George Wythe: Murder of a Founding Father

Dan Berexa's article, The Murder of Founding Father George Wythe, was published in the Tennessee Bar Journal. The article explores the life of Thomas Jefferson's mentor, George Wythe, and the trial of Wythe's grandnephew, who was accused of poisoning Wythe and two members of his household. Wythe was a distinguished jurist, statesman, and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

On June 5, 1806, 80-year-old Chancellor George Wythe cried in agony, “I am murdered!” Days later the distinguished jurist, statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence died following a horrific two-week illness. The apparent poisoning at Wythe’s home also caused the illness of Wythe’s former slave, Lydia Broadnax, and killed Michael Brown, a young freed slave who worked and lived in the house. Our fledgling American nation was shocked to learn that Wythe’s death allegedly came at the hands of his namesake, and reprobate grandnephew, George Wythe Sweeney.[1] Wythe had taken Sweeney into his Richmond home with the hope of molding and educating the teenager, as he had done with so many young men over the years. Many of Wythe’s former pupils were the nation’s most prominent leaders, his most notable protégé and closest friend being none other than President Thomas Jefferson. The president and the young nation would follow the case closely with the expectation that the prosecution would prevail under a Virginia system of justice, which developed in large part because of the efforts and influence of Wythe and Jefferson.

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