George Hancock (Virginia)

George Hancock (June 13, 1754 – July 18, 1820) was an American planter and lawyer from Virginia. He represented Virginia as a Federalist in the U.S. House from 1793 to 1797.

Biography

He was born in Chesterfield County to George and Mary (Jones) Hancock. George Hancock was appointed a colonel in the Virginia militia, where he served as aide de camp to Count Casimir Pulaski. When General Pulaski was mortally wounded at the battle of Savannah, it was Colonel Hancock that pulled the general off of his horse. George Hancock married Margaret Strother in 1781. In was in that year that Hancock purchased 300 acres in and around Fincastle, Virginia, that was to become Santillane. Work began in 1795 on Santillane using George Hancock's slaves. The exterior was completed around 1800 using bricks fired on site. The interior was probably completed a couple of years later. The first documented reference to the residence as "Satillane", was on a letter head dated 1805 that was sent by Margaret Hancock. George and Margaret Hancock's daughter, Julia, married General William Clark at Santillane on January 5, 1808, upon his return from exploring the Louisiana Territory with Meriwether Lewis. The newlyweds lived at Santillane until 1810, at which time they moved west so General Clark could become the governor of the Missouri territory. Shortly after his daughter and son-in-law's move, George Hancock sold Santillane to Henry Bowyer.

In 1796, Hancock purchased the Fotheringay property near Elliston, Virginia. The Fotheringay house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.^[1][2]

Electoral history

• 1793; Hancock was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 60.47% of the vote, defeating Independents Caleb Munsey and Charles Clay.

• 1795; Hancock was re-elected unopposed.

References

"The Fincastle Herald" May 18, 2005; "The Roanoker Magazine" May 1988

External links

• Hancock's Congressional biography