William Paca
William Paca was born at Wye Hall on the eastern shore of Maryland on October 31, 1740. His father was an estimable man. He gave this son a good education and deeply planted the principles of virtue and moral rectitude in his mind. He graduated from the College in Philadelphia in 1758 and commenced the study of law at Annapolis in his native state.Soon after he commenced practice at the bar, Mr. Paca was elected to the Maryland legislature and became a beneficial member. In 1771, he was one of the committee of three that prepared a letter of thanks to Charles Carroll for his advocacy of the cause of freedom in a written controversy with the royal governor and his subordinates. In that letter, the committee expressed a determination never to submit to taxation without representation or to the regulation of taxes by the executive authority, thus furnishing the crown with an index of the public mind before the text. Mr. Paca was a member of the Congress of 1774 and continued until 1778.
In 1775, Paca joined Mr. Chase in furnishing a new military corps with rifles to nearly a thousand dollars from their private funds. He devoted his time, talents, and fortune to the cause of freedom. His examples had a powerful influence on reflecting men. All had unlimited confidence in his opinions, always deliberately formed.
In 1778, Mr. Paca retired from Congress and was appointed Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Maryland. In 1780, his duties were increased by his appointment to preside over the Prize and Admiralty Court. He stood approved as an able statesman,an ornament to the judiciary. His understanding of his mind and legal acquirements made him a strong judge; his honesty and impartiality made him famous. In 1782, he was elected governor and discharged his duties with great usefulness. He was a devoted friend to religion and education and did much to render them prosperous. He taught principles of economy and morals and held parental supervision over every department of state that came within the pale of his executory or advisory jurisdiction. His wise and prudent administration rendered malice powerless, paralyzed slander, and left no loop for jealousy to hang upon.
In 1789, President Washington appointed him Judge of the U.S. District Court of Maryland, which office he ably filled up to 1799. Paca died in 1799.