Nicholas Fitzhugh (1764-1814)
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates & Judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for D.C.
He was educated at William & Mary College and became a successful lawyer. He represented Fairfax County in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1790-91 and 1802, and President Thomas Jefferson made him a Judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia in 1803 where he served until death in 1814. In 1783, he built Ossian Hall (see images) on part of the land he inherited on the Ravensworth estate, on the north side of Braddock Road about two miles southwest of modern-day Annandale. He expanded his holdings there by buying up further land from his siblings and he hosted Thomas Jefferson there in 1803 but sold up in 1804 when he moved to Washington Street, Alexandria, nearer to the courthouse. In 1788, he married Sarah, daughter of Major Burdett Ashton and a grandniece of George Washington, being the maternal granddaughter of the President's brother, Colonel Augustine Washington Jr. They had twelve children.
