The New International Encyclopædia/Washington, Bushrod

WASHINGTON, Bushrod (1762-1829). An American jurist, born in Westmoreland County, Va. He was the son of John Augustine Washington, younger brother of General Washington. He graduated at William and Mary College in 1778; studied law in Philadelphia; practiced for a time in his native county; and from 1780 until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown served as a volunteer in Col. J. F. Mercer's troop of horse. In 1787 he became a member of the House of Delegates, and in the following year was a member of the Virginia convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. In 1798 he became an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. Four years later, upon the death of Martha Washington, he inherited the mansion of Mount Vernon and part of the estate. Among his published works are: Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia (1798-99); and Reports of Cases Determined in the Circuit Court of the United States, for the Third Circuit, from 1803 till 1827, edited by Richard Peters (1826-29). His Life was written by Horace Binney (privately printed, Philadelphia, 1858).