Author: Munford, Robert
Biography:
MUNFORD, Robert (1737?-1783?: ANBO)
He was Robert Munford III, son of the Virginia plantation owner Robert Munford II and his wife Anna (Bland) Munford. His father died when he was eight and his uncle William Beverley saw to it that he had a good classical education, completed in England 1750-56. On the death of his uncle he returned to Virginia to study law--studies interrupted by military service in the French and Indian War. About 1760, having inherited his father's estate, he married his cousin Anna Beverley, who had also inherited land. They had three children. In 1765 he was named county lieutenant of Mecklenburg County, with responsibility among other things for defending the area in case of slave uprisings. He was then elected to various offices in local government, ultimately in the House of Delegates for the county. During the Revolutionary War he was made commanding Colonel of the militias of three counties and did engage in fighting, but was forced home by an attack of gout. Though he never published his own work, he has attracted attention as the author of possibly the first comedies written in America, both of which are included in the posthumous volume edited by his son William Munford (q.v.) (ANBO 16 Apr. 2020; Meriah L. Crawford, "Robert Munford"; encyclopediavirginia.org 16 Apr. 2020) HJ