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         " Richard Bassett " was born the son of Arnold & Judith Thompson Bassett in Cecil County, Maryland, on April 2, 1745.   After his father deserted his mother, he was reared by a relative named Peter Lawson who owed an estate called " Bohemia Manor ".

         " Bassett " read for the law in Philadelphia and in 1770 received a license to practive and apparently setup a practice in Dover, Delaware where he renewed an old acquaintance with " Joshua Clayton " who had also moved from Cecil County, Maryland.

         Together " Bassett " and " Clayton " ended up purchasing the 20,000 acres estate called " Bohemia Manor " which sat astride the Delaware-Maryland line, northwest of Middletown, Delaware from the family of Peter Lawson after his passing.   " Bassett " however also owned homes in Dover and Wilmington, Delaware as well.

         During the Revolutionary War, " Bassett " captained a cavalary militia from Dover and served on the Delaware council of safety.   Subsequently, he participated in Delaware's constitutional convention and sat in both the House and Senate in the Delaware Legislature.   In 1786 he represented Delaware in the Annapolis Convention.

" Richard Bassett "   ( Official State Portrait )

         At the U.S. Constitutional Convention in 1787, " Bassett " attended diligently but made no speeches, served on no committees, and cast no critical votes.   Like several other delegates of estimable reputation and talent, he allowed others to make the major steps.

         " Bassett " subsequently went on to a bright career in the state and federal governments.   In the Delaware ratifying convention, he joined in the 30-0 vote for the Constitution.   Subsequently, in the years 1789-93, he served in the U.S. Senate.   In that capacity, he voted in favor of the power of the President to remove governmental officers and against Hamilton's plan for federal assumption of state debts.

         From 1793 until 1799 " Bassett " held the chief justiceship of the court of common pleas.   He espoused the Federalist cause in the 1790's, and served as a Presidential elector on behalf of John Adams in 1797.

         Two years later, " Bassett " was elected Governor of Delaware and continued in that post until 1801.   That year, he became President Adam's "midnight" appointment as a judge of the U.S. Circuit Court.   Subsequently, the Jeffersonian Republicans abolished his judgeship, and he spent the rest of his life in retirement.