James Wren

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]

James Wren
Sheriff of Fairfax County, Virginia
In office
1792–1797
Preceded byCharles Little
Succeeded byJohn Moss
Personal details
Born1728
King George County, Virginia, British America
Died1815 (aged 86–87)
Falls Church, Virginia, US
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service Continental Army
Years of service1776–1783
RankColonel
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

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.[4] 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.[4] 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).[2][19][20][21][22] During the period of his public service, he acquired extensive land holdings in Fairfax and Loudon Counties.[9][23]

Architecture
City of Falls Church Historical Marker at the site of Wren's Tavern

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 and The Anglican Falls Church which were built in 1767.[27] Wren used enslaved people to do the work.[28] During the construction, he stayed at Mount Vernon as a guest of George Washington.[4] 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.[1] 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.[9]

Wren's Tavern

Beginning in 1789, Wren was the owner and operator of "Wren's Tavern," an inn and tavern in Falls Church.[2][33] In 1801, the tavern was visited by Thomas Jefferson en route to his presidential inauguration.[4][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][36]

Death

Wren died in 1815.[8] At the time of his death, Wren owned 20 enslaved persons.[41]

References
  1. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Christ Church (pdf), National Park Service, 5 January 1970 and Accompanying photos, exterior and interior, from 19. (32 KB)
  2. "Wren's Tavern Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  3. Orton, Kathy (2021-12-05). "1770 plantation house is at center of Falls Church history". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  4. Campbell, Kathryn (2003). James Wren (1728-1815): Architect of Colonial Virginia.
  5. Yarsinske, Amy Waters (1999). Jamestown Exposition: American Imperialism on Parade. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0102-4.
  6. Forman, Henry C. (2011-01-01). Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-4751-4.
  7. Tiller, De Teel Patterson (1977). James Wren, Artificer and Builder: His Civic Works. University of Virginia.
  8. "James Wren Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  9. Waldeck, Ruby; Netherton, Ross De Witt (2022-09-04). The Fairfax County Courthouse. DigiCat.
  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. "Founders Online: [December 1772]". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  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. Stewart, Roberta Dulin (1961). The Dulin Family in America. Braun-Brumfield.
  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. "DAR Genealogical Research Databases". services.dar.org. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  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. ISSN 0042-6636.
  22. "Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff". www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  23. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Genealogical Publishing Com. 2009. ISBN 978-0-8063-1229-3.
  24. Netherton and Waldeck, 1977, p. 74
  25. Seifert, Claire L. St Sauver (1986). A Comparative Study of Three Northern Virginia Episcopal Churches Designed by James Wren. School of Architecture, University of Virginia.
  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. Steadman, Melvin Lee (1964). Falls Church by Fence and Fireside. Falls Church Public Library. ISBN 9780788402036.
  28. Paulsen, David (2017-02-17). "Virginia congregation honors slaves who built church, offers 'gratitude and repentance'". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  29. Arts, American Federation of (1923). Art in Our Country: Handbook. American federation of arts.
  30. Dell Upton (1997). Holy Things and Profane: Anglican Parish Churches in Colonial Virginia. Yale University Press. pp. 33–. ISBN 978-0-300-06565-7.
  31. Points of Interest in the Pohick Cemetery and Churchyard. publisher not identified. 2003.
  32. Hugh Morrison (1952). Early American Architecture: From the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period. Courier Corporation. pp. 367–. ISBN 978-0-486-25492-0.
  33. "Letters from Old Trunks". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 48 (2): 97–103. ISSN 0042-6636.
  34. "Route to Washington, D.C." Monticello. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  35. Gernand and Netherton, Falls Church, p. 32, citing Brugger, The Papers of James Madison, pp. 126–127.
  36. Pitch, Anthony S. (2000-03-09). Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-254-9.
  37. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 37: 4 March to 30 June 1802. Princeton University Press. 1950. ISBN 978-0-691-15001-7.
  38. "Flight of the Madisons: Wren's Tavern". WHHA (en-US). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  39. Goldchain, Michelle (2016-08-31). "This Falls Church colonial once housed a U.S. president". Curbed DC. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  40. Eshelman, Ralph E. (2011-05-15). A Travel Guide to the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake: Eighteen Tours in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9837-2.
  41. Will books, 1742-1866; general index to wills, 1742-1951. Fairfax County Court.
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