Alexander White (Virginia politician)

Alexander White (June 17, 1738 – October 9, 1804) was a distinguished early American lawyer and politician in the present-day U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. He served in the House of Burgesses (representing Hampshire County), the Virginia House of Delegates (representing Frederick County and later Berkeley County. During the American Revolutionary War, White facilitated the release of Quaker and Hessian civilian prisoners held by patriots. White also participated in the Virginia Ratifying Convention (in which Virginia ratified the United States Constitution in 1788) and became the northwestern Virginia district's inaugural member in the United States House of Representatives (1789 to 1793). United States President George Washington appointed White one of the commissioners responsible for the planning and construction of Washington, D.C. (1795 to 1802).^[1]

The son of Virginia pioneer settler and physician Dr. Robert White (1688–1752); White was a member of the prominent White political family of Virginia and West Virginia. His nephew became Virginia judge Robert White (1759–1831), another nephew became United States Congressman Francis White (1761–1826), and his brother-in-law was Virginia Governor James Wood (1741–1813).