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Alexandria, VA, Lawyers Papers

An inventory of papers from three American attorneys


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 7 Apr 2010

Biographical History

George Deneale was an attorney in Virginia. He was appointed the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the United States for Alexandria County, a position he held from 1801 until his death in 1818. George Deneale is known to have been acquainted with George Washington and James Madison. He was also a militia officer and a Freemason, and was Grand Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22.

George Gilpin was the first judge of the Orphan's Court of Alexandria in 1800 and became the Postmaster of Alexandria in 1809. George Gilpin was also a member of the same Masonic Lodge as George Washington, and was a pallbearer at Washington's funeral.

Edmund J. Lee was a prominent political and legal figure in Alexandria. He was the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the United States for Alexandria County from 1818 to 1840.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Alexandria, VA, Lawyers Papers contains the papers of attorneys from Alexandria, VA during the late 18th and early 19th century. Three lawyers whose papers are prominently featured in the collection are George Deneale, Edmund Lee, and George Gilpin. The collection is comprised of professional papers, personal papers, and miscellaneous contemporaneous printed items. A few items pertain to Freemasonry in Virginia.

Professional documents contains a variety of legal papers, including a certificate of naturalization, estate documents and inventories, fines from the Mutual Assurance Society against Fire on Buildings of the State of Virginia, property seizures, affidavits, and warrants to the US Marshal service.

Personal papers contain correspondence and other personal documents exclusively of George Deneale.

Printed materials from the mid-19th century include pamphlets and other items.

Arrangement of the Collection

Material within each series is divided into folders by document type (ex: warrants, inventories, etc) and, within each folder, arranged chronologically.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Lee, Edmund, 1772-1843.
Deneale, George, 1766-1818.
Gilpin, George, 1740-1813.

Corporate Bodies

Freemasons. -- Alexandria Lodge, No. 22 (Alexandria, Va.)
Freemasons. -- Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22 (Alexandria, Va.)
Mutual Assurance Society Against Fire on Buildings of the State of Virginia.
United States. -- Circuit Court (District of Virginia)

Subjects

Lawyers -- Virginia.

Places

Alexandria (Va.) -- History.

Genres and Forms

Contracts.
Correspondence.
Estate inventories.
Estate records.
Legal documents.
Summonses.
Warrants.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Alexandria, VA, Lawyers Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Transfer from Kohen collection, 1963.

Table of Contents

Professional documents

Personal papers

Printed materials

Inventory