David Arell was born around 1750 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Richard Arell (a merchant).[6][7] By the early 1770s, Arell's family had moved to Alexandria.[8] He became acquainted with George Washington as early at April 1773, and is included in his diary entries.[9][10]
On May 12, 1785, Arell married Phoebe Caverly in
Fairfax County, Virginia. They had two children, Richard and Christina.[8] In 1790, Arell petitioned for a divorce from his wife due to her alleged infidelity, with court documents referring to her as "practically a prostitute."[11]
American Revolutionary War
During the
American Revolution, Arell served as a lieutenant and later captain of Company No. 2 in the
3rd Virginia Regiment, Alexandria's "Independent Blues" militia.[12][13] He resigned from the army in February 1778 to return to his law practice.[1][8]
Career
Arell practiced law in Alexandria.[14] He also served as justice of the
Hustings Court.[15][16][17] Arell was active in real estate and had several property and land holdings in Alexandria and
Fredericksburg.[8] Arell was granted 4,000 acres of land by the
Virginia General Assembly.[1]
In 1780, George Washington sought Arell's advice and legal representation during a legal dispute.[5][18] In the same year, Arell was selected as one of the first trustees and council members of Alexandria.[19][20] Additionally, in the early 1780s, Arell helped to raise funds to support
Washington College.[14]
Beginning in April 1786, Arell briefly served as the mayor of Alexandria following the death of incumbent mayor James Kirk.[21] He was also an active member of the
Masonic lodge in Alexandria (now
Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22}.[3][4][8]
^Horrell, Joseph. “George Mason and the Fairfax Court.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 91, no. 4, 1983, pp. 418–39. JSTOR,
JSTOR4248666. Accessed 7 Feb. 2023.