Izard was born at "The Elms" near Charleston, South Carolina. His great-grandfather was Ralph Izard [1] (1660-1710), who was born in Dorchester, England and settled in South Carolina. His maternal grandfather was Province of South CarolinaGovernorRobert Johnson. Izard's parents died when he was a small child, and only one of his siblings survived to adulthood. He spent most of his childhood and youth studying in England: he attended a school in Hackney, London, and matriculated as a fellow-commoner at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.[1] Izard returned to America in 1764, but did not remain in South Carolina for long. In 1767, he married Alice DeLancey of New York (a niece of James DeLancey). They had 13 children between the years of 1768 and 1792.
Career
He resided in London in 1771 and moved to Paris, France, in 1776. He was appointed commissioner to the Court of Tuscany by the Continental Congress in 1776, but was recalled in 1779. He returned to America in 1780 and pledged his large estate in South Carolina for the payment of war ships to be used in the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783. In 1788, he was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1795, serving as President pro tempore of the Senate during the Third Congress.
Death and legacy
Izard retired from public life to the care of his estates and died near Charleston. He is interred in the churchyard of St. James Goose Creek Episcopal Church, near Charleston.
Izard was one of the founders of the College of Charleston. His children and relations married well:
A daughter Charlotte married William Loughton Smith {a son of S.C. Assemblyman Benjamin Smith}; William L. Smith was also a brother-in-law of South Carolina Congressman Isaac Motte.