Benjamin Waller (1 October 1716 – 1 May 1786) was descended from a Virginia family established in the state since the 17th century. He was born in King William County, Virginia, the son of Col. John and Dorothy (King) Waller, and was trained as a lawyer utilizing the legal library of Sir John Randolph. Benjamin Waller was a clerk of the general court for a number of years and, in 1777, he was named presiding judge of the court of admiralty in Williamsburg, Virginia. Subsequently, he served as a judge on the first Court of Appeals where he remained until 1785 when the court moved to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. He was an eminent lawyer of Colonial times and held many important offices under the crown. His name is on the list of the Committee of Safety for the city of Williamsburg Dec. 1774 (Forces Archives.) He was Judge of the Court of Admiralty and in a list of the Judges of the Supreme court of Virginia 1778 (WMQ July 1898). Also: King's attorney of Gloucester (1738); Clerk of James City county (1739; 1742); clerk of "The Court of Oyer and Terminer" (1739); Clerk of the "Committees of Propositions and Grievances, and Privileges, and Elections" (1743); all under George II of Great Britain. He served on the Supreme Court of Virginia 1779–1785. As clerk of courts, it fell to Benjamin Waller to read the United States Declaration of Independence from the Williamsburg courthouse steps on July 25, 1776. Waller also served as mentor and teacher of law to George Wythe. His grandson, Littleton Waller Tazewell, was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator from and governor of Virginia. Benjamin Waller's family had emigrated from

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England, the branch of a family long seated at

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

and previously at Groombridge Place, Kent, England. John Waller Esquire was one of the signators to the Second Charter of Virginia in 1609. Author

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...

sketched out the family's English origins in his book ''

Roots: The Saga of an American Family ''Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' is a 1976 novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent, sold into slavery in Africa, and transported to North America; it follows h ...

''.

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

's Waller Street is named for Benjamin Waller and his family.

Biography

He married Martha Hall in 1746 and they had 10 children. Martha "tended to the household overseeing the children and directing the work of their several slaves. One of his grandsons, William Waller, married the daughter of U.S. President John Tyler and lived in Benjamin Waller's house in Williamsburg". File:Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Waller 1793.jpg, Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Waller, 1793. File:Coat of Arms of Benjamin Waller.svg, Coat of Arms of Benjamin Waller File:Benjamin Waller Williamsburg armorial bookplate.jpg, Armorial

bookplate An ''Ex Libris'' (from ''ex-librīs'', ), also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. ...

of Benjamin Waller

References

External links

Dr. Robert P. Waller House (grandson of Benjamin Waller), Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

George Washington to Benjamin Waller, April 2, 1760, George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Benjamin 1716 births 1786 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians American legal scholars American slave owners British North American Anglicans Clerks College of William & Mary alumni County King's attorneys in Virginia House of Burgesses members People from King William County, Virginia Politicians from Williamsburg, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Revolution Virginia colonial people Virginia lawyers Virginia state court judges Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia 18th-century American politicians