John M. Vining - Early Life and Family

Early Life and Family

Vining was born in Dover, Delaware, son of John and Phoebe Wynkoop Vining. His father was a prominent and successful lawyer and landholder, who had been a Speaker of the Colonial Assembly and Chief Justice of Delaware. He was also the good friend of Caesar Rodney, who stood as godfather for his son John, the subject of this article. Vining's father died when his son was eleven years old, and from him John and his sister inherited a large fortune. On November 29, 1790, while he was a U.S. Representative in New York City, he married Anna Maria Seaton, a poet, musician, and daughter of William Seaton of New York. She fit well into Vining's social swirl. They had four sons, John, William, Benjamin, and Charles, but she died prematurely in 1800.

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