William Waller Hening
William Waller Hening (1768–1828) was a 19th-century attorney, legal scholar, publisher and politician during the formative years of the United States. He was a contemporary of many founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall and James Monroe. Early life and education Hening was born in modest circumstances to David Hening (1741-1798) and his wife Maria Waller (b/f 1751-d.1798) in then-large Stafford County, Virginia, according to various sources around 1750 or 1767. He may have been named for his maternal great-great grandfather William Waller (1630-1690), who emigrated from Gregories in Buckinghamshire to Gloucester County in the Virginia Colony where he married Mary Allen and had at least three sons) or great-grandfather William Waller (1673-1703), who was born in Stafford County and distributed slaves in his will. His firstborn son (this boy's grandfather) George Waller (1703-1768) who married Elizabeth Allen (v. 1709 and d. after 1753 but before 1797) who bore four sons and six daughters, was also long-lived and prominent in Stafford County's Overwharton parish, although his wife Elizabeth's original surname is unknown. This boy had a brother or cousin named Robert Hening, who was an attorney and commissioner of accounts in Stafford County. Career Lawyer and politician In 1789 Hening