Alexander Hamilton (Virginia)

Alexander Hamilton (March 18, 1851 - February 4, 1916) was a railroad lawyer and businessman, who served as a president of The Virginia Bar Association, and as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901.

Hamilton began life on a plantation in what is now Vance County, North Carolina, before moving up to Virginia with his father in 1858.cite book
last = Baskervill
first = Patrick Hamilton
title = The Hamiltons of Burnside, North Carolina
publisher = W.E. Jones' Sons Inc. (accessed via Google Books)
date = 1916] He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1871, with an engineering degree, but he never practiced engineering. He became an assistant professor at VMI, while studying law at Washington College, under John White Brockenbrough and John Randolph Tucker, and graduated with a law degree in 1873. He practiced law for a year in Richmond, Virginia, then established himself in Petersburg, Virginia.cite book
last = Tyler, ed.
first = Lyon Gardiner
title = Men of Mark in Virginia: Ideals of American Life, v.2
publisher = Men of Mark Pub. Co. (accessed via Google Books)
date = 1907] He lived in Petersburg at what is now called the Ragland Mansion, now a bed and breakfast. [cite web|url=http://www.raglandmansion.com/|title=The Ragland Mansion Petersburg, VA, Bed and Breakfast|publisher=The Ragland Mansion|accessmonthday=April 10 |accessyear=2008]

Besides practicing law, Hamilton was an officer or director of several businesses, a member of the board of the Central State hospital, and a member and president of the board of the Virginia Military Institute. He represented Petersburg at the Constitutional Convention. [cite book
last = Brenaman
first = Jacob
title = A History of Virginia Conventions
publisher = J.L. Hill Printing Co.(accessed via Google Books)
date = 1902] His obituary in The New York Times noted his position as Vice-President and General Counsel of the Atlantic Coast Line. [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9503E4D61E38E633A25756C0A9649C946796D6CF|title=ALEXANDER HAMILTON DIES.; Vice President and General Counsel of the Atlantic Coast Line|publisher=The New York Times, February 5, 1916|accessmonthday=April 10 |accessyear=2008]

Hamilton was a charter member of The Virginia State Bar Association in 1890, [Charter of the Virginia State Bar Association, Acts of Assembly 1889-1890, c. 376, published in Report of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Bar Association (1893) (available on Google Books)] and served as its president for 1903-1904.cite web|url=http://www.vba.org/history.htm|title= VBA History and Heritage|publisher=The Virginia Bar Association|accessmonthday=April 10 |accessyear=2008]

Notes and references

Persondata
NAME= Hamilton, Alexander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=lawyer, businessman, delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901
DATE OF BIRTH=1851-03-18
PLACE OF BIRTH=Vance County, North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH=1916-02-04
PLACE OF DEATH=Petersburg, Virginia