David Stuart

David Stuart (August 3, 1753 – October 1814) was a Virginia physician, politician, and correspondent of George Washington. When Washington became President of the United States, he made Stuart one of three commissioners appointed to design a new United States capital city. Early life and education David Stuart was the eldest of five sons of Rev. William Stuart (1723-1798) and Sarah Foote (1732-about 1795). Rev. Stuart and his wife received the "Cedar Grove" plantation on the Potomac River as a wedding present. Rev. William Stuart was the rector of St. Paul's Parish, King George County, Virginia from 1749-1796. Rev. Stuart had studied theology in London and was ordained there by Bishop Edmund Gibson. Rev. William Stuart was known for his eloquence, integrity, and virtue. With his brother-in-law Horatio Dade, Lawrence Washington, and others, Rev. Stuart served on the King George County Committee of Safety during the American Revolutionary War. Rev. Stuart's family also included six daughters. Rev. William Stuart's father was Rev. David Stuart. Rev. David Stuart is said to have descended from the royal house of Scotland, and after unsuccessfully supporting the "pretender" James Francis Stuart, became an ordained minister and emigrated to Virginia in 1715. Rev. David Stuart married Jane Gibbons. Jane Gibbons brother was Sir William Gibbons, 1st Baronet Gibbons, Speaker for the House of Assembly in Barbados. Rev. David Stuart served as rector of the same parish (then in Stafford County, Virginia and now known as Aquia Church) from 1722 until his death in 1749. Dr. David Stuart received a private education suitable to his class, then graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg before sailing to Europe to complete his education. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh before finishing his medical studies in Paris, France. He returned to the United States in 1778. His brother Richard in 1802 would marry the widow Margaret Robinson McCarty (whose husband held public office as well as operations plantations in Fairfax County) and his sister Ann in 1793 married William Mason, son of George Mason, whom Stuart in effect had replaced in the Virginia Ratification Convention described below.