William Paca
| William Paca | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 3rd Governor of Maryland | |
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In office November 22, 1782 – November 26, 1785 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas Sim Lee |
| Succeeded by | William Smallwood |
| Maryland State Senator | |
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In office 1777–1779 |
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| Maryland Delegate to the Continental Congress | |
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In office 1774–1779 |
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland | |
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In office February 8, 1790 – October 13, 1799 |
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| Preceded by | new seat |
| Succeeded by | James Winchester |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 31, 1740 Abingdon, Baltimore County, Province of Maryland, British America (now Abingdon, Harford County, Maryland, U.S.) |
| Died | October 23, 1799 (aged 58) Queenstown, Queen Anne's County, Maryland |
| Resting place | Wye Plantation, Queenstown, Queen Anne's County, Maryland |
| Signature |  |
William Paca (October 31, 1740 – October 23, 1799) was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and later Governor of Maryland and a United States federal judge.
Paca was born in Abingdon, in what was then Baltimore County (Abingdon was later included in Harford County when that county was formed from Baltimore County in 1773), in the British colony of Maryland. He was the child of John Paca (c. 1712 – 1785), a wealthy planter in the area, and his wife Elizabeth Smith (?-c. 1766). He was the second son of the family, after his elder brother Aquila, and had five sisters. The brothers entered school at the Philadelphia Academy and Charity School in 1752, and the younger Paca went on to attend the The College of Philadelphia (now merged into and known as the University of Pennsylvania), graduating in 1759 with a bachelor of arts degree. He was also to receive a master of arts degree from the College in 1762, though this required no further study, only that Paca request it and be in good standing.
After graduating from college, Paca returned to Maryland, reading law in the colonial capital of Annapolis under the tutelage of a local lawyer named Stephen Bordley. By 1761, he was licensed to practice law, and in 1764 was admitted to the provincial bar, having stayed in Annapolis to establish his practice. Professional success was mingled with personal success, as the previous year he had courted Mary Chew, the daughter of a prominent Maryland planter, and they were married on May 26, 1763. They would go on to have three children, though only their son John Philemon survived into adulthood.
Among the other young lawyers in Annapolis at the time was Samuel Chase, who would become a close friend and political colleague of Paca. Together, Paca and Chase led local opposition to the British Stamp Act of 1765 and established the Anne Arundel County chapter of the Sons of Liberty.
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