David Jameson (1723July 10, 1793) was a Virginia merchant and politician who briefly served the acting Governor of Virginia in November 1781, during an illness of Virginia governor Thomas Nelson, Jr..
Early life and education
Jameson was born at St. Anne’s Parish in Essex County in 1723, the son of James Jameson and his wife. His family included at least one brother, Thomas, who moved to frontier Culpeper County, served in the Revolutionary War and sired sons David (who represented Culpeper County in the Virginia house of Delegates 1789-1790) and John. This David Jameson attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (1915) vol. 2, pp. 328-329, available at hathitrust.org.
Career Jameson became a prominent merchant in Yorktown, as well as an inventor. In 1773 he was elected treasurer of the "Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge" organized at Williasburg with John Clayton as president, and later John Page.Tyler
During the initial session of the Virginia State Senate during the Revolutionary War, Jameson represented Elizabeth City, Warwick and York Counties from October 7, 1776 until he resigned because fellow legislators elected him to serve on Patrick Henry's Privy Council.Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 124 and note However, some confusion exists as to his exact position because Virginia's first constitution elimitated the Governor's Council of colonial times, and the position of lieutenant governor described below was only created by Virginia's Constitution of 1850.https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/governors-council-the/
Jameson served from 1780 to 1781 as lieutenant governor under Thomas Nelson, Jr. (signer of the United States Declaration of Independence) and briefly served as Governor in August 1781 when Nelson took ill,Raimo, John W. Biographical Directory of American Colonial and Revolutionary Governors, 1607-1789. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, c. 1980. before the ascension of Benjamin Harrison V to the office.
In 1783, Jameson was again elected to the Virginia State Senate.Leonard pp. 144, 148, 152
Personal life Jameson wed Mildred Smith,Marriages and Deaths from Richmond, Virginia Newspapers, 1780-1820. Special Publication Number 8. Richmond: Virginia Genealogical Society, c. 1983. the marriage produced no children.Headley, Robert K. Jr. Genealogical Abstracts from 18th-Century Virginia Newspapers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987..
Death and legacy Jameson died on July 10, 1793. His will dated October 14, 1792 was admitted to probate on July 2, 1793.Tyler
References
External links Biography at the National Governors Association