
The two-story
Flemish bond brick
Colonial era building
known as the Wythe
House in Williamsburg
sits just north of the cemetery
for Bruton Parish
Church. Dating back to
the 1750’s, the house has
paid witness to the constant
evolution of this
"ancient” corner of the
United States and is the
scene of legends and
alleged ghostly encounters.
For this and next
week’s edition of the
Yorktown Crier-Poquoson
Post, we will discuss the
two most notable figures
whom some claim haunt
the centuries old residence.
The focus of this
week will be the home’s
namesake, George Wythe.
George Wythe’s
contribution to Virginia
history is quite remarkable.
He was the first person
from the colony to
sign the Declaration of
Independence and was
noted as being close
friends with President
George Washington and a
mentor to our third president,
Thomas Jefferson.
The house that
bears his name was built
by his father-in-law,
Richard Taliaferro, who
was a surveyor, builder,
and planter. When
Taliaferro died, he left the
house to his son-in-law
and daughter (and
George Wythe’s wife),
Elizabeth. A dedicated
anti-slavery advocate,
George Wythe was the
first law professor for the
College of William &
Mary. When the Virginia
capital moved to
Richmond, the abandoned
former Capitol
building in Williamsburg
became a schoolhouse for
George Wythe to teach in.
Wythe left the
property behind when his
wife died in 1791 and
moved to Richmond,
where he served as a
judge for the infantile
Commonwealth. He took
his servant, a freed woman
named Lydia Broadnax,
her son, Michael Brown,
and his grandnephew,
George Wythe Sweeney,
to live with him in
Richmond. Without any
living direct heirs, Wythe
listed Brown and
Sweeney as receiving his
inheritance, while also
providing for Lydia.
On June 1, 1806,
Wythe and Brown fell
gravely ill after drinking
their morning coffee.
Brown died later that day,
but Wythe languished for
another week. Lydia
claimed to witness
Sweeney putting arsenic
in the coffee before it was
given to Wythe and
Brown. Sweeney was
drowning in gambling
debt and already committed
a series of crimes
against his great uncle to
settle it. Wythe suffered
the debilitating side
effects of arsenic poisoning,
including blindness,
and had his will redrafted
to remove Sweeney from
it while demanding an
investigation. Wythe
passed away on June 8,
1806. The autopsies of
both Michael Brown and
George Wythe were
botched and Lydia
Broadnax could not testify
at trial because she was a
freed woman. Sweeney
was acquitted of all
charges.
Although George
Wythe is buried in
Richmond, many say that
he still haunts the house
where he lived with his
beloved wife. Witnesses
claim that shutters will
open and close without
warning, sensations of
being touched, and seeing
the ghostly apparition of a
Colonial era man. Could it
be George Wythe’s otherworldly
presence calling
from the afterlife; a
beloved law professor
and judge whose death
never received justice?
…or could it be
the ghost of Lady Anne
Skipwith? To learn about
her story, check out next
week’s edition of the
Yorktown Crier | Poquoson
Post!