William Drayton was an American lawyer and judge. He served as the first United States judge in South Carolina District Court.
Background
William Drayton was born on March 21, 1732, in South Carolina, United States, the great-grandson of Thomas Drayton, who came to South Carolina from Barbados in 1679 and became the founder of a prominent family. William's father, Thomas, the third of the name in South Carolina, served on the Council, was a justice of the province, and a member of the Commons House of Assembly. He married, on December 26, 1730, Elizabeth, daughter of William Bull, lieutenant-governor of South Carolina, 1738-1755. William, their second son and eldest surviving child, was born at "Magnolia, " a plantation on the Ashley River which was acquired by his grandfather, added to by his father, at length (1774) sold by him to his uncle, John, and which, as "Magnolia Gardens, " has long been noted for its gorgeous vegetation.
Education
Drayton completed his education in the Middle Temple, in London, England in 1754.
Career
On October 6, 1750, Drayton was admitted to the Middle Temple and on June 13, 1755, called to the English bar. By 1756 he had returned home, begun the practice of law, and become a justice of the peace for Berkeley County. Removing to East Florida after 1763, he was appointed chief justice of the province and became ex officio a member of the Council. Personal differences between him and John Moultrie, also a South Carolinian, who became lieutenant-governor in 1771, assumed a political character when he advocated the extension of local self-government. In this he had the support of his friend, Dr. Andrew Turnbull, founder of a colony of Greeks, Italians, and Minorcans at New Smyrna. In the course of the dispute, Drayton was suspended from the Council, though he was present at its first meeting after Governor Patrick Tonyn arrived in March 1774.
On February 13, 1776, Drayton was suspended from the office of chief justice, the charges against him being: association with the attempt of Jonathan Bryan to make a "fraudulent purchase" of Indian lands; disloyal correspondence with his cousin, William Henry Drayton, a South Carolina Patriot; and a sympathetic attitude toward the grand jury when critical of the administration. Meanwhile, Turnbull and Drayton, whom Governor Tonyn termed "Patriots for the cause of America, " went without leave of absence to England to plead their cause, bearing with them resolutions of loyalty signed by many citizens. As a result of their representations, the reinstatement of Drayton without loss of salary was ordered.
On September 4, 1776, the governor swallowed the bitter pill and restored the chief justice. He and Turnbull returned to the province the following year to find that the latter's colony was largely broken up, by Tonyn's recruiting activities, they claimed. The chief justice continued to speak freely against Tonyn's measures and "blunders, " and advocated capitulation to an invading army of Patriots under Colonel Samuel Elbert in order that the province might gain freedom from molestation, which he felt the governor's policy would never secure. Though he gave evidences of zeal, his suspension was again voted by the Council on December 16, 1777.
In the following March Drayton sold his property in East Florida, and on April 1 was suspended as "the head of a faction against administration, " which he undoubtedly was. He went to England and failed to gain reinstatement. He continued to assert his loyalty to the British Empire, but felt that the revolt of the colonies was in no small part due to the conduct of their governors. Before May 13, 1780, when Turnbull joined him, Drayton was again in South Carolina. Charleston was not evacuated for more than two years, so he could have done little there for the Patriot cause. Thanks to family connections, however, he was soon in good standing in the state. He became judge of the admiralty court, associate justice of the supreme court, and in the autumn of 1789 was appointed first judge of the United States court for the District of South Carolina. He served as such until his death about six months later.
Achievements
Connections
Drayton's first wife, Mary, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Martin) Motte, bore him nine children, one of whom, William, attained distinction. His second wife, Mary Gates, to whom he was married about 1780, bore him one child.