William Henry DRAYTON, Congress, SC (1742-1779)

DRAYTON, William Henry, a Delegate from South Carolina; born at Drayton Hall, on Ashley River, S.C., in September 1742; pursued classical studies; attended Westminister School and Balliol College, Oxford, England; returned to South Carolina in 1764; studied law and was admitted to the bar; visited England again in 1770 and was appointed by King George III privy councilor for the Province of South Carolina; while on his way home was appointed assistant judge, but took such an active part in the pre-Revolutionary movement that he was deprived of both positions; president of the council of safety in 1775, and in 1776 was chief justice; Member of the Continental Congress in 1778 and served until his death in Philadelphia, Pa., on September 3, 1779; interment in Christ Church Cemetery.

Bibliography

Krawczynski, Keith. William Henry Drayton: South Carolina Revolutionary Patriot (Southern Biography Series). Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 2001.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present