Upshur, Abel Parker

Abel Parker Upshur was born in Northampton County, Virginia in 1790, one of the twelve children of Littleton Upshur, a member of the Virginia Legislature and Captain in the army during the War of 1812. Young Upshur attended Princeton University, but was expelled for participating in a student rebellion. Not having graduated, he returned to Virginia to study law with a private firm and was admitted to the bar in 1810. Upshur served one term in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1812, was Commonwealth's Attorney for Richmond (1816-1823), ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Congress in 1826, was elec...