Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

William Wirt (1772-1834)
MSA SC 3520-2162

Biography:

Born November 8, 1772, near Bladensburg, Prince George's County, Maryland. Son of Henrietta and Jacob Wirt. Attended Rev. James Hunt's Academy, Montgomery County, Maryland, 1783-1787. Read law with William P. Hunt, Montgomery County, Maryland, 1789, and with Thomas Swann, Leesburg, Virginia, 1790. Married Mildred Gilmer, May 28, 1795. Admitted to the bar of Virginia, 1792; admitted to the Baltimore bar, 1818. Married Elizabeth Washington, September 7, 1802. Twelve children: Laura Henrietta; Robert Gamble; Emily; Betsy; Elizabeth Gamble; Catherine G.; Rosa E.; Ellen Tazewell; Dabney Carr; Agnes C.; Henry G.; William C. Died February 18, 1834 in Washington D.C.

Clerk, Virginia House of Delegates, 1800. Chancellor, Eastern District, Virginia House of Delegates, 1802. Prosecuting attorney, trial of Aaron Burr, 1807. U.S. Attorney General, 1817-1829. Unsuccessful candidate for president, 1832. Democratic-Repubilcan, later member of Anti-Masonic Party.

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