| Notes |
- Lewis Maxwell was a member of Congress from 1827 to 1833. A wealthy man for his time, he was a surveyor who entered large tracts of land all over his region of the state. Childless, he left no heirs, so much of his fortune fell to his nephew, Franklin Maxwell. Specifically, his will "gave his widow her dower, and divided the residue of the estate equally between the sons of his nephew Franklin one-half, and the other one-half equally among the sons of his brothers and half-brothers; Franklin Maxwell, under the Will, received $2,000 for settling the estate, and Judge Edwin Maxwell and the Judge's brother Rufus Maxwell received his Library."
["History of Ritchie County," p. 603, by Minnie Kendall Lowther]
["The Lowther Family of Doddridge County, West Virginia," p. 1, by Lathrop Russell Charter]
The 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule for Doddridge County, enumerated on Jun 1 1860, contains the following entry:
Slave owner: Lewis Maxwell
Description of slaves:
1 black female, age 70
1 black male, age 29
"MAXWELL, Lewis, (1790 - 1862) MAXWELL, Lewis, a Representative from Virginia; born in Chester County, Pa., April 17, 1790; moved with his mother to Virginia about 1800; completed a preparatory course; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Weston, Va. (now West Virginia); member of the State house of delegates 1821-1824; elected to the Twentieth Congress; reelected to the Twenty-first Congress and reelected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-second Congress (March 4, 1827-March 3, 1833); chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Twenty-first Congress), Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Twenty-second Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1832; resumed the practice of law and was also engaged as a surveyor and land patentee; died in West Union, Doddridge County, Va. (now West Virginia), February 13, 1862; interment in Odd Fellows Cemetery."
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000269
Background Information: Lewis Maxwell was born either in Colrain Township of Lancaster County or in Chester County, Pennsylvania on April 17, 1790, and was the son of Thomas Maxwell and Jane Lewis . As a child, he moved with his mother to Lewis County, Virginia. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and became a member of the State House of Delegates 1821-1824. He was served in Congress from 1827 to 1833, after which he resumed the practice of law, was a surveyor and land speculator. He married Sophronia Wilson in 1844, and later, in 1859, Jane Pritchard, who survived him. He was one of the largest landholders in the region, a founder of Weston, (West) Virginia and the founder of Jane Lew, a town named after his mother. He died in West Union, Doddridge County, (West) Virginia on February 13, 1862 and was buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery. Childless, his fortune ultimately descended to his nephew Franklin Maxwell, son of his older brother Abner.
http://www.historybyhand.com/Document%20Descriptions/DM4045.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Maxwell
(NOTE: This report of Lewis Maxwell's burial at the Odd Fellows Cemetery is incorrect, as that cemetery did not exist until 1899. His monument is located in the nearby Old Seventh Day Baptist section of what is now known as Blockhouse Hill Cemetery. The other two Blockhouse Hill Cemetery sections are the former IOOF Cemetery and the Catholic section.)
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1790 - 1862 (71 years)
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