USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > History of Independence Hall : from the earliest period to the present time : embracing biographies of the immortal signers of the Declaration of Independence, with historical sketches of the sacred relics preserved in that sanctuary of American freedom > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
T
192
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
upon him. And such were the results. In addition to this, the moral education of Mr. Paine, at a very early day, received the advantages of instruction in letters from Mr. Lovell, who was also the tutor of John Hancock and John Adams. Such were the moral and religious influences which made so marked and admired a character of Mr. Paine, and which shone so conspicuously in his after conduct.
At the age of fourteen years Mr. Paine was admitted into Harvard College, where he went commendably through the programme of studies, and graduated with the usual honors. After he left college he em- ployed himself in the capacity of a school teacher, and was remarkably successful in that vocation. Subse- quently he made a voyage to Europe, where he was courteously received among the prominent of the re- ligious circles, and where his society was courted by the literati. On his return to Massachusetts he pre- pared himself for the ministry, in which calling he was chosen to accompany, as their chaplain, in 1755, a military expedition to the north. He was a man much esteemed by the soldiers for his meekness and devotion, and won friends as well in the camp as at his own domestic fireside. After the expedition had returned, Mr. Paine abandoned his theological pur- suits as a profession, commenced the study of law with Mr. Pratt afterward Chief Justice of New York -and was admitted to practice at the bar. He com- menced his legal profession in Boston, the city of his nativity, where he attained an honorable celeb- rity; but he soon afterward selected the town of Taunton as a place of residence. At this place he became a powerful rival and an inveterate opponent
193
ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
of the distinguished Timothy Ruggles, who was Presi- dent of the Colonial or "Stamp Act Congress," in 1765, and opposed to some of its measures; but when the Revolution broke out he took sides with the king and Parliament. Mr. Paine early espoused the cause of the Colonists, yet he conducted himself so cau- tiously and prudently that he retained the Governor's confidence. After Governor Bernard had dissolved the Assembly, in 1768, a Provincial Convention was called, which Mr. Paine attended as a delegate from Taunton. The reason of the Governor dissolving the Assembly was because, with closed doors, they adopted a circular to be sent to all the other Colonies, inviting them to send delegates to a General Colonial Congress to be held in New York.
When the trial of Captain Preston and his men oc- curred in 1770, the indisposition of the District At- torney prevented his attendance, and Mr. Paine was chosen as his substitute. He conducted that im- portant trial with great ability, achieving new laurels to deck his already distinguished reputation. The Vigilance Committee of Taunton unanimously selected him as its chairman in 1773, which position he filled to the satisfaction of the people. During the years 1773 and 1774 he was a member of the Provincial Assembly, and was appointed a commissioner to con- duct the proceedings in the case of the impeachment of Chief Justice Oliver. The ground of his impeach- ment was based on the fact, that he received his salary directly from the crown, and not from the people of the province, and thus was made independent of them. He was a firm and uncompromising advocate of a Continental Congress, and while he was a member of 17
194
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
the Assembly, in spite of Governor Gage, it elected delegates to the General Congress, of whom Mr. Paine was one. During the autumn of 1774 he was elected a member of the Provincial Congress of Massachu- setts, where he exhibited unusual activity in the dis- charge of his arduous duties. He was deputed by the General Congress, with two others, to visit the army of General Schuyler, at the north, for the purpose of observation. The commission was a peculiarly deli- cate one, but Mr. Paine and his colleagues performed the task with signal ability and entire satisfaction. Some time during the same year he was chosen a side judge to sit on the bench with John Adams who had been appointed Chief Justice of the Province of Mas- sachusetts. The honor thus conferred upon Mr. Paine, however, was declined, but his valuable services could not be dispensed with in a public capacity, and in December, he was again elected to the General Con- gress, and on the 4th of July, 1776, he was proud to acknowledge the privilege of voting for and signing the Declaration of Independence. In 1777 he was made Attorney-General of Massachusetts by a unanimous vote of the Council and Representatives, and he held the office until 1790, when he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. Subsequently he was chosen a member of the Convention that framed the Consti- tution of his native State. For fourteen years he dis- charged his duties as judge, but in 1804 he left the bench, on account of the approaching infirmities of age. He died in 1814 at the age of 84 years. Thus passed through the most troublous times in our country's history one of the purest patriots that ever lived. His long and active life was devoted almost
---
195
ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
exclusively to the public service, and a grateful people duly appreciated his labors. Few men ever attain an eminence of character so devoid of offense, and few pass from the public arena more honored and re- spected. Although his portrait is not found with his compatriots who signed the Declaration of Indepen- dence, in Independence Hall, his name and memory are associated with theirs and the history of that hallowed room, with imperishable lustre and undying honor.
-" Be just, and fear not ; Let all the ends thou aimst at be thy country's, Thy God's, and Truth's ; then if thou fall'st, O Cromwell, Thou fall'st a blessed martyr !"
· 196
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
CHAPTER XXI.
PHILIP LIVINGSTON.
Bold, and unflinching in the cause of right, He stood a hero in his Christian might- His love of Freedom, and his honor'd name, Won for the future an undying fame.
THE Revolutionary era was one marked with names of stern patriots-an epoch of momentous events. Patriotism in its unadulterated character, uncontami- nated even by the slightest taint of corruption, was then exhibited by thousands of hardy yeomanry; and associated with the brilliant names of that retinue of distinguished men, none shone with a purer lustre, or stand more conspicuously before the world than that of LIVINGSTON. Like the name of WOLCOTT, from the early settlement of our country to the present time, that name has been honored and regarded with a sense of emulation. The subject of this biography, was born in Albany on the fifteenth day of January, 1716. He was descended from a Minister of the Gos- pel who, in 1663, emigrated from Scotland and settled in Rotterdam, where he died. His son Robert, father of Philip, subsequently came to this country, and under the privileges guaranteed to the patroons, ob- tained a grant of a large tract of land, upon the Hud- son River, now in Columbia County, ever since known
197
IT'S HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
as Livingston's Manor. He had three sons, of whom Philip was the eldest, and who became on the death of his father, heir to the manor. His two brothers, Robert and Gilbert, were influential men at that time. The former was the father of Chancellor Livingston, who administered the "Inaugural Oath" to George Washington, in 1789, on taking the Presidential Chair; and the latter was the father of the late Rev. John Livingston, D.D., President of Rutger's College, at New Brunswick, New Jersey.
After completing a preparative course of study, he entered Yale College, at New Haven, where he grad- uated with distinguished honors in 1737. He at once turned his attention to commercial pursuits, and en- gaged in an extensive and lucrative business in the city of New York, where his integrity and upright dealings won for him the profound respect of the whole community. Mr. Livingston first entered upon public life in 1754, when he was elected an Alderman of the East Ward of the city of New York .* For nine consecutive years he was re-elected to that office, and always gave entire satisfaction to his constituents. When Sir Charles Hardy, the Gov- ernor of the Colony of New York, was appointed a Rear-Admiral in the British Navy, the government devolved upon the Lieutenant, Delancy, who at once, on the resignation of the Governor, dissolved the General Assembly and ordered new elections. These
* At that time the city of New York contained only about eleven thousand inhabitants, and what is now called Wall street was quite at the north end of the town. Since then a "change has come over" the city of New York, greatly to its advantage.
17*
--------
198
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
contests at that time were very warm, but the superior education and influence of the Livingston family se- cured for Philip and his brother Robert, seats in that body. It was a period of much alarm and agitation, and required sterling men in legislative councils. Mr. Livingston soon became a leader among his colleagues, and by his superior wisdom and sagacity, measures were set on foot which resulted in the capture from the French of several important frontier fortresses, and finally the subjugation of Canada. At that time the "French and Indian war," was at its height, and the brilliant successes of Montcalm upon the northern frontier of New York, gave the people great uneasi- ness.
For a long time before the Revolution, nearly all the Colonies had resident agents in England. The celebrated Edmund Burke was the agent in New York when the war broke out, and it is believed that his enlightened views of American affairs, as mani- fested in his brilliant speeches in Parliament in de- fense of the Colonies, were derived from his long-con- tinued and constant correspondence with Philip Liv- ingston, who was appointed one of a Committee of the New York Assembly, for that purpose. He was very influential in that body, and early took a decided stand against the unrighteous acts of Great Britain. He was the associate and leader of such men as Gen- eral Schuyler, Pierre Van Cortlandt, Charles De Witt, and others, and so long as Whig principles had the ascendancy in the Provincial Assembly, he was the Speaker of the House. When Toryism took pos- session of the Province, he left the Assembly. In . 1774 Mr. Livingston was elected a delegate to the
199
ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
first Continental Congress, and was one of the com. mittee who prepared the address to the people of Great Britain-an address replete with bold and original thoughts, perspicuous propositions, and con- vincing arguments. In reference to that Congress, and the address put forth by it, William Pitt, the great Earl of Chatham, said: "I must declare and aver, that, in all my reading and study-and it has been my favorite study-I have read Thucydides, and have studied and admired the master-spirits of the world-that for the solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, under such a complication of circumstances, no national body of men can stand in preference to the General Congress at Philadelphia." The next year the Assembly pre- sented such an array of Tories, that it was impossible to elect delegates to the second Congress. Accord- ingly, several counties, composed of New York, Al- bany, Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Westchester, King's, and Suffolk, sent delegates to a Provincial Convention, which body elected delegates to a General Congress, among whom was Philip Livingston, and his nephew, Robert R. Livingston. These delegates were vested
with power to act as circumstances should require. . Mr. Livingston warmly supported the proposition for Independence, and he voted for and signed the decla- ration thereof. This was sanctioned by the Provincial Assembly of New York. When the State govern- ments were formed, after the Declaration of Indepen- dence, Mr. Livingston was elected a member of the first Senate of New York, which met on the 10th of September, 1777. In 1778, although his health was in a precarious state, occasioned by dropsy in the
200
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
chest. he obeyed the call of duty, and took his seat in Congress, to which he had been elected. He had a presentiment that he should not return to his family, and accordingly, on his departure, he bade his family and friends a final adieu. On the 12th of June fol- lowing, his presentiment became a reality, and his dis- ease then suddenly terminated his life at the age of sixty-two years. No relative was near to smooth his dying pillow, except his son Henry, a lad of eighteen years, then residing in the family of General Wash- ington. Mr. Livingston was zealous in the promotion of every enterprise conducive to the public welfare, and has left behind him a name and fame that kings might covet. He was one of the founders of the New York Society Library ; also of the Chamber of Com- merce; and was an active promoter of the establish- ment of King's (now Columbia) College.
Among the portraits which grace Independence Hall, and lend additional lustre to the room in which the Declaration of our Country's freedom was promul- gated, is that of Philip Livingston. In the present arrangement of those brave heroes' names and like- nesses, it is numbered Seven, and no patriot can gaze upon that countenance, which seems to speak through the living canvas, without emotions of unfeigned grati- tude for the men who braved the storms of adversity, and guided the helm of experiment to the accomplish- ment of a national reality. The last moments of Mr. Livingston was spent at York, Pennsylvania, and the end of a good man is peace. 1
201
ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
CHAPTER XXII.
FRANCIS LEWIS.
"Snatch from the ashes of your sires The embers of your former fires, And he who in the strife expires Will add to theirs a name of fear That tyranny shall quake to hear."-Byron's Giaour.
THE subject of this biographical sketch was one of that noble fraternity of patriots who had the boldness and lofty decision of purpose to strike a blow for the cause of Freedom; and, as a natural consequence, he signed the "Declaration of Independence," by which the Thirteen Colonies became "free and sovereign" States. Born in the town of Llandaff, Wales, in 1713, among the inspiring scenes and associations of that freedom-loving people, it was not strange that he should have inherited from infancy a deep-rooted hatred of all forms of despotic power and intolerance. And being the son of an Episcopal clergyman, and reared by a pious mother, under all the hallowed in- fluences of Christian duty, he had early learned to look with contempt upon priestly usurpation. But he was, however, at a tender age, bereft of both father and mother by an afflictive dispensation, and he was then taken in charge by a maiden aunt, who it is affirmed, watched over him with all the care and soli- vitude of a fond and devoted parent. By this sad be-
202
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
.
reavement he was, to a great extent, thrown upon the world-not, however, without warm and influential friends and relatives. Still young as he was, he keenly felt their loss, which, no doubt, operated largely in the formation of that character so marked and distinguished in his after life, and which won for him so much esteem and fame. He received, however, a portion of his education in Scotland, under the care and superintendence of another relative, and soon be- came proficient not only in his native tongue-the Ancient Briton-but also in the Gælic language, at that time mostly used in Scotland. He was afterward sent to Westminster by his uncle, who was Dean of St. Paul's, London, where his education was mostly completed.
His words seem'd oracles
That pierced their bosoms, and each man would turn And gaze in wonder on his neighbor's face, That with the like dumb wonder answer'd him. You could have heard The beating of your pulses while he spoke.
When he had received a competent education, he went through an apprenticeship with a merchant in the city of London. Most of his relatives were in pretty good circumstances; and when Francis arrived at the age of twenty-one years, he became the pos- sessor of a considerable sum of money, which he in- vested in merchandise and sailed for New York, in which city he formed a business partnership. After having accomplished that arrangement, he left a por- tion of his goods with his partner in New York, and conveyed the remainder to Philadelphia, and estab- lished a branch of his business in that city, where he
203
ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
remained some two or three years, and was remark- ably successful in business. He then returned to New York for the purpose of making that city his perma- nent place of residence. He soon after became ac- quainted with, and married the sister of Mr. Ansley, his partner, by whom he had seven children. In his business relations, which constantly increased, and had grown to an extensive degree, he was ever prompt and upright, and won for himself a reputation abroad which few of the New York merchants had, with much longer experience and assiduity, attained. In fact his commercial pursuits kept him, much of his time, in Europe. But when the "French and Indian war," as it is designated, broke out, he became deeply interested in the welfare of the English Colonies, and therefore was an active partisan in the war. At Os- wego he was the aid of Colonel Mercer, when Mont- calm conquered and took possession of that fort, in August, 1757. Mercer was slain in that engagement, and in company with other prisoners, Mr. Lewis was carried to Canada. Thence he was sent to France, but was subsequently exchanged. That battle was very disastrous to the English-fourteen hundred men were made prisoners, and thirty-four pieces of artil- lery, a large quantity of ammunition and stores, and several vessels in the harbor, fell into the hands of the French. The fort was demolished and never rebuilt.
At the close of the war, in consideration for the valuable services he had rendered, he received five thousand acres of land from the British Government. During the administration of Mr. Pitt, Francis Lewis was distinguished for his republican views and no-
. J
P
204
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
tions, for which he was elected one of the delegates, for New York in the Colonial Congress of 1765. When the "Stamp Act" became a law, and non-im- portation agreements nearly ruined commerce, he re- tired from business to his country residence on Long Island, where
"The fields did laugh, the flowers did freshly spring, The trees did bud and early blossoms bore, And all the choir of birds did sweetly sing, And told that garden's pleasures in their caroling."
But, as the true-hearted patriot, when his country needs wise counsel and men of bold and uncompro- mising integrity, he was not permitted to remain in- active in the political progress of affairs for any length of time. Consequently, the Convention of Deputies, in 1775, elected him a delegate to the General Con- gress. He was also elected a delegate for 1776, by the Provincial Assembly, and thus became one of the noble heroes whose signatures honor the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of Congress un- til 1778, and was always an active and efficient com- mittee-man of that body.
The activity which Mr. Lewis manifested in the cause of Freedom, as a matter of course, made him a shining light for the resentment of the British and Tories, and while the former possessed Long Island. they not only destroyed his property, but had the brutality to confine his wife in a close prison for several months, without a bed or a change of raiment. whereby her constitution was ruined, and she died two years afterward. He was not much better dealt with by the Tories. And here it may not be improper
205
ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
to remark, that the party names of Whig and Tory were first used in New York, in 1774, and rapidly spread throughout the Colonies. The name of Tory was applied to the American Rovalists, and the name of Whig was assumed by the patriots. The origin of these names is somewhat obscure. According to Bishop Burnett, the term Whig is derived from the Scotch word whiggam, an instrument used for driving horses. Those who drove the horses were termed Whiggamores, which was afterward abbreviated to Whig. The origin of the word Tory is not clear. It was first used in Ireland in the time of Charles II. Sir Richard Philips defines the two parties thus : "Those are Whigs who would curb the powers of the Crown-those are Tories who would curb the powers of the people."
Having attained to the age of nearly ninety years, and honored by the reverence and universal esteem of his countrymen, Mr. Lewis departed this life on the 30th of December, 1803, leaving behind him a name which can never be effaced from the scroll of history or honor. In regard to that noble patriot, there is a vacant niche in "Independence Hall," where his por- trait ought long since to have been placed in com- pany with others of that glorious retinue, who won for our country her Independence, and for us an in- heritance of Freedom.
"In the long vista of the years to roll, Let me not see my country's honor fade ; Oh ! let me see my land retain its soul ! Her pride in freedom, and not freedom's shade L" 18
1
206
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
CHAPTER XXIII.
JOHN WITHERSPOON.
Conspicuous, too, among his brave compe ers, His name, immortal, stands a monument Of noble deeds in Fame's high Temple.
JOHN WITHERSPOON was, at the time of the Revo- lution, a citizen of New Jersey, and stood the highest among the noble advocates of the Colonies. He was a lineal descendant of the great reformer, John Knox, and was born in the parish of Yester, near Scotland. on the fifth of February, 1722. His father was a minister in the Scottish church at Yester, and was esteemed by all who knew him. It is said of him that he took great pains to have the early education of his son based upon sound, moral, and religious principles, and resolved at an early day to fit him for the ministry. Accordingly, his primary education was received in a school at Haddington, and at the age of fourteen years he was placed in the University of Edinburg. He was a very diligent student, and. to the delight of his father, his mind was specially directed toward sacred literature. He went through a regular theological course of study, and at the age of twenty-two he graduated a licensed preacher. IIc was requested to remain in Yester, as an assistant of his father, but he accepted a call at Leith. in the
. -
207
ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
west of Scotland, where he labored faithfully for several years. While he was stationed at Leith, the battle of Falkirk took place, between the forces of George the Second and Prince Charles Stuart, during the commotion known as the Scotch rebellion, in 1745-6. Mr. Witherspoon and others went to witness the battle, which proved victorious to the rebels ; and he. with several others, were taken prisoners, and for some time confined in the castle of Doune. From Leith he removed to Paisley, where he became widely known for his piety and learning. He was severally invited to take charge of a parish and flock, at Dublin, in Ireland; Dundee, in Scotland; and Rotterdam in Holland; but he declined them all. In 1766 he was invited, by a unanimous vote of the Trustees of New Jersey College, to become its President; but this, too, he declined, partly on account of the unwillingness of his wife to leave the land of her nativity. But being strongly urged by Richard Stockton, (afterward his colleague in Congress, and fellow-signer of the Declaration of Independence) then on a visit to that country, he accepted the appointment, and sailed for America. He arrived at Princeton, with his family, in August, 1768, and on the 17th of that month he was inaugurated President of the College. His name and his exertions wrought a great change in the af- fairs of that institution, and from a low condition in its finances and other essential elements of prosperity, it soon rose to a proud eminence among the institu- tions of learning in America. For a long time party feuds had retarded the growth of the College, and its finances were in such a wretched condition that re- suscitation seemed almost hopeless. But the presence
208
INDEPENDENCE HALL :
of Dr. Witherspoon silenced party dissensions, and awakened new confidence in the institution; and the province of New Jersey, which had hitherto withheld its fostering aid, now came forward and endowed pro- fessorships in it. And now
"Culture's hand
Has scatter'd verdure o'er the land,
And smiles and fragrance rule serene, Where barren wild usurped the scene. And such is man-a soil which breeds Or sweetest flowers, or vilest weeds ; Flowers lovely as the morning light, Weeds deadly as an aconite ; Just as his heart is trained to bear The poisonous weed, or flow'ret fair !"
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.