USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Early Philadelphia; its people, life and progress > Part 23
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THE CARPENTERS' COMPANY
ILLIAM PENN'S care and fore- 29 thought in laying out the City of Philadelphia between two splendid rivers, his plan for the streets and the reservation of four large squares or parks, his hope that each house would have its little garden or orchard and that there should be a promenade along Front Street with an open prospect to the river and gardens sloping down to it were entirely unique in this country. No other man or settlement had such comprehensive plans. Penn carried his ideas further, as has been described, in choosing men of worth and industry for his colonists, so that the early success of his experiment was assured. Credit must also be given the Founder on this account for the excellence of the houses in durability and taste as he brought over an architect, one James Portius, as well as skilled artisans. By the year 1724 the Master Carpenters were numerous and important enough to compose a guild patterned after " The Worshipful Company of Carpenters of London," founded in 1477. James Portius was one of the most active of this little band to which Philadelphia owes so much in the beauty of its Colonial architecture. At his death in 1736 he left his choice collection of architectural works to his fellow-members, thus laying the foundation of their present valuable library. These men brought tools, ideas, plans and models from the mother country and stuck to them so that in the houses for which they were the architects as well as the builders we have examples of the best in England at that period. Judging from some of the original ideas perpetrated by our own more modern archi- tects within a stone's throw of the hall of the Carpenters' Company we could wish that the guild had assumed com-
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plete control. They were, however, a modest and un- assuming set of men and the object of their association was not a monopoly but instruction in the science of architec- ture and assistance to members of their families. They established a " Book of Prices " for the valuation of their work " on the most equitable principles " so "that the workmen should have a fair recompense for their labour, and the owner receive the worth of his money." The last will at once dispel any idea that this was the original labour union. No one but a Master Carpenter was or is eligible to membership and he must have been a master for six years. In 1745 was published a book of directions for joinery which shows that both the art of proportion and technical proficiency were to be expected from the local craftsmen.
The officers consisted of a Master, Assistants and War- dens and the meetings were generally held at the Master's house. It was not until 1770 that a permanent home for the Company was erected upon what was then open ground from Chestnut to Walnut Streets. It was to be expected that this hall would be the dignified and beautiful building we know so well and the pity of it is that encroaching trade has hemmed it in on every side, so that with its distance back from Chestnut Street below Fourth it is unknown to many.
The State House being used by the existing govern- ment, the Hall of the Carpenters' Company became the centre of many of the gatherings of patriotic citizens so numerous in the days leading up to the War for Inde- pendence when English George in America was to fight against German George in England. Almost all the " town meetings " of that eventful period were held on the lawn in front or within its walls. The Governor, fearing the effect of the patriotic movements upon his interests in
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HALL OF THE CARPENTERS' COMPANY, CHESTNUT STREET BELOW FOURTH
THE CARPENTERS' COMPANY
the Province, opposed his influence and authority against them and so the State House was not available. The Car- penters' Company well knew the responsibility they were under and the danger of the confiscation of their property, but keeping the names of the members voting off the min- utes agreed that they " Shall be allowed to meet here."
The members of the First Continental Congress gath- ered at the Merchants' Coffee House on Second Street above Walnut, and on the morning of the 5th of Septem- ber, 1774, walked in a body to Carpenters' Hall. What a stately procession this must have been! How conscious, and yet unknowing, they must have been of the great epoch in the world's history which they were about to institute! Samuel and John Adams were among them and Joseph Galloway, John Dickinson, Thomas Mifflin, Cæsar Rod- ney, Thomas McKean, Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry-all well known names. It is not here the place to recount the delibera- tions of these solemn men, how on the second day after a first spent in wrangling over a plan of voting, the eloquent Patrick Henry broke a long silence in that splendid plea for the obliteration of all lines, ending with the words, " I am not a Virginian, but an American." This was the sen- timent that actuated the body and they began by asking Mr. Duché, an Episcopal minister, to unite them in prayer. Patrick Henry's speech and Jacob Duché's prayer have been brought down to us in the printed word and the painted canvas and John Adams tells us that he saw "the tears gush into the eyes of the old grave pacific Quakers of Philadelphia."
The paintings have not quite revealed to us the real setting, as at that time the large room on the first floor where the Congress met was divided into two rooms, with a spacious hallway running through the centre between
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the two doorways. This will give us an idea of what a small and intimate gathering was this first assemblage of the representatives of the people.
On the 18th of June, 1776, a Provincial Conference of the State met and on the 23rd declared the Independence of the Colony of Pennsylvania from Great Britain. On the 15th of July this Conference ratified the Declaration of Independence passed by Congress on July 4th and adopted a Constitution which served as the law of the land until after the Constitution of the United States was agreed to. The use of Carpenters' Hall for the patriots' cause was almost continuous and is a splendid tribute to the gener- osity and courage of its owners who are generally lost sight of in the brilliance of the events that took place within their hall.
There was another struggle for liberty which ought not to be forgotten and whose cradle was the Carpenters' Hall. It was particularly appropriate that this united association for religious liberty should be set on foot in Philadelphia. On the 14th of October, 1774, the Baptist Association was in session in the Hall and had before it the persecution of its members in New England. All friends of religious liberty, in or out of Congress, were invited. The Catholics of Maryland and the cavaliers of Episcopal Virginia were there, while the Philadelphia Quakers seized the oppor- tunity of presenting the grievances of their brethren in New England. John Adams tells us much of the proceed- ings in his diary and how he rebuked the principal speaker, Israel Pemberton, with great heat, telling the meeting " that in Massachusetts was and ever had been the purest political liberty known." Then up rose Israel with the quiet remonstrance-" John, John, dost thou not know of the time when Friends were hung in thy Colony because they would not subscribe to the belief of thee and thy
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THE CARPENTERS' COMPANY
fathers? Pray don't urge liberty of conscience in favour of such laws." This was the beginning of the effort which embodied the principles of religious liberty in the Federal Compact and in the Constitution of the States.
The British Army of occupation in 1777 quartered their men in the Hall and used the second story for a hos- pital. Now begins a long list of important events in the old Hall. A meeting for the Encouragement of American Manufacturers, the United States Commissary General, the Philadelphia Library, the first Bank of the United States, the Bank of Pennsylvania, the United States Land Office, the Apprentices' Library, the Musical Fund So- ciety, The Franklin Institute and the school of John Wil- litts were all tenants. The separation in the Society of Friends in 1827 was largely between the country and city Friends, the latter being the most wealthy and influential of the " Orthodox " body. The city meeting places there- fore being controlled by them, Friends who adhered to the " Hicksite " branch were dispossessed as well as dis- franchised. They accordingly met for divine worship in Carpenters' Hall, that appropriate shrine of all liberties. This was until they could erect a meeting house of their own at Fifth and Cherry Streets.
In 1828 C. J. Wolbert had a place of auction there where horses were sold. They were shown off up and down the passage-way in front of the building, and the cries of the auctioneer, bidders and hostlers must have been in striking contrast to the eloquence of the patriots and supplications of the Friends. Upon the occasion of the Centennial anniversary of the meeting of the Continental Congress a notable assemblage in the old Hall listened to an oration by Henry Armitt Brown and this was the last distinguished gathering to enter the portal hallowed by memories unforgettable in City, State and Nation.
INDEX
Adams, John, 55, 295, 333, 334 Advancement of Christianity Society, 330 Aitken, Robert, 43 Allen, William, 43, 96 Apothecaries, Early, 19% Assembly, 95
Ball, Joseph, 235 Banking, Early, 227 Baptists, 30, 75 Barclay, John, 40
Biddle, Charles, 48 Biddle, Nicholas, 186 Bingham, William, 38, 40 Black Horse Inn, 128 Blackwell, Robert, 39 Blue Anchor Tavern, 121 Bond, Dr. Thomas, 314, 317 Bradford, William, 43, 124 Breintnall, David, 36 Brewing, 268 Byrd, William, 38
Cadwalader, John, 161 Carey, Mathew, 45 Carpenter, Joshua, 37 Carpenter, Samuel, 31, 36
Carpenters' Company, 35 Carpenters' Hall, 193, 196 Catholics, Roman, 75 Centre Square, 106 Charity Schools, 208 Chestnut Street Theatre, 119 Chew, Chief Justice, 55 Christ Church, 38, 42, 52, 69 City Tavern, 127 City Troop, 41 Clarke's Hall, 36 Clark's Inn, 125 22
Clerks of Market, 90 Clubs, Governors', 50 Cobbett, William, 45 Colony in Schuylkill, 285 Constables, 33 Continental Congress, 333 Cope, Thomas P., 31, 276 Country, Character of, 25 Court House, 32, 42, 79, 81 Courts, 27 Craik, Dr. James, 168 Crooked Billet Inn, 126 Cruikshank, Joseph, 45 Cutler, Dr. Manasseh, 54
Deshler, David, 45 Dick, Dr. Elisha Cullen, 168 Dickinson, John, 37, 48, 64 Dickinson, Philemon, 163
Dinners, 51, 53, 55 Dock Creek, 28, 29, 30, 36, 37, 40, 122 Dove, David James, 149 Duché, Jacob, 38, 154 Dunlap, John, 45 Duponceau, Peter S., 175
Education, 21 Episcopal Academy, 202 Episcopalian Fund, 329 Episcopalians, 30, 68 Evangeline, 312 Evans, Jonathan, 39 Evans, Oliver, 277 Eyre, Manuel, 31
Fairmount Park, 110 Fairs, 88 Fire Brigades, 248, 251 Fire Marks, 247 337
INDEX
Fisher, Samuel, 39 Fish Market, 86 Fitch, John, 217 Flower, Enoch, 200 Forrest, Thomas, 46 Frampton, William, 30
Franklin, Benjamin, 42, 43, 51, 61, 64, 70, 129, 135, 146, 147, 148, 160, 195, 239, 241, 242, 272, 314 Free Society of Traders, 24, 27 French Ambassadors, 37 French Refugees, 44
Galloway Joseph, 48, 203 George Inn, 127
Germans, 58
Germantown, 30, 58
Germantown Academy, 45, 203
Germantown Cricket Club, 225 Germantown Market, 92
Gilliams, Jacob, 189 Girard, Stephen, 31, 44
Gloucester Fox Hunting Club, 211, 285
Godfrey, Thomas, 116 Graeme, Doctor, 37 Graydon, Alexander, 150, 217
Hamilton, Alexander, 37 Hamilton, Andrew, 96
Hamilton, Dr. Alexander, 50
Hamilton, William, 33
Harrison, Dr. Charles C., 173
Haverford College, 222
Hazard, Ebenezer, 256 Hebrews, 77 Hill, Henry, 39, 205
Hilzheimer, Jacob, 51, 219 Hollingsworth, 31 Hopkinson, Francis, 70, 115, 154 Hopper, Isaac T., 323
Independence Square, 108 Indian Reservations, 35 Insane, Treatment of, 309, 317 Intercollegiate Game, First, 223
Jefferson, Thomas, 137 Jersey Market, 84 Junto, Franklin's, 129
Kalm, Peter, 51 Kearsley, Dr. John, 36, 69, 71 Keith, George, 200 Kinnersley, Ebenezer, 136, 152 Kinsey, John, 43, 64
Lancaster Pike, 103
Land Grants, 22 Latrobe, Benjamin Henry, 186 Lay, Benjamin, 321
Lehman, Peter, 193
Lehman, William, 198
Leidy, Dr. Joseph, 191
Lewis, 31, 39 Lewis, J. Howard, 215 Life Saving, 219 Lighting, 52 Lloyd, David, 63
Logan, James, 36, 37, 62, 134
Logan Square, 107 London Coffee House, 123 Lutherans, 30, 75
Madison, Dolly, 39 Makin, Benjamin, 200 Malting Co .- Francis Perot's Sons, 268 Market House, 27
Market Prices 1779, 90
Markets, 51, 53, 54, 56 Markets, Alderman in Charge of, 91 Mason and Dixon Line, 99 - 338
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INDEX
Massey, Charles, 31 Meeting Houses, 27, 39, 43, 59, 95, 106 Merchants, 31 Methodists, 76 Mifflin, 41 Mifflin, Thomas, 162 Morgan, John, 154, 180, 192 Morris, 41
Morris, Anthony, 268
Morris, Captain Samuel, 212, 287, 305 Morris, Robert, 81, 47, 228, 230 Muhlenberg, J. P. G., 163 Mutual Assurance Company, The, 245
Natural Sciences, Academy of, 42 Navy's First Ships, 276 Nekervis, William, 207 Newhall, George M., 226 New York, Travel to, 103 Norris, Charles, 40 Northern Liberties, 100
Pastorius, Francis Daniel, 28, 58 Paupers, care of, 313 Pavement, 32 Peale, Charles Wilson, 184
Pegg's Run, 29 Pemberton, Israel, 37, 334
Penn, William, 13, 20, 22, 23, 25, 31, 35, 36, 49, 60, 65, 78, 122, 200, 321, 331 Penn's House, 30, 36, 66 Pennsylvania Bank, 229 Pennsylvania Hospital, 43 Penny Pot House, 123 Pepper, Dr. William, 172 Perot, 49 Perot, Elliston and John, 270 Perot, T. Morris, 271 Peters, Judge Richard, 138, 143, 164 Pewter Platter Inn, 126
Philadelphia Contributionship, The, 241 Physick, Philip Syng, 39 Ponds, 29, 217 Population, 21, 23, 29, 52 Portius, James 35, 331 Potts, Jonathan, 165 Powell, Samuel, 38 Pratt, Henry, 31 Presbyterian Fund, 328 Presbyterians, 30, 73 Priestly, Joseph, 49 Printing, 44 Prisons 34, 43, 79,
Proud, Robert, 200
Quakers, 13, 20, 23, 30, 34, 46, 50, 53, 58, 194, 255, 278, 309, 311, 321, 322, 326
Radnor Hunt Club, 215
Raguet, Condy, 263 Ralston, Robert, 31 Redman, Dr. John, 180, 181 Ridgeway, Jacob, 31
Rittenhouse, David, 136 Rittenhouse Square, 108 Robberies, 33 Rose Tree Hunt Club, 215 Rush, Dr. Benjamin, 180 Rush, Dr. James, 134
Schoepf, Johann David, 52 School House, 27 Sellers, William, 47 Settlers, Character of, 20, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35 Servants, 52 Shippen, Edward, 3 Shippen, Dr. William, 179 Smith, Dr. William, 68, 71, 152, 159 Societies for Relief of Distressed, 326, 327 Society of Ancient Britons, 303 339
INDEX
Society of Traders, 28 South Street Theatre, 115 Southwark, 97 Speakman, John, 189 Speakman, John, Jr., 42 Stamper, John, 39 State House, 27, 33, 36, 96, 126, 184, 332 Stille, Provost, 172 St. James', Kingsessing, 72 St. Peter's Church, 38, 71 Stocker, John, 39
Streets, 27 Swedes, 24, 98
Swedes' Church, Old, 72, 144
Taverns, 28, 31, 43
Thomas, Gabriel, 29
Three Crowns Tavern, 126
Tilghman, Judge, 37
Tilghman, Tench, 166
Tilton, Dr. James, 164
Travelers, 50 Trinity Church, Oxford, 72
Union Fire Company, 240
Waln, 31, 39, 67 Walnut Street Theatre, 120 Warder, Ann, 53
Warville, J. P. Brissot de, 55 Washington, George, 32, 38, 45, 47, 71, 93, 137, 156, 167, 205, 282, 287, 288 Washington Square, 109 Water Works, 107 Wayne, Anthony, 160 Webster, Pelatiah, 46, 203 Wells and Pumps, 32, 50 Welsh, 21, 59 Welsh, John, 31 West, Benjamin, 67, 70, 217 Wharton, 31, 32, 38, 40 Whelen, Israel, 46 White, Bishop William, 38, 70, 165 Whitefield, George, 42, 74, 146 William Penn Charter School, 200 Willing, Charles, 40 Willing, Thomas, 31, 38 Wilson, James, 41, 163 Wistar, Dr. Caspar, 46, 295 Wister, John, 46 Wister, William Rotch, 223 Woolman, John, 321 Workman's Court, 41
York Road, 102 Young America Cricket Club, 225
HECKMAN BINDERY INC.
FEB 89 N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962
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