William Wirt was born in Bladensburg, Maryland, to a German mother, Henrietta, and a Swiss father, Jacob Wirt. Both of his parents died before he was eight years old and Jasper Wirt, his uncle, became his guardian. Between age seven and eleven, Wirt was sent to several classical schools and finally to one kept by the Rev. James Hunt in Montgomery County. There, he received over the course of 4 years the main part of his education. For two years he resided with Hunt, in whose library he spent much of his time. He was always an eagar and keen reader. When he was fifteen, his school was disbanded. Ninian Edwards (later governor of Illinois) had been Wirt's schoolmate, and Edwards' father, Benjamin Edwards (later a member of congress from Maryland),
