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Preferred Citation:

Bishop James Madison to James Breckenridge, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries

Acquisition Information:

Purchase. Previously Mss. Acc. 2000.16.

Processing Information

Collection was previously identified as Mss. Acc. 2000.16. It is now SC 00973.

Biographical Information:

The Right Reverend James Madison (August 27, 1749 - March 6, 1812) was the first bishop of the Diocese of Virginia of the Episcopal Church, USA. He was also a student (1770-1772), professor of philosophy (1772-1775), and president (1777-1812) of the College of William and Mary. Madison was born near Staunton, Virginia, Madison was a cousin of President James Madison. He graduated in 1771 from the College of William and Mary and was admitted to the bar, though he did not practice law. Madison taught philosophy and mathematics at the college from 1773 to 1775, when he went to England to be ordained a priest of the Church of England. In 1777, he was elected president of William and Mary, serving until his death in 1812. Madison served as chaplain of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1777 and organized his students into a militia company. He presided over the first convention of the Diocese of Virginia in 1785 and was consecrated bishop on September 19, 1790, in Canterbury, England.

Scope and Contents

Letter, 20 December 1805, from Bishop James Madison, Williamsburg, to James Breckenridge, Botetourt County, Va. Concerns defending Madison against a claim to deprive him of land surveyed near Guyandot Falls by Breckinridge. Asks Breckinridge to discount fee at next College [of William and Mary] settlement. Also concerns Madison's Map of Virginia (1807) and a new method of taking latitudes.

Related Material

See other papers by Bishop James Madison; Bishop James Madison Letter to John Norton, 1776, Bishop James Madison Letter to William White, 1795, Office of the President, James Madison, 1775-1979 (UA 2.03), Petition of the President and Professors, 1787 (UA 96), and the Bishop James Madison Papers (Mss. 65 Pst). See also; James Madison Papers, Duke University Libraries.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Botetourt County (Va.)--History--19th century
• Cartography--Virginia
• College of William and Mary--History--19th century
• Correspondence
• Surveying--Virginia
• Virginia--Maps
• Williamsburg (Va.)--History--19th century