Representative Benjamin Estil

Benjamin Estil (March 13, 1780 – July 14, 1853) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia and a jurist who held a series of important legal and legislative posts in the early nineteenth century. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Adams Party, participating in the national legislative process during a formative period in American political history and representing the interests of his Virginia constituents.

Estil was born on March 13, 1780, in Hansonville, a community that is now located in Russell County, Virginia. He received an academic education in his youth and pursued higher studies at Washington Academy in Lexington, Virginia, an institution that later became Washington and Lee University. His education there provided the classical and legal foundation that would support his subsequent career in law and public service.

After completing his academic studies, Estil read law and prepared for admission to the bar. He was admitted to practice law in Virginia and established his legal career in Abingdon, in Washington County. His abilities as a lawyer led to his appointment as commonwealth’s attorney for Washington County, a position in which he represented the state in criminal prosecutions and gained prominence in local legal affairs.

Estil’s public career expanded into elective office when he served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1814 to 1817. During these years in the state legislature, he participated in shaping Virginia’s laws and policies in the post–War of 1812 era, contributing to debates and legislation affecting his region and the Commonwealth.

Building on his state-level experience, Estil was elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth Congress, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. As a member of the Adams Party representing Virginia, he contributed to the legislative process during one term in office. His service in Congress coincided with the administration of President John Quincy Adams, a period marked by significant national discussions over internal improvements, economic policy, and the evolving party system. In this context, Estil participated in the democratic process at the federal level and represented the interests of his constituents in western Virginia.

After leaving Congress, Estil continued his public service in the judiciary. He was appointed judge of the fifteenth judicial circuit of Virginia in 1831, a position he held for more than two decades. As a circuit judge, he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal cases, helping to administer justice across his circuit during a time of growth and change in the state’s legal system. He remained on the bench until 1852, when he resigned from judicial service.

In his later years, Estil retired from active public life and moved westward. He settled on a farm in Oldham County, Kentucky, where he lived in retirement after stepping down from the judiciary. Benjamin Estil died there on July 14, 1853, closing a career that had encompassed service as a lawyer, prosecutor, state legislator, member of Congress, and circuit judge.