Ralph Wormeley (Virginia politician)

The elder of two sons born to Elizabeth (d. 1761), the wife of prominent but deliberately non-officeholding planter John Wormeley (1689–1726), he would have a younger brother (John Wormeley who married Ann Tayloe and only had a daughter Elizabeth). The family also included eight sisters, of whom half died as infants and are not named her. However, the four surviving sisters married into the First Families of Virginia: Elizabeth (1713–1740) married Col. Landon Carter of Sabine Hall in Richmond County, Judith (1714–1751) married George Lee of Mt. Pleasant in Westmoreland County, Sarah(1717-after 1752) married Christopher Robinson of Hewick in Middlesex County; and Agatha (b. 1721) married Beverley Randolph of Gloucester County.^[2]

He received a private education and returned from England upon his father's death in 1726.^[3]

This Ralph Wormeley was born at and inherited Rosegill plantation in Middlesex County. Although his father's 1725 will is lost, an Act of the Virginia General Assembly in November 1728 acknowledged that John Wormeley died with great debts, although he also held valuable land in Middlesex, Gloucester, King William and York Counties, as well as a thousand-acre parcel in Caroline County and a reversionary interest in 2000 acres in King George County. Furthermore, it provided half to his widow during her life, as well as for the education of this man and for his brother John until they turned 21 years old. Eventually, all the debts were paid from the profits of the estate and sale of some lands. Ralph Wormeley IV also administered his mother's will in 1761, which included a bequest of lands in York and King and Queen counties to his brother John Wormeley Jr.^[4]

Middlesex County voters elected him to the House of Burgesses in 1742, but he did not was not allowed to take his seat because he had accepted "an office for profit", but voters re-elected him nonetheless. He represented Middlesex County in the House of Burgesses from 1742 until October 1764, when the same rationale was given, but this time Gawin Corbin was elected to replace him.^[5] The family biographer explains that the latter appointment was as Comptroller of the Port of the Rappahannock River, which the son carried with him when returning from his British education, but was not allowed to hold, since the absence of a "junior" annotation meant the father (this man) was the actual appointee. Governor Fauquier in 1766 wrote the Board of Trade concerning the matter, indicating this man's desire to relinquish the office in favor of his son, who was a schoolmate of prominent Whig Charles James Fox, who had influenced Lord Grenville concerning the appointment^[6]

During the American Revolutionary War, local patriots presumed he sided with Britain, although he remained in Middlesex County. After patriots intercepted a letter from his namesake son to John R. Grymes on April 4, 1776, Virginia authorities required that son to post a bond and confined him to this man's western Virginia lands, despite his protests.^[7] Two other sons clearly took up arms for Britain. Nonetheless, in 1781 a British privateer looted Rosegill and other plantations, prompting both Ralph Wormeleys to petition for compensation, particularly since when the more than 30 slaves were recovered, they had smallpox.^[8][9][10] In the 1787 Virginia tax census, two white adult males lived on the Middlesex county property, as did 54 adult slaves, 35 teenaged slaves, 13 horses including a stud horse, and 226 cattle. The "non-tithable" annotation can indicate the owner as an office-holder, and the son was a legislator at the time.^[11]