John Wickham (1763-1839) - Find a Grave Memorial

Attorney. He was a respected Virginia lawyer for many years. Raised in New York City by a British Loyalist family, he studied at the Military Academy in Arras, France, before returning to America. During the American Revolution he was arrested as a British spy on orders from Governor Thomas Jefferson and tried but acquitted. After the war he settled in Williamsburg, Virginia, and received a law degree from William and Mary College; Wickham moved to Richmond, Virgina, in 1790 and quickly established himself as the leading attorney of the city and as a Federalist political figure. For a time the law partner of future Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall he was associated in several cases with Marshall and with Patrick Henry, in the process becoming quite wealthy. Wickham's most noted case was as counsel for the defense in the trial of former United States Vice President Aaron Burr for treason in 1807. His successful defense won him wide renown and the wrath of Thomas Jefferson, with whom he may well have been settling an old score by becoming involved. Once during the trial Wickham hosted a dinner party for Burr his home; one of his guests was Chief Justice Marshall who was sitting as Judge in the case and who remained at the party even after finding Burr there. Despite Marshall's status as a friend and neighbor of the attorney this incident caused much comment at the time. Indeed, the propriety of the Chief Justice accepting such an invitation, as well as the question of Burr's innocence or guilt and whether Marshall rigged the trial to hurt Jefferson politically, is still debated in historical circles. Wickham continued his legal practice until his death. His house on Clay Street is now the Valentine Museum and has been maintained much as it was during his lifetime.

Bio by: Bob Hufford