American biographical writer and historian, born in Dumfries, VA; studied theology in London; ordained a pastor of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and was for some time rector of the church of that denomination at Mount Vernon attended by George Washington and his family. He resigned that charge in 1790, and became a book agent for Mathew Carey. He afterward devoted his attention to preparing sketches of prominent patriots of the Revolution. He was the originator of the “little hatchet” fiction about Washington. His Life of Washington (11th edition, 1811) had a phenomenal sale and popularity. He also published The Philanthropist (1799); Life of General Francis Marion (1816); Drunkard’s Looking Glass (1816); Life of Benjamin Franklin (1817); Life of William Penn (1829). He died at Beaufort, SC, on the 23rd of May 1825.
