Raleigh Travers Daniel

Raleigh Travers Daniel (October 15, 1805 – August 16, 1877) was an American politician and lawyer in Virginia, who served as the first Attorney General of Virginia after reconstruction, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, a member of the Virginia Council of State.

Early life and family Raleigh Travers Daniel was born on October 15, 1805, in Falmouth, Stafford County, Virginia, the son of John M. Daniel, a U.S. Army surgeon, and Margaret Stone Daniel. His maternal grandfather was Thomas Stone, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Daniel studied law with his uncle and received his law license in Virginia in 1826.

In 1831, he married Elizabeth Susan Tabb Riddle. They had at least four daughters and three sons.

Career In the 1830s and 1840s, Daniel served as a commonwealth's attorney for Henrico Country. He strongly criticized the new proposed constitutional amendment which allowed universal manhood suffrage but, in his party's view, disenfranchised many Confederate veterans.

In 1870, Daniel ran for the position of congressman at-large from Virginia, a new seat created by members of the Convention of 1867–1868. However, his election faced complications, as the House of Representatives refused to seat Joseph E. Segar, who had been elected to the at-large seat in 1869. Daniel was elected without significant opposition in November 1870 but did not attempt to take his seat, as the House Committee on Elections made no report on his eligibility. Daniel briefly returned to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1871 for a two-year term, where he chaired the Committee on Finance.

Death Raleigh Travels Daniel died while in office, on August 16, 1877, shortly after securing a nomination for a second term as attorney general. He was laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery.