Robert White

Robert White (March 29, 1759 – March 9, 1831) was a distinguished early American military officer, lawyer, judge, and politician in the U.S. state of Virginia.

White represented Frederick County in the Virginia House of Delegates (1789–1792) and served as a judge of the General Court of Virginia (1793–1831). Prior to his political and law careers, White served in the Virginia militia and Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

White was the grandson of Virginia pioneer settler and physician Dr. Robert White (1688–1752) and thus a member of the prominent White political family of Virginia and West Virginia. He was the nephew of United States House Representative Alexander White (1738–1804) and the brother of United States House Representative Francis White (1761–1826).

Early life and education Robert White was born on March 29, 1759, in Winchester, Virginia. He was a son of John White, one of the justices serving on the first Bench of Magistrates of the Frederick County court, and his wife, Ann Patton White. White was also a grandson of Dr. Robert White, an early physician and pioneer settler of Frederick County. Following the engagement at Short Hills, White was taken as a prisoner of war by the British forces. During the course of his four years of law studies, White read the legal treatises of William Blackstone and Edward Coke among others while lying on his back or propped up on a couch recovering from his injuries. White ran for election against Matthew Page and Joseph Holmes for the seat in 1791, and won alongside Page with 310 votes to Page's 335 votes. White ran for election to his seat in 1793 against Page, Thomas Buck, and James Singleton. White received the largest total of votes with a result of 388. Winchester was chosen by an act of the Virginia General Assembly as the "center point" of this judicial district, where all judicial records were kept. His appointment as a judge of the tenth judicial district paid a meager compensation of 1,600 dollars per annum.

In the spring of 1825, White was en route to serve on the court of Loudoun County and stayed the night at a tavern along the Shenandoah River. On July 1, 1825, White gave power of attorney to his son, John Baker White, for the management of his affairs.

Personal life and family White married Arabella Baker, the daughter of John Baker, Sr. and his wife, Judith Wood Baker (born February 15, 1761), of Shepherdstown, Virginia (now West Virginia). August 4, 1794 White's house, one of the "earliest built brick houses" in Winchester, was destroyed by fire, after which George H. Byrd built a residence on the same site. Byrd deeded the property to his brother, Colonel William Byrd; henceforth that house has been known as the "Byrd House".

Legacy In the 1970s, three restored portraits painted in 1799 of White, his wife Arabella Baker White, and their son Robert Baker White and daughter Juliet White Opie, were donated to the Historical Society of Winchester by Baker Hall of Huntington, West Virginia, and Louisa Tabb Hall of Charles Town, West Virginia. All three portraits were painted by renowned painter Charles Peale Polk, a nephew of the well-known painter Charles Willson Peale.