William Waller Hening
William Waller Hening (1768–1828) was a 19th-century attorney, legal scholar, publisher and politician during the formative years of the United States. He was a contemporary of many founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall and James Monroe. Early life and education Hening was born in modest circumstances to David Hening (1741-1798) and his wife Maria Waller (b/f 1751-d.1798) in then-large Stafford County, Virginia, according to various sources around 1750 or 1767. He may have been named for his maternal great-great grandfather William Waller (1630-1690), who emigrated from Gregories in Buckinghamshire to Gloucester County in the Virginia Colony where he married Mary Allen and had at least three sons) or great-grandfather William Waller (1673-1703), who was born in Stafford County and distributed slaves in his will. His firstborn son (this boy's grandfather) George Waller (1703-1768) who married Elizabeth Allen (v. 1709 and d. after 1753 but before 1797) who bore four sons and six daughters, was also long-lived and prominent in Stafford County's Overwharton parish, although his wife Elizabeth's original surname is unknown. This boy had a brother or cousin named Robert Hening, who was an attorney and commissioner of accounts in Stafford County. Career Lawyer and politician In 1789 Hening was admitted to the practice of law in the city of Fredericksburg together with future Supreme Court justice John Marshall and future President James Monroe. Although Fredericksburg was most important town for lawyers in what was then the Northern Neck of Virginia, within five years Hening moved considerably south and west along what had been Virginia's western frontier to Albemarle County, as did James Monroe. Hening lived in Charlottesville (the Albemarle County seat) on University Street from 1793 until 1805, during which time he began what became a short political career. Charlottesville is now known for associations with Presidents Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, and as discussed below, Jefferson may have been a patron of Hening, as well as a rival in finding and preserving old records in Virginia's earliest counties. In 1795, Hening wrote to Chancellor George Wythe, Jefferson's law teacher, mentor and judge, suggesting that the legislature republish the entire body of the law at public expense, which was not well received. However, with access to Jefferson's library, Hening continued restorating county records that had been destroyed by the British during the Revolutionary War. That effort became his life work and claim to fame as discussed below, especially after his move to Richmond in 1805. In 1804, Albemarle County voters elected Hening as one of their two representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates. Hening won re-election to that part-time legislative position, but was disqualified because he had been appointed to Virginia's Executive Council. Thus, Revolutionary War veteran Hugh Nelson replaced him as a delegate. President Thomas Jefferson appointed Hening as a Federal Commissioner of Bankruptcy for Virginia. After moving to Richmond, Hening served on Virginia's executive council for several years or until 1810. He was Deputy Adjutant General (1808–14), thus responsible for coordinating or paying for Virginia's troops