Burwell Bassett

Burwell Bassett (March 18, 1764 – February 26, 1841) was an eighteenth and nineteenth century politician from Virginia. He was the nephew of President George Washington, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, Daniel Parke Custis and Benjamin Harrison V as well as the first cousin of President William Henry Harrison, Carter Bassett Harrison and John Parke Custis, the first cousin, once removed of John Scott Harrison, George Washington Parke Custis and Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis and the first cousin, twice removed of President Benjamin Harrison VI.

Born in Williamsburg, Virginia to Burwell Bassett and Anna Maria Dandridge, the sister of Martha Washington, Bassett attended the College of William and Mary. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1787 to 1789 and the Virginia Senate from 1794 to 1805. He was unsuccessful in contesting the election of John Clopton to the United States House of Representatives in 1794, but was later elected in a Democratic-Republican in 1804, serving from 1805 to 1813. There, Bassett served as chairman of the Committee on Claims and of the Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business from 1811 to 1813. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1812, but later was so in 1814, serving again from 1815 to 1819. Bassett then returned to the House of Delegates, serving again from 1819 to 1821 and returned to the United States House a third time, serving again from 1821 to 1829 as a Democratic-Republican, Crawford Republican and Jacksonian. He was unsuccessful for reelection and eventually died on February 26, 1841 in New Kent County, Virginia. He was interned at the Eltham Plantation in New Kent County.

Bassett married twice, first to Elizabeth McCarty in 1788 and after her death to Philadelphia Ann Claiborne in 1800.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10511851 Burwell Bassett] at Find A Grave
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/basset-bastin.html Burwell Bassett] at The Political Graveyard
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mysouthernfamily/myff/d0091/g0000007.html#I65623 Burwell Bassett's family tree]