The Reverend James Maury (1718-1769) was a prominent Virginia educator and Anglican minister during the American Colonial period. He was a figure in the notable lawsuit that became known as "The Parson's Cause" in 1763, in which the young attorney Patrick Henry argued that the colony had the right to establish its own method of payment to clergy (which had been vetoed by the Crown).
Born in Dublin to French Huguenots, Maury came to the Virginia colony as an infant with his parents. He became educated and attended The College of William and Mary. He went to England to become ordained as an Anglican minister in 1741. He established his own classical school for boys, where he taught the young Thomas Jefferson among others.
In February 1742, Maury went to England and was ordained as an Anglican minister of the established Church of England. Returning to Virginia, Maury became minister for one year of a parish in King William County and then served for 18 years in Louisa County at Fredericksville Parish. He was highly regarded for his piety and learning. Maury was minister of his parish until his death on June 9, 1769.
Read more about James Maury: Early Life and Education, Family, The Parson's Cause, Descendants
Famous quotes containing the word james:
“A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”
—James I of England, James VI of Scotland (1566–1625)