Joseph William Chinn (November 16, 1798 – December 5, 1840) was a Virginia lawyer, plantation owner and politician who served in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

and in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Early and family life

Born at "Epping Forest" near Nuttsville, Lancaster County, Virginia, the home of his maternal grandfather Col. Joseph Ball (also a maternal grandfather to

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

). His father, also Joseph Chinn, had married Elizabeth Griffin, one of Col. Ball's daughters, and represented Lancaster County in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

alongside Henry Towles from 1792 until 1794, when he was elected to the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

to represent the

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The P ...

counties of Lancaster, Richmond and Northumberland. His paternal grandfather, yet another Joseph Chinn, had served in Virginia's House of Burgesses, representing Lancaster County from 1748 until 1750 (like Col. Ball's grandfather of the same name), when he won election as Lancaster County's coroner and later served as its sheriff. This Joseph Chinn received a private education locally, then traveled to

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

to continue his education, graduating from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1819. Upon returning to Virginia, Chinn studied law at the newly opened proprietary Needham Law School run by Judge Creed Taylor in Needham, Virginia. He married Mary Ann Smith (1802–1865), daughter of Charles Smith of Morattico Hall, who bore a son, also Joseph William Chinn (1836-1908) who inherited the plantation and fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, then became a lawyer and fathered Virginia Supreme Court justice

Joseph W. Chinn Joseph W. Chinn (February 13, 1866 – August 16, 1936) was a Virginia lawyer and judge. Early and family life He was born at the Brockenbrough House in Tappahannock, Virginia to Confederate veteran and lawyer Joseph William Chinn and his ...

(1866-1936).

Career

Admitted to the Virginia bar in 1821, this Joseph W. Chinn began his legal practice on Virginia's

. He also owned land and eventually farmed using enslaved labor. In 1820, his plantation near Stafford, Virginia included 10 persons and no slaves. In 1830, his family in Lancaster County, Virginia included four white persons and 13 slaves. Chinn continued his families' political tradition. Lancaster County voters first elected him to the

in 1826 and re-elected him once. Lancaster County voters also joined others from northern Virginia to elect Chinn to the

, where he served from 1829 until 1831, when he resigned because he had been elected to the

. A

Jacksonian Democrat Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, An ...

, Chinn defeated anti-Jacksonian congressman John Taliaferro in 1830 and representing Virginia's 13th congressional district. He won re-election despite being to redistricted

Virginia's 10th congressional district Virginia's 10th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is currently represented by Democrat Jennifer Wexton, who was first elected in 2018. The district includes all of Clarke County, ...

. However, in 1834, Chinn lost his second re-election bid to Taliaferro (who would later win re-election as a Whig). During his second term, Chinn was chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia (1833 to 1835). Afterwards, he moved to

Richmond County, Virginia Richmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 8,923. Its county seat is Warsaw. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state capi ...

where he resumed practicing law and operating his plantation.

Death and legacy

Chinn died at his estate called "Wilna" near

Farnham, Virginia Farnham is an unincorporated community in Richmond County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. History Farnham takes its name from Farnham, in Surrey, England. The North Farnham Church was built in 1737 and has featured in historic events since the ...

on December 5, 1840 and was interred in the family cemetery on the Wilna property. His widow and young son Joseph Chinn moved to Tappahannock,

Essex County, Virginia Essex County is a county located in the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia; the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River on the north and King and Queen County on the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,599. ...

where they lived with the family of merchant Robert Hopkins. By 1860 the boy had reached legal age, claimed his inheritance and married, living with his wife Gabriella in Richmond County. He would leave the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in July, 1861, enlist as a private in the

40th Virginia Infantry The 40th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. Prior to the reorganization of the army ...

and become the regimental sergeant major in 1862 before transferring to the

9th Virginia Cavalry The 9th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. History Virginia’s 9th Cavalry Regiment ...

. He survived the American Civil War and received a presidential pardon after only mentioning his clerical service on September 9, 1865. Eventually, his son (this Joseph W. Chinn's grandson), yet another Joseph William Chinn continued the family's legal tradition and later became a justice of the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

. The family's Richmond County home, Wilna, remains a private home. The Chinn family left Wilna in 1890 to relocate to Sunnyside Plantation in nearby Warsaw. Although several generations of this Chinn family achieved political office, descendants continued prominent on the Northern Neck, and this Joseph Chinn for a time represented Prince William County (and adjoining areas), the historical marker in Prince William County near Minnieville and Old Bridge Roads, as well as the 98-acre Chinn Regional Park, Chinn Regional Library and Chinn Aquatic Center remember the legacy of an early and distinguished African-American family descended from the 19th century emancipated slaves Thomas Chinn and his wife Nancy (who bought 500 acres between Telegraph and Davis Ford Roads at the end of the American Civil War), and their daughter Mary Jane Chinn (1827-1907), who became the family's matriarch.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinn, Joseph 1798 births 1840 deaths Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia state senators Virginia lawyers Union College (New York) alumni People from Lancaster County, Virginia Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians