page_title: St. George Tucker
section_title: Marriage and family
hierarchical_section_title: St. George Tucker / Marriage and family
caption_attribution_description: English: A view of the St. George Tucker House in Colonial Williamsburg
context_page_description: St. George Tucker, born in Bermuda, was a lawyer and, after the American Revolution, a professor of law at the College of William & Mary. He notably increased the requirements for a law degree at the college, as he believed lawyers needed deep educations. He served as a judge of the General Court of Virginia and later on the Court of Appeals.
  Following the American Revolutionary War, Tucker supported the gradual emancipation of slaves, which he proposed to the state legislature in a pamphlet published in 1796. He wrote an American edition of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England that became a valuable reference work for many American lawyers and law students in the early 19th century. President James Madison in 1813 appointed Tucker as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Virginia, later serving on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Many of his descendants were notable lawyers, professors and politicians.
context_section_description: In 1778, Tucker married Frances (Bland) Randolph, a wealthy young widow who was the daughter of Theodorick Bland of Cawsons and mother of three young boys, Richard, Theodorick, and John. He moved to her plantation, Matoax, in Chesterfield County. Tucker and Frances had three sons together, Henry St. George Tucker Sr., Nathaniel Beverley Tucker, and Theodorick Thomas Tudor; they also had two daughters, Anne Frances and Elizabeth. Frances died in 1788 after giving birth to Elizabeth.
  After Frances's death, Tucker left Matoax for a house facing the Palace Green and Market Square in Williamsburg; this house remains today on the grounds of Colonial Williamsburg as the St. George Tucker House. In 1791, Tucker married Leila Skipwith Carter, a widow who was previously married to George Carter, descendant of Robert "King" Carter. Leila and her two children, Charles and Mary "Polly" Carter, joined Tucker and his children in Williamsburg. After Tucker retired from the bench in 1825, he and Leila would alternate time between their home in Williamsburg and a cottage on the Edgewood estate. Tucker suffered a stroke in 1827, dying six weeks later on November 10, 1827.
caption: Tucker’s home in Williamsburg, Va.
exif: {}