the State's Rights school of politics, of which -Mr. Calhoun
