Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 2.djvu/343

 2i/}

MRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

political condition of the colonies of that time. He died in Epsom, England, April 27. 1804.

Burke» Thomas, born in Ireland, about 1747, came to Virginia about 1764, and lived some years in Accomac county, where he practiced medicine. He then studied law, be- gan practice in Norfolk, and in 1774 removed tc Hillsborough, North Carolina, where he became one of the leading spirits in the revolutionary contest. While he was in Virginia, his writings in opposition to the stamp Lct had brought him into notice ; and he had a large share in the formation of the constitution of North Carolina. He was a member of the provincial congress at Hali- fax in 1776, and a volunteer at the battle of Brandywine. He was a member of con- gress from December, 1776, until 1781, when he was chosen first governor of North Caro- lina under the new constitution. In Sep- tember of that year he was taken by the Tories, and held as a prisoner on parole at James Island. South Carolina. He was in daily fear of assassination, and after unsuc- cessful efforts to obtain an exchange to some other state, he escaped on the night of Jan- uary 16, 1782, after an imprisonment of four months. In a letter to Gen. Leslie, Burke gave his reasons for withdrawing, and said that he still considered himself subject to the disposal of the British authorities. He v.'as regularly exchanged soon afterward, and resumed his duties as governor, but was defeated the following year, when a •candidate for re-election, it being urged that he had violated his parole. He died in Hillsborough, North Carolina, December 2. 1783.

Baynham, William, born in Caroline county, Virginia, in December, 1749. He studied medicine under Dr. Thomas Walker, and in 1769 went to London, where he be- came proficient in anatomy and surgery, and for several years was assistant demonstrator in St. Thomas's Hospital, London. After sixteen years' residence in England he re- turned to the United States and settled in Lssex. He was very successful as a sur- geon, and as an anatomist he had no supe- rior. The best preparations in the museums of Cline and Cooper, in London, were made by him. He contributed to the medical journals. He died at his residence in Essex county, Virginia, December 8, 1814.

Butler, James, born in Prince William county. X'lrginia, removed to South Caro- lina about 1/72. settling in what was then a frontier region. He took part in Gen. Richardson's "snow-camp expedition," and aften^^ard in a similar expedition under Gen. Williamson, in 1776. Butler joined Gen. Lincoln near Augusta in 1779, and after the fall of Charleston, in 1780, he was one of those who refused to swear allegiance to the British crown, and was lodged in the /ail at Ninety-Six. He was afterward taken to the provost of Charleston, then to the prison-ship, and was kept in close confine- ment for eighteen months. After his re- hase, he was summoned to repel a foray of the Tories of his precinct, and was killed .^t Cloud's creek. South Carolina, in 1781.

Bullitt, Alexander Scott, son of Hon. Cuthbert bullitt and Helen Scott, his wife, daughter of Rev. James Scott, born in Prince William county, Virginia, in 1761 ; settled m bheiby county. Virginia (now

Digitized by

Google