Early Life and Career
Upshur was born in Northampton County, Virginia, to Littleton Upshur and Anna (née Parker) Upshur. He was one of twelve children. His father—described as a "staunch individualist and rabid Federalist"—was a plantation owner, a member of the Virginia Legislature, and a Captain during the War of 1812.
Upshur attended Princeton University and Yale College; he was expelled from the former for participating in a student rebellion. He did not graduate, returning to Richmond, Virginia, to study law. Upshur was admitted to the bar in 1810; he briefly set up practice in Baltimore, Maryland, but returned to Virginia after the death of his father, where he set up a thriving law practice and became active in state politics.
Upshur married Elizabeth Dennis on February 26, 1817; she died in childbirth in October 1817. He remarried in 1824 to Elizabeth Ann Brown; they had one daughter.
Read more about this topic: Abel P. Upshur
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