James Wren Explained

Office:Sheriff of Fairfax County, Virginia
Term Start:1792
Term End:1797
Predecessor:Charles Little
Successor:John Moss
Birth Date:1728
Birth Place:King George County, Virginia, British America
Death Place:Falls Church, Virginia, US
Branch: Continental Army
Rank:Colonel
Serviceyears:1776–1783
Battles:American Revolutionary War

James Wren (1728 – 1815) was an American politician, judge, military officer, architect, and merchant.[1] [2] [3] Historians regard Wren as one of colonial Virginia's only architects of record.[4] [5] [6] [7]

Early life and family

Wren was born in King George County, Virginia, in 1728,[8] the son of John and Ann Turner Wren. He was a first cousin of Christopher Wren. From an early age, he learned the skills of carpentry.[9]

In 1755, Wren moved to Truro Parish in Fairfax County. Wren was an active merchant during this period. His early clients included George Washington, who became a personal friend.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Later life

Public and military service

In 1765, Wren was elected (with 205 votes) as a Vestry chosen for Fairfax Parish, Virginia.[16] During the American Revolutionary War, Wren served in the American Continental Army as a Colonel of the Fairfax County Militia.[17] [18] During the war, he also served as Commissioner of Provisional Law for Fairfax County. Wren later served in various political posts including Fairfax Commissioner of Tax, Justice of the Fairfax County Court, and Fairfax County Sheriff (1792 to 1797).[19] [20] [21] [22] During the period of his public service, he acquired extensive land holdings in Fairfax and Loudon Counties.[23]

Architecture

By the 1760s, he had earned a reputation as a skilled architect.[24] [25] Historians have suggested than Wren may have been the architect of George Mason's residence, Gunston Hall.[26] Wren was the architect of The Falls Church which was built in 1767.[27] Wren used slaves to do the work.[28] During the construction, he stayed at Mount Vernon as a guest of George Washington. In 1773, Wren designed Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia.[29] The chancel is decorated on both sides with hand-lettered plaques displaying the Decalogue, the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and the Golden Rule. These plaques are original to the church, and were hand-painted by Wren. Wren was the architect of the Pohick Church in 1774 and may have received input from George Washington and George Mason in the design.[30] [31] [32] In 1799, Wren was the architect of the Fairfax County Courthouse.

Wren's Tavern

Beginning in 1789, Wren was the owner and operator of "Wren's Tavern," an inn and tavern in Falls Church.[33] In 1801, the tavern was visited by Thomas Jefferson en route to his presidential inauguration.[34] In the same year, Jefferson wrote Secretary of State James Madison warning him of the perilous nature of the public roads in Northern Virginia, and advised, "You had better start as soon as you can see to drive, breakfast at Colonel Wren's, and come here for dinner."[35] [36] [37] During the Burning of Washington in 1814, President James Madison and Attorney General William Pinkney stayed the night at his tavern.[38] [39] [40]

Death

Wren died in 1815. At the time of his death, Wren owned 20 slaves.[41]

Notes and References

  1. and  
  2. Web site: Wren's Tavern Historical Marker . 2023-10-02 . www.hmdb.org . en.
  3. News: Orton . Kathy . 2021-12-05 . 1770 plantation house is at center of Falls Church history . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-10-02 . 0190-8286.
  4. Book: Campbell, Kathryn . James Wren (1728-1815): Architect of Colonial Virginia . 2003 . en.
  5. Book: Yarsinske, Amy Waters . Jamestown Exposition: American Imperialism on Parade . 1999 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-0102-4 . en.
  6. Book: Forman, Henry C. . Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century . 2011-01-01 . Library of Alexandria . 978-1-4655-4751-4 . en.
  7. Book: Tiller, De Teel Patterson . James Wren, Artificer and Builder: His Civic Works . 1977 . University of Virginia . en.
  8. Web site: James Wren Historical Marker . 2023-10-02 . www.hmdb.org . en.
  9. Book: Waldeck . Ruby . The Fairfax County Courthouse . Netherton . Ross De Witt . 2022-09-04 . DigiCat . en.
  10. “Cash Accounts, October 1765,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-07-02-0256 . [Original source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Colonial Series, vol. 7, ''1 January 1761 – 15 June 1767'', ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990, pp. 407–408.]
  11. “Cash Accounts, June 1766,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-07-02-0290 . [Original source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Colonial Series, vol. 7, ''1 January 1761 – 15 June 1767'', ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990, pp. 441–442.]
  12. “Cash Accounts, October 1768,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-08-02-0105 . [Original source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Colonial Series, vol. 8, ''24 June 1767 – 25 December 1771'', ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993, pp. 136–137.]
  13. Web site: Founders Online: [December 1772] ]. 2023-10-02 . founders.archives.gov . en.
  14. “[Diary entry: 29 December 1772],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-03-02-0002-0028-0029 . [Original source: ''The Diaries of George Washington'', vol. 3, ''1 January 1771–5 November 1781'', ed. Donald Jackson. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1978, p. 149.]
  15. Book: Stewart, Roberta Dulin . The Dulin Family in America . 1961 . Braun-Brumfield . en.
  16. “Vestry Elections in Truro and Fairfax Parishes, 22–25 July 1765,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-07-02-0242 . [Original source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Colonial Series, vol. 7, ''1 January 1761 – 15 June 1767'', ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990, pp. 384–385.]
  17. Web site: DAR Genealogical Research Databases . 2023-10-02 . services.dar.org.
  18. “To George Washington from Lund Washington, 29 September 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0061 . [Original source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Revolutionary War Series, vol. 2, ''16 September 1775 – 31 December 1775'', ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1987, pp. 64–66.]
  19. “[January 1771],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-03-02-0001-0001 . [Original source: ''The Diaries of George Washington'', vol. 3, ''1 January 1771–5 November 1781'', ed. Donald Jackson. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1978, pp. 1–4.]
  20. “[Diary entry: 27 June 1788],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-05-02-0004-0006-0027 . [Original source: ''The Diaries of George Washington'', vol. 5, ''1 July 1786 – 31 December 1789'', ed. Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1979, p. 351.]
  21. Horrell . Joseph . 1983 . George Mason and the Fairfax Court . The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography . 91 . 4 . 418–439 . 4248666 . 0042-6636.
  22. Web site: Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 Sheriff . 2023-10-02 . www.fairfaxcounty.gov.
  23. Book: Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775 . 2009 . Genealogical Publishing Com . 978-0-8063-1229-3 . en.
  24. Netherton and Waldeck, 1977, p. 74
  25. Book: Seifert, Claire L. St Sauver . A Comparative Study of Three Northern Virginia Episcopal Churches Designed by James Wren . 1986 . School of Architecture, University of Virginia . en.
  26. Copeland, Pamela C.; MacMaster, Richard K. (1975). The Five George Masons: Patriots and Planters of Virginia and Maryland. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 0-8139-0550-8.
  27. Book: Steadman, Melvin Lee . Falls Church by Fence and Fireside . Falls Church Public Library . 1964 . 9780788402036.
  28. Web site: Paulsen . David . 2017-02-17 . Virginia congregation honors slaves who built church, offers 'gratitude and repentance' . 2023-06-30 . Episcopal News Service . en-US.
  29. Book: Arts, American Federation of . Art in Our Country: Handbook . 1923 . American federation of arts . en.
  30. Book: Dell Upton . Holy Things and Profane: Anglican Parish Churches in Colonial Virginia . Yale University Press . 1997 . 978-0-300-06565-7 . 33–.
  31. Book: Points of Interest in the Pohick Cemetery and Churchyard . 2003 . publisher not identified.
  32. Book: Hugh Morrison . Early American Architecture: From the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period . Courier Corporation . 1952 . 978-0-486-25492-0 . 367–.
  33. 1940. Letters from Old Trunks . The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography . 48 . 2 . 97–103 . 4245002. 0042-6636. Jefferson. Thomas.
  34. Web site: Route to Washington, D.C. . 2023-10-02 . Monticello . en.
  35. Gernand and Netherton, Falls Church, p. 32, citing Brugger, The Papers of James Madison, pp. 126–127.
  36. Book: Pitch, Anthony S. . Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814 . 2000-03-09 . Naval Institute Press . 978-1-61251-254-9 . en.
  37. Book: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 37: 4 March to 30 June 1802 . 1950 . Princeton University Press . 978-0-691-15001-7 . en.
  38. Web site: Flight of the Madisons: Wren's Tavern . 2023-10-02 . WHHA (en-US) . en.
  39. Web site: Goldchain . Michelle . 2016-08-31 . This Falls Church colonial once housed a U.S. president . 2023-10-02 . Curbed DC . en.
  40. Book: Eshelman, Ralph E. . A Travel Guide to the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake: Eighteen Tours in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia . 2011-05-15 . JHU Press . 978-0-8018-9837-2 . en.
  41. Book: Will books, 1742-1866; general index to wills, 1742-1951 . Fairfax County Court.

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