William Wood Crump

William Wood Crump (November 25, 1819 – February 27, 1897) was an American lawyer and politician from Virginia. He briefly served as a judge, later became assistant Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederate States of America and twice briefly represented the City of Richmond in the Virginia House of Delegates as well as served at times on Richmond's City Council.[1][2]

William W. Crump
Carte de visite portrait of Crump
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the Richmond district
In office December 3, 1866 – October 4, 1867 Serving with T.J. Evans, N.M. Lee
Preceded by	Peachy R. Grattan
Succeeded by	William Lovenstein
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the Richmond district
In office December 1, 1875 – December 5, 1876 Serving with James H. Dooley, Charles U. Williams, William S. Gilman, W.P.M. Kellam
Preceded by	Joseph R. Anderson
Succeeded by	William Lovenstein
Personal details
Born	(1819-11-25)November 25, 1819 Henrico County, Virginia U.S.
Died	February 27, 1897(1897-02-27) (aged 77) Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place	Shockoe Hill Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Tabb
Children	Emmaline Allmand Crump Lightfoot, Fanny Crump Tucker, Edward Tabb Crump, Beverley Tucker Crump
Education	College of William and Mary
Occupation	lawyer, politician, judge
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America

Early and family life

Born to Richmond merchant Sterling Jamieson Crump (1782-1847) and his wife Elizabeth Richardson Wood (1729-1855) in Henrico County on November 25, 1819, Crump received a private education in his home town from Dr. Gwathmey, then was sent to the Amherst Institute (later Amherst College) in Amherst, Massachusetts. He had a younger brother John R. Crump (1830-1874?) and several sisters. They were descended from the First Families of Virginia, ancestor William Crump having emigrated from England to York County, Virginia and many intervening generations having lived and operated plantations in New Kent County, Virginia after it was split from York County. Crump entered the College of William and Mary in 1835 and graduated three years later, having studied law under Professor N. Beverley Tucker.

He married Mary Susan Tabb (1824-1891), daughter of Philip E. Tabb (1786-1851) of Gloucester County, Virginia on New Year's Day, 1846 and they remained married 45 years until her death. Four children survived him: Emmaline Allmand Crump Lightfoot (1847-1937), Fanny Crump Tucker (1849-1937), Edward Tabb Crump (1851-1919) and Beverley Tucker Crump (1854-1930). Several others died as children, including Mary Tabb Crump (1856-1861) and William Wood (1858-1862) and Randolph Tabb Crump, who died in wartime Richmond. His son B. T. Crump also became his law partner, as well as represented Richmond in the Virginia House of Delegates for one term (1893-1894).

Career

After graduating from the College of William & Mary, Crump was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1840. A Democrat, he often delivered speeches on the subject of "States Rights" and supported John C. Calhoun for president in 1844, as well as the annexation of Texas. He later supported James Polk and Lewis Cass. The Virginia General Assembly in 1851 elected Crump Judge of the Circuit Court of Richmond to succeed John S. Caskie, who had resigned. However, the new Virginia Constitution of 1851 changed the judicial system to permit popular election of judges the following year, and his position was terminated. Although Crump only served a short time, he was thereafter referred to as "Judge Crump". Crump also served many years on the board of trustees of his alma mater, beginning in 1853, and eventually became President of its Board of Visitors.[3][4]

In the 1850 U.S. Federal census for Henrico County, Crump owned 13 slaves: five children, 6 adult men and two women.[5] In the 1860 Federal census for Henrico County, Crump's name appears on several different pages, suggesting that he hired out his slaves.[6]

During and after the American Civil War, Crump supported slavery and the Confederate States of America. He served as a civilian Judge Advocate,[7] and became assistant Secretary of the Treasury and administered day-to-day functions of the Treasury,[8] During the evacuation of Richmond, Crump was responsible or taking a small amount of money into Washington, some of which he later provided to Mrs. Varina Davis when fleeing Union patrols.[9] President Andrew Johnson granted him amnesty on June 26, 1865.[10]

After the war, upon the resignation of fellow lawyer Peachy R. Grattan as one of the City's representatives (part-time) in the Virginia House of Delegates, Crump succeeded to the position. He was not, however, re-elected, but resumed his law practice full-time. He also was elected in 1875, but like Grattan years earlier, only served one of the sessions.[11] Crump was among 20 prominent men who posted the bond for former Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1867 after he was indicted for treason.[12] He also was among the prominent speakers on April 29, 1870 at the memorial following the disastrous balcony collapse at the Virginia Supreme Court, and the following year helped gather funds for survivors of the Great Chicago Fire.[13] Crump also participated in several sensational trials: defending former Confederate soldier Jeter Phillips who was accused of murdering his wife in Hanover, Thomas Judson Cluverius for the murder of his cousin in Richmond, and litigation concerning John Randolph's will.[14]

Final years, death and legacy

Judge Crump died in Richmond on February 27, 1897, nearly six years after his wife. He is buried with her (as well as near his parents and their children) in the family plot at Richmond's historic Shockoe Hill Cemetery.[15]

References

1. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (1915), Vol. III, p.
2. Virginia Law Register Vol.2, No. 12 (April 1897), pp. 915-917, available at https://www.jstor.org/stable/1097767?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
3. Enc.Va.Bio. 1915
4. The History of the College of William and Mary (2010), p. 79, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=VfaiLj00yFYC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=
5. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Hencrico County, slave schedule
6. 1860 U.S. Federal Census, slave schedules for Richmond, Ward 1 (40 year old black male), Ward 2 (45, 30, 11,6 and 2 year old black males, 60, 50, 30, 25 and 10 year old black females and 35 year old mulatto female), Ward 3(black female) Western District (30 year old black male). The corresponding Virginia state slave schedules are not available online.
7. Louis Manarin, Richmond at War:the minutes of the City Council (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill Official publication No. 17 of the Richmond Civil War Centennial Commission) at p. 139
8. A probably different William W. Crump enlisted as a private in the 12th Virginia infantry in 1862, and another William W. Crump lived in what became West Virginia in this era and died in Martinsburg in 1896; his late-found will was later litigated as Bailey v. Crump, 41 F.2d 733 (1930).
9. James G. Clark, Last Train South, the flight of the Confederate Government from Richmond (McFarland & Company, Inc. 1984), p. 91
10. record online at ancestry.com, but not accompanying petition
11. Cynthia Miller Leonard, Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1978) pp. 502, 523
12. as did prominent Richmonders R.B. Haxall and John Minor Botts, as well as New Yorkers Horace Greeley and Cornelius Vanderbilt, among others. W. Asbury Christian, Richmond: Her Past and Present (1912; 1973 reprint) p. 288
13. Christian pp. 319, 328
14. Enc.Va.Bio. 1915
15. findagrave.com No. 6455613