George Wythe Munford

George Wythe Munford (January 8, 1803 – January 10, 1882) worked in important governmental positions for the Commonwealth of Virginia for more than 50 years and served as the clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates for 25 years. He was the Clerk of the Virginia Constitutional Convention from 1829 to 1830. Munford was the Secretary of the Commonwealth from 1852 until the end of the Civil War. He published revisions to the Code of Virginia in 1860 and 1873.

After the Civil War, Munford worked for the United States Treasury as its first auditor and worked for the United States Census Bureau.

Munford served the Richmond Light Infantry Blues (of the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment) twice as a commander, attaining the rank of colonel.

Munford hid John Brown's carpetbag of important correspondence and documents regarding his plans after the raid on Harpers Ferry in the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond.

Three of his sons served for the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Thomas served as a colonel and an acting brigadier general and William as lieutenant colonel. Lieutenant Charles Ellis died during the Battle of Malvern Hill. After the war, Munford established himself in Gloucester County, Virginia. He worked for the United States Treasury as its first auditor and the United States Census Bureau.

Early life and education Munford, born on January 8, 1803, in Richmond, Virginia, He received a bachelor's degree with honors and a law degree from the College of William & Mary. until the fall of the Confederate States of America. He published revisions to the Code of Virginia in 1860 and 1873.

There was correspondence from Frederick Douglass, Gerrit Smith, and likely Hugh Forbes. The carpet-bag also contained maps of Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia that showed the locations of State arsenals with proposed routes for attacks and retreats.

Hunter, a member of the Virginia State Senate, personally took the carpet-bag to Richmond. In 1865, when Lee advised that he could no longer defend Richmond, Hunter did not want the "Yankees" to find the carpet-bag. He thought that the Capitol was as safe a place as any in Richmond, and he asked Munford, Commonwealth Secretary at the time, if he could hide it in the Capitol. "Munford told me that he has taken the carpet-bag up to the cock-loft of the Capitol and had let down the bag between the wall and the plastering, and I believe those papers are there yet." After the war, William became an Episcopalian minister and rector. and William Munford.

Munford married Elizabeth Thorogood Ellis, daughter of Charles and Margaret (née Nimmo) Ellis of Richmond, on November 29, 1838. In 1938, Munford built a mansion at 1 West Franklin Street in Richmond. Their children were Charles Ellis; Robert; three daughters who married Charles H. Talbot, William S. Robertson, and William Rhett; and two unmarried daughters, Fannie (b. 1850) and Etta. Fannie and Etta, both who remained single throughout their lives, lived at 407 West Franklin Street for 60 years. After working as a teacher, Fannie was the superintendent of the Richmond Exchange for Women's Work from 1883, the year it was founded, for nearly 30 years.

Death Munford died in Richmond on January 10, 1882. His funeral was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond and he was buried at Hollywood Cemetery.