John Marshall

John Marshall was born on September 24, 1755 at German town (now Midland) in what became Fauquier County, Virginia four years later. He served first as lieutenant, and after July, 1778, as captain in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. John Marshall spent the winter of 1777-1778 with the troops in Valley Forge.
He began his legal education by reading law books and by studying law in 1780 with George Wythe at the College of William and Mary to acquire a secure foundation in English common law. As an officer in the Continental Army, he served as a judge advocate in 1777 and 1778. Marshall was admitted to the bar in 1780 and steadily built a law practice. He represented Fauquier County in the General Assembly for one term and served on the Council of State from 1782 to 1784. Marshall represented Henrico County in the House of Delegates from 1784 to 1787, and in June of 1788 was a delegate to the state convention called to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Marshall was also a delegate to the 1829-1830 Virginia constitutional convention.