John Wickham (1763)
| John Wickham | |
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John Wickham, drawing by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
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| Born | June 6, 1763 Cutchogue, Colony of New York |
| Died | January 22, 1839 (aged 75) |
| Alma mater | College of William and Mary |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Smith Fanning Elizabeth Seldon McClurg |
John Wickham (June 6, 1763 - January 22, 1839) was an American Loyalist and attorney. He was one of the very few Loyalists to achieve any sort of national prominence in the United States after the American Revolution, and is best remembered for his role in the treason trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr in 1807.
John Wickham was the oldest son of John Wickham Sr. and his wife Hannah Fanning. Wickham was born in the colony of New York in the village of Cutchogue. His father was a minister in the Anglican Church and a Loyalist, while his uncle Parker Wickham was also a Loyalist, and was active in the local government.
After the American Revolution, Parker Wickham was banished from New York State under an act of attainder. Despite vigorously declaring his innocence, Parker Wickham was never granted a trial and was sentenced to death if he returned to New York. The unfairness of this bitter event gave John Wickham a lifelong appreciation of the sanctity of a person's legal rights, regardless of their political affiliation.
Although John Wickham was a first cousin of Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Fanning, he was heavily influenced by his uncle Edmund Fanning, a colonel (later a general) in the British Army. Fanning raised a unit called the King's American Regiment, which Wickham served in as an ensign. While traveling through Virginia, Wickham was captured and put on trial as a spy, but acquitted.
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