George Read, Jr.

George Read Jr. was born on August 29, 1765, in New Castle, Delaware. He was the son of George Read, a prominent lawyer and politician who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and Gertrude Ross Read, the daughter of Reverend George Ross. His father served as Crown Attorney General for the Delaware Colony and as a member of the Delaware Assembly at the time of his birth. By the age of ten, Read's father was serving in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

In 1785, Read was admitted to the bar and established a legal practice in New Castle. The following year, he married his cousin Mary Thompson, daughter of General William Thompson. In 1789, President George Washington appointed Read as the first United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, a position created to prosecute cases in federal court in the state. His appointment was influenced by his father's political connections; his father had begun serving as a U.S. senator from Delaware in the same year.

Read sought higher political office multiple times. In 1803, he was nominated by the Democratic-Republicans for Delaware's U.S. Senate seat but was defeated by incumbent Samuel White, a Federalist. He served as a witness in the 1805 impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, testifying as a prosecutor during the proceedings. Despite his efforts to secure a federal judgeship in 1812 following the death of Judge Gunning Bedford Jr., President James Madison appointed John Fisher instead.

In 1814, Read ran for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican but was unsuccessful, losing to the Federalist candidate Henry M. Ridgely by ten percent. He made a second attempt in 1818 and lost again, this time by a margin of 1.65%. He resigned from his position as U.S. Attorney in 1815, and his son, George Read III, succeeded him.

In 1820, at the request of Attorney General William Wirt, Read collaborated with Caesar A. Rodney to prepare a report addressing legal issues related to the ownership of Fort Delaware and the rights to the Delaware River, part of a broader dispute over colonial deeds. After Judge Gunning Bedford Jr.'s death in 1823, Read applied again for the position of U.S. District Judge but was not appointed; President James Monroe selected Willard Hall instead.

In 1831, Read was a delegate to Delaware's constitutional convention, advocating for substantial revisions, particularly in interest of New Castle County. Throughout his career, Read sought to advance politically but was not elected to higher office.

In 1797, Read purchased land in New Castle adjacent to his father's home and commissioned the construction of a sizable mansion, designed with assistance from his father. The Federal-style residence was completed in 1803, featuring 22 rooms and approximately 14,000 square feet of living space, making it the largest home in Delaware at that time. He also owned a waterfront lot across from his home, kept undeveloped for the view, which drew criticism from architect Benjamin Latrobe.

The Read House and Gardens survived the 1824 fire that damaged much of New Castle, although the older home belonging to his father was destroyed. Read converted this property into a formal garden.

George Read Jr. died at his home in New Castle on September 3, 1836, and was buried at the Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green, near his home. The church and the Read House are part of the New Castle Historic District, designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1967, with the house recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 2017. The Read House and Gardens is now a museum operated by the Delaware Historical Society. His son William Thompson Read was a founder of the Delaware Historical Society.