USA > Pennsylvania > The provincial councillors of Pennsylvania : who held office between 1733-1776, and those earlier councillors who were some time chief magistrates of the province and their descendants > Part 29
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Francis Strawbridge, b. Mch. 3, 1844, of Phila., m. Apr. 17, 1869 Eugenia, dau. of Samuel and Con- stantia Reeve,
Issue (surname Borden) : Francis Reeve, b. Feb. 16, 1870, d. y. Sep. 16, 1876, Julia Strawbridge, b. July 9, 1878,
215
Hasell-Strawbridge branch.
Helen, b. Aug. 1, 1847, m. Oct. 21, 1869 William Henry Loyd of Phila., banker,
Issue (surname Loyd) : William Henry, b. Aug. 14, 1870, John Strawbridge, b. Mch. 26, 1872,
Henry, b. June 10, 1850, of Phila., m. Nov. 8, 1876
Ada C., dau. of Casper H. and Jane T. Duhring, Issue (surname Borden) : Caroline, b. Nov. 15, 1877,
ELIZABETH JANE, b. Jany. 29, 1821, m. Mch. 11, 1845 John Wyckoff Gibbs, of Phila., d. Chestnut Hill, Phila., May 18, 1878,
Issue (surname Gibbs) :
Josiah Willard, b. Mch. 7, 1846, in P. R. R. Co.'s service,
Fanny Strawbridge, b. Nov. 26, 1848,
Elizabeth Strawbridge, b. Nov. 8, 1851,
John Strawbridge, b. Aug. 6, 1855, in P. R. R. Co.'s service,
Henry, b. Nov. 2, 1860, grad. A. B. (U. of P.),
JAMES VANDERKEMP, b. Dec. 9, 1823, d. y. Jany 2, 1836.
THOMAS HUSTON TAYLOR, b. Jan. 12, 1788, son of John and Ann Taylor, p. 213, m. Frances Budden.
Issue (surname TAYLOR) :
ELIZABETH, of Galveston, Texas, unm.,
JOHN, of Galveston, Texas, unm.
ELIZABETH HUSTON, dau. of Alexander and Elizabeth Huston, p. 212, d. 1834, m. Oct. 26, 1780 John Pringle of Phila., merchant, b. in Ireland, d. Phila. May 8, 1792.
Issue of JOHN and ELIZABETH PRINGLE :
ANN, b. Sept. 30, 1781, d. s. p.,
HENRY, b. Jan. 13, 1783, d. s. p.,
JOHN, b. Oct. 9, 1784, d. s. p.,
,
ELIZABETH H., b. June 22, 1786, m. William Jones, see below,
MARY, b. May 25, 1788, d. s. p.,
WILLIAM, b. Feb. 23, 1790, d. s. p.
ELIZABETH HASELL PRINGLE, b. June 22, 1786, dau. of John and Elizabeth Pringle, as above, d., m. Phila. July 10, 1811 William Jones.
216
Hasell-Jones branch.
Issue (surname JONES) :
JOHN PRINGLE, b. Bucks Co. 1812 (see Leg. Int. 1874), grad. A. B. (Prince.), studied law under Chas. Chauncey of Phila., was admitted to the Phila. bar in 1834, in 1839 was appointed a prosecuting attorney for Berks Co., and in 1847 President Judge of the district comprising Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton, was author of two vols. of Penna. State Reports, d. London Mch. 16, 1874. He m., 1st, Anna Muhlenberg Hiester, grddau. of Maj. Gen. Peter Muhlen- berg, and, 2nd, Catharine Elizabeth Hiester, grddau. of Joseph Hiester, Gov. of Penna.,
Issue (surname Jones) :
J. P. Hiester, of Norristown, Pa., m. Rebecca, dau. of Nathan Rambo, Issue (surname Jones) : John Pringle, William Muhlenburg Heister.
MARGARET HUSTON, dau. of Alexander and Elizabeth Huston, p. 212, d. after Aug. 14, 1809, m. Thomas Gordon, midshipman U. S. N.
Issue (surname GORDON) :
JOHN HUSTON, m. Hannah McCrea, see below.
JOHN HUSTON GORDON, b. about 1790, last named, grad. A. B. and M. D. (U. of P.), was some time surgeon in U. S. Navy, after- wards practised at Newtown, Bucks Co., where he d. in 1850, m. Hannah McCrea.
Issue (surname GORDON) :
THOMAS, grad. M. D., of Phila., druggist, d. May 4, 1874, m. Joanna Whiting Bullard,
Issue (surname Gordon) : Emily B., m. June 1, 1882 Leighton Hoskins,
John Huston, d. y., ELIZABETH MARGARET, of Phila., artist, unm.
SARAH HUSTON, b. Mch. 14, 1764, dau. of Alexander and Eliza- beth Huston, p. 212, d. after Aug. 14, 1809, m. Nov. 10, 1787 Chalkley James, son of Abel James of Phila., merchant, by his wife Rebecca, dau. of the celebrated Quaker preacher Thomas Chalkley. Chalkley
Ja C
217
Hasell-James branch.
James was a merchant in Phila., afterwards residing in Northampton Co. Penna., d. after Aug. 14, 1809.
Issue of CHALKLEY and SARAH JAMES :
THOMAS CHALKLEY, b. July 24, 1788, m. Hannah Thomas, see below,
JOSEPH, b. July 9, 1790, d. y. Oct. - , 1792,
ELIZABETH HUSTON, b. Jany. 28, 1792, d. unm. Apr. 2, 1873,
REBECCA, b. Jany. 13, 1795, d. y. 1798,
MARTHA, b. Nov. 16, 1796, d. unm. Aug. 29, 1824,
SUSANNA, b. June 5, 1798, d. y.,
ALEXANDER HUSTON, b. Oct. 10, 1800, m. Rebecca S. Pit- man, see next page.
THOMAS CHALKLEY JAMES, b. July 24, 1788, son of Chalkley and Sarah James, as above, d. Oct. 18, 1836, m. Mch. 11, 1812 Han- nah Thomas, who d. Oct. 22, 1822.
Issue (surname JAMES) :
THOMAS CHALKLEY, b. Dec. 12, 1814, d. Oct., 1881, m. Eliza Beatty,
Issue (surname James) :
Samuel Thomas, killed at Gettysburg,
George Sousman,
Philip, drowned at sea while young,
John Thompson, d. y.,
ELIZABETH HUSTON, b. Oct. 18, 1816, d. May 18, 1878, m. Philip Shaw,
Issue (surname Shaw) : Sarah,
SAMUEL, b. Nov. 14, 1818, dec'd, m. Margaret A. Ritter, Issue (surname James) :
Francis, d. y.,
Alexander,
Elizabeth,
John, d. y.,
Charles G.,
GEORGE SOUSMAN, b. Dec. 6, 1820, m. Charlotte Lee, Issue (surname James) :
Oliver, d. y.,
Walter Montgomery, M. D. (Homo.), of Phila.,
218
Hasell-James branch.
Emma, d. y., Anna Ophelia, d. y., Harry Chalkley, d. y., Dillwyn, d. y., Horace, d. y.
ALEXANDER HUSTON JAMES, b. Oct. 10, 1800, son of Chalkley and Sarah James, see p. 217, is now of Burlington, N. J., m. Mch. 21, 1838 Rebecca S. Pitman.
Issue (surname JAMES) :
SARAH HUSTON, b. Feb. 8, 1839, m. Feb. 19, 1867 William H. Boyd,
Issue (surname Boyd) :
Elizabeth James, b. Feb. 3, 1868,
Mary Logan, b. Feb. 2, 1870,
Francis Chester, b. Nov. 28, 1871, Frederick Roat, b. Sep. 19, 1874, Alexander Huston, b. Aug. 26, 1876, Rebecca James, b. Mch. 4, 1879, MARY ELIZABETH, b. Oct. 21, 1842, d. y. Dec. 2, 1845, ALEXANDER CHALKLEY, b. June 13, 1847.
JOHN HASELL HUSTON, son of Alexander and Elizabeth Huston, see p. 212, resided in Bucks Co., m. Martha, dau. of Blair McClena- chan, Member of the Continental Congress.
Issue (surname HUSTON) :
ANNE, b. 1793, d. unm. Mch. - , 1843,
MARY, b. 1795, d. 1827, m. Nov. 27, 1816 Henry Toland, h. 1785, a prominent merchant of Phila., and a Director of the Bank of the United States, d. Jany. 23, 1863,
Issue (surname TOLAND) :
HENRY, b. Sept. 6, 1817, grad. U. of P., d. s. p. Oct. 9, 1860,
MARY H., b. Apl. 19, 1819, of Phila., unm.,
BLAIR M., b. Mch. 8, 1821, d. s. p., GEORGE, b. June 6, 1822, d. s. p., ROBERT, b. Jany. 1, 1824, d. y. July, 1824, WASHINGTON S., b. July 13, 1825, in Canada, unm., FRANKLIN, b. Apl. 8, 1827, in California, unm.
ABRAHAM TAYLOR.
ABRAM. TAYLOR was born in England about 1703, and emigrated to Philadelphia from Bristol, entering into partnership in 1724 with John White as "merchant adventurer." They did a large business for those early days : in 1741, White, wishing to return to England, sold his interest to Taylor for £7000 sterling. Taylor was at this time a member of the City Corporation, and on Dec. 29, 1741, quali- fied as a member of the Governor's Council, but he looked forward to an early departure from Philadelphia, complaining that its climate was ill suited to his constitution, and the place afforded "little of what is either entertaining or amusing." In the latter part of 1744, the office for the collection of the Customs being vacant by the death of Mr. Alexander, and Taylor having a deputation from Grosvenor Bedford, Esq., who was titular Collector of the Port, to supply the place in such a case, he assumed its duties, " rather than a friend should suffer by the office being depreciated and undervalued since the commencement of a French War." He says, " Bedford must have been a great suf- ferer if I had not." Taylor was elected Mayor in 1745, but declined to serve, and was fined 30l. He was about the most active Councillor, when, under Palmer's presidency, the Council acted as Governor of the Province; and he was made Colonel of the regiment of Associa- tors for Defence formed during the latter part of 1747. He had bought a claim to about 20,000 acres of land, which the Proprie- taries instructed their Secretary not to grant. Going to England in 1750, and intending to sell this right, he exhibited to the Proprietaries an elaborate argument to show that the Southern boundary of Penn- sylvania should not be South of Latitude 40°, and that Virginia and Maryland had a right to all below that line. He threatened to put this paper in the hands of his vendee. The Proprietaries declared this a dishonorable attempt to force them to allow him the land, and wrote to Lieut. Gov. Hamilton ordering him to strike Taylor's name from the list of the Council, and to supersede any commission granted to him. Although the letter was to be communicated to the City
220
Taylor.
Corporation, Taylor continued as one of its members from his return to Philadelphia until his final departure from the Province in 1762. The Pennsylvania Gazette tells us that in June of that year, " An elegant Entertainment was prepared in the State House by a number of the principal Gentlemen of this City to bid adieu and to take their final Farewell of Abraham Taylor Esq. late one of the Council; an Alderman of the City, and Deputy Collector of Customs in this Port, now going to reside in England. Upwards of One Hundred Gentle- men attended. * " Mr. Taylor afterwards resided in Bath, where he d. in 1772, will probat. Mch. 10, 1772, leaving to wife and son.
He m. about 1733 Philadelphia Gordon, dau. of Patrick Gordon, Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania from 1726 to 1735.
Issue :
ISABELLA, bapt. Xt. Ch. Dec. 29, 1733 aged 1 mo.,
JOHN, bapt. Xt. Ch. Aug. 24, 1735 aged 2 weeks, is described in 1784 and 1786 as " of Bath Esq.," m. June, 1764 Miss Luther-wife Rebecca living July 12, 1786.
JOSEPH TURNER.
JOSEPH TURNER, was born at Andover in Hampshire, England, May 2, 1701, and came to America Jany. 13, 1713-4. His parents were never in this country, as far as we know, but one of his sisters had married John Sims, who is afterwards mentioned as a merchant in Jamaica ; and they may have brought Turner to Pennsylvania be- fore they settled in the West Indies. Another sister, Mary, born in England in June, 1694 or 1695, was married Oct. 19, 1725, before her arrival here, to James Oswald, a sea captain, who for many years cruised between Pennsylvania and the Islands. Joseph Turner in 1724 was also a sea captain, as appears by the notice in the American Weekly Mercury in May of that year, " entered inwards," at Phila- delphia, " Ship Lovely, Joseph Turner, from Bristol." In 1726, he signed the circular of the chief business men of Philadelphia agreeing
221
Turner.
to take the bills of credit of the Lower Counties at their face value. Hazard's Register names him as a member of Franklin's Junto. In 1729, he was elected a Common Councilman of the City, and in 1741, an Alderman. He declined the Mayoralty in 1745, and was therefore fined 30l. For about fifty years Turner was in partnership with Wil- liam Allen (see Hamilton) in commercial business, the house of Allen & Turner for a long time prior to the Revolutionary War being the most important in the colony. They also engaged in the manufacture of iron, and owned several mines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Union Iron Works in Hunterdon Co., N. J., were the most cele- brated, the property at the date of Turner's will amounting to 11,000 acres. Turner's city residence at the date of his will was on the West side of Front, South of Market. In 1735, he bought Lady Ann Keith's country-seat at Horsham, but sold it two years later to Dr. Græme. Turner had a country-seat called " Wilton Plantation " in the "Neck " below the city, South-East of Shackhanson and Moll Bore Creeks, and stretching from the line of 13th Street to the State Island Road.
Turner's admission to the Provincial Council was on May 14, 1747. His name is on the list of the Dancing Assembly of 1748, and he was one of the original trustees of the College.
He died July 25, 1783, leaving the bulk of his estate to his sister Mary's children : Elizabeth, wife of Chew the Councillor, Mary, who died unm., and Margaret, who married Frederick Smyth, Chief Jus- tice of New Jersey. His sister Mrs. Sims left issue, Joseph and Buck- ridge, both of Phila. Joseph Sims married a daughter of Alexander Wooddrop, and his son Joseph Sims, a merchant of Phila., married Miss Heath of Md. Joseph Turner's brother Peter Turner followed him to this country. In his will, he acknowledges Joseph's kindness to him on his arrival. Peter bought in 1751 some 327 acres on the North corner of Ridge Road and Turner's Lane, the latter taking its name from him. His great-granddau., Abby Ann King Turner, married Rev. Peter Van Pelt.
LAWRENCE GROWDON.
LAWRENCE GROWDON of Trevose in the Co. of Cornwall, gent., and his son Joseph Growdon of Anstle in the Co. of Cornwall, gent., were among the " first purchasers," buying from William Penn before his first visit to Pennsylvania the goodly quantity of 5000 acres each. These they had located upon the Neshaminy Creek in Bucks Co.
JOSEPH GROWDON came to America very soon after the purchase, and settled upon the property, building a dwelling-house still stand- ing, and giving it the name of " Trevose." For many years he repre- sented Bucks Co. in the Assembly, and was several terms Speaker. He was also chosen by the freeholders to the Provincial Council when that body was elective; and after the change in the Constitution was appointed Councillor by William Penn, but ceased to attend the meetings before the departure of the latter. He was some time a judge of the Supreme Court. (For further information as to him and a picture of Trevose see Mrs. Julianna R. Wood's Family Sketches.) He d. 9, 10, 1730. He m., 1st, Elizabeth -, who d. 9, 4, 1699 ; and, 2nd, 11, 10, 1704-5 Anne Bulkley of Phila., widow of Samuel Bulkley.
Issue :
JOSEPH, who became Attorney-General of Pennsylvania, and d. s. p. May 22, 1738,
GRACE, d. s. p., m. David Lloyd, frequently mentioned in the course of this work as leader of the Anti-Penn party (see sketch of James Logan), many years Speaker of the Assem- bly and a member of the Provincial Council when that body was elective, one of the early pleaders in the courts, and Attorney-General and afterwards Chief Justice of the Pro- vince (see sketch of Andrew Hamilton),
GANEFRED, m. -- Hooper, of whose descendants nothing is known,
HANNAH, d. unm.,
ELIZABETH, m. 2, 18, 1705 Francis Richardson of Phila.,
223
Growdon.
goldsmith, from whom descend Dr. Joseph G. Richardson and Charles Richardson, conveyancer, Mrs. Richard D. Wood, and others, LAWRENCE, the Councillor.
LAWRENCE GROWDON was born Mch. 14, 1693-4, and by deeds of lease and release dated June 25 and 26, 1707, wherein he is described as " of the Province of Pennsylvania in America gent.," received from his grandfather, Lawrence Growdon "of Parish of St. Merryn, co. Cornwall, England," all his lordships, manors, messuages, lands, tene- ments, and hereditaments in Pennsylvania. He went to England, and in 1730, was a merchant in the City of Bristol. He became owner of the English estate called Trevose, settling it on his 1st wife. By his father's will he received only 5s., but recovered a debt from the estate, and by purchase at Sheriff's sale added to his grandfather's moiety his father's moiety of the city lots near the Delaware front appurte- nant to their 10,000 acres. These comprised a width of 102 ft. stretch- ing from Front to Fourth St., the Southermost 20 ft. being afterwards thrown off to open Lombard Street. Growdon was " of Philadelphia gent." in 1733, after which he removed to Bucks County, and during most of his life resided at Trevose. At Durham were the chief iron- works of Provincial times, owned by a company formed as early as 1727. Iron from it was exported to England in 1731. Lawrence Growdon became one of the company, and finally owner of ten-six- teenths of the whole tract, amounting to 8511 acres. The property was afterwards divided, the whole being valued at £16000, and, Mrs. Wood says, Growdon made iron there on his own account. He repre- sented the County in the Assembly from 1734 to 1737, and was a justice of the county court. With Rev. Richard Peters, Secretary of the Land Office, he was appointed commissioner for running a tempo- rary boundary with Maryland in conjunction with Col. Levin Gale and Mr. Samuel Chamberlaine, the Maryland commissioners. They began the work Dec. 5, 1738, ascertaining from the principal inhabi- tants of Philadelphia what was the most Southerly point of the city, the King in Council having directed the line to be run fifteen miles and a quarter South of the latitude of Philadelphia. Waiting for a clear night, they took an observation, Dec. 8th, to determine the varia- tion of the needle from the direction of the Pole Star at the hour when that star on one side of the true pole and the star in the tail of the Bear on the other side were in the same vertical line. The variation they found
224
Growdon.
to be 5° 25' W. From the South point of Philadelphia they took up their march due West on Dec. 11th, but, having gone two miles, and marked the post they came to in Israel Pemberton's fence, they post- poned operations until the following Spring, when they continued due West thirty miles from the South point, so as to project a Southerly line clear of the great waters of the Brandywine and Christiana, and then measured on this line along the surface of the earth, allowing twenty-five perches per mile for the altitudes of the hills, fifteen miles and a quarter to get the correct starting-point. From thence they ran the boundary to the Susquehannah, and fixed a starting-point on the West bank of that river, when, Col. Gale's son having died, and his daughter being ill, he returned home, and Mr. Chamberlaine declined to go on without him. Lieut. Gov. Thomas having commissioned the representatives of Pennsylvania to proceed ex parte if anything pre- vented the Marylanders from acting, they accordingly carried the line to the top of the Kittatinny Hills, the boundary of the land purchased of the Indians. They made their report May 28, 1739 (see Penna. Archives, Vol. I). Growdon was called to the Governor's Council May 13, 1747. He sat, as second Justice, in the Supreme Court of the Province for twelve years, joining in some of the early decisions reported in 1 Dallas. At the time of his death, besides being a county judge, he held the positions, which would now be thought inconsistent with his judicial dignity, of Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas, Clerk of the Orphans' Court, and Recorder of Deeds for Bucks Co. He d. Apr. 1, 1770. He left a large estate, as we may calculate from the appraisement of Mrs. Galloway's portion by order of the Supreme Court in 1779, as follows : lands in Durham township, valued at 284611. 13s. 9d. or yearly rental 407l. 15s. 9d. ; the lands in Ben- salem known as " Belmont " 574 a., worth 20,090l. ; " Trevose " 444 a., worth 19,092l. ; " Richlieu " 407 a., worth 16280l. ; " Kings " 297 a., worth 10395l. ; an upper lot on the Delaware of 160 a., worth 8000l. ; an unimproved tract of 508 a. in Richland township, worth 10160l. ; and an undivided moiety of a house on Arch Street in Phila., worth 1000l .- total value 113,478l. 13s. 9d. Pa. money, or yearly rental 1323l. 15s. 9d. He m., 1st, Jany. 20, 1724 Elizabeth Nicholls ; and, 2nd, Sarah Biles, dau. of William Biles, Speaker of the Assembly in 1724, by his w. Sarah, sister of Chief Justice Jeremiah Langhorne. Issue-all by 1st wife :
ELIZABETH, m. Thomas Nickleson, see next page,
HANNAH, who, it is said, married and died at the birth of her
225
Growdon.
only child, the issue also dying, before death of the Coun- cillor's first wife,
GRACE, m. Joseph Galloway, see p. 226.
ELIZABETH GROWDON, dau. of the Councillor, d. before her hus- band, m. Jany. 22, 1748 Thomas Nickleson of the town of Poole, Eng- land, merchant, who with his wife joined Galloway and wife in making partition in 1773, and who d. before Jany. 18, 1793.
Issue (surname NICKLESON) :
ELIZABETH, m. John Jeffery, see below,
HANNAH, m., 1st, Isaac Stann, and, 2nd, Joseph Metford, see below,
ANN, m. Ellis Button Metford, see below.
ELIZABETH NICKLESON, grddau. of the Councillor, d. before her husband, m. John Jeffery, merchant, Member of Parliament for Poole, elected 1796, 1802, and 1806.
Issue (surname JEFFERY) :
THOMAS NICKLESON, was party to partition proceedings in Phila., Dec. Term, 1847,
ELIZABETH NICKLESON, d. before partition, m. Gent. Mag. Mch. 12, 1799 William Collins, Esq.,
Issue (surname COLLINS) :
FREDERICK JEFFERY, party to partition, MARY, party to partition, then unm., JOHN, party to partition,
LOUISA, party to partition, then unm., JULIA, party to partition, then unm.,
ANNE, party to partition, then unm.,
FRANCES G., party to partition, m. Rev. Matthew Place, who d. before part. proceedings.
HANNAH NICKLESON, grddau. of the Councillor, as above, d. be- fore partition proceedings, m., 1st, in or before 1783 Isaac Stann, and, 2nd, before Jany. 18, 1793 Joseph Metford.
Issue (surname METFORD) :
HARRIET NICKLESON, party to partition, then unm.,
ELLIS B., d. s. p.
ANN NICKLESON, grddau. of the Councillor, d. in 1820, m. before
P
226
Growdon-Nickleson branch.
Jany. 30, 1783 Ellis Button Metford of Flook House, Taunton, who d. 1820.
Issue (surname METFORD) :
WILLIAM, party to partition.
HANNAH NICKLESON, d. s. p. 1837, m. Col. Watson,
ELIZABETH, d. before partition, m. Thomas Mallet Charter, who d. 1838,
Issue (surname CHARTER) :
AGNES A., party to partition, then unm., LOUISA A., party to partition, then unm.
GRACE GROWDON, dau. of the Councillor, remained in Pennsyl- vania after the British evacuation of Philadelphia to avoid the confis- cation of her property. The Supreme Court of Penna. afterwards de- cided that her husband's attainder vested no claim to her real estate in the Commonwealth, and only freed from his tenancy by the curtesy what she died seized of (1 Binn. 1) ; so it passed by her will. She d. Feb. 6, 1782 (1 Binn. 1). She m. Oct. 18, 1753 Joseph Galloway. He was the son of Peter Galloway of Maryland, by his w. Elizabeth, dau. of John Rigbie, and was born near West River, Anne Arundel Co., Md., about the year 1729. He studied law, and practised chiefly in Philadelphia, his name first appearing on the docket of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1750.
He became a member of the Assembly of Pennsylvania in 1757, and from that time until the Revolution was in almost continuous service. He took a leading part in the struggle with the Proprietary party, and was manager of the prosecution before the House of Messrs. Smith and Moore for libel, and was upon the committee which in March, 1764, drafted the twenty six resolutions on the state of the province concluding with the opinion that the sole executive powers of government being in the hands of the Proprietaries would in time, with the extensive influence arising from their vast and daily increas- ing estate, render them absolute and as dangerous to the prerogatives of the Crown as to the liberties of the people, and the powers of gov- ernment ought to be separated from the power attending that immense property, and lodged, where only they could be properly and safely lodged, in the hands of the King. After adopting these resolutions, the Assembly adjourned to consult the people whether an address should be sent to His Majesty praying him to take the colony under his immediate government. The Assembly re-convened on May 14th.
227
Growdon-Joseph Galloway.
Petitions in favor of the change of government had been signed by 3,500 persons, and the Society of Friends sent an address to that pur- port into the House. On the question of adopting the petition to be transmitted to the King with the address of the Society of Friends, a great debate arose. The Assembly sat with closed doors, and nothing but the motions and yeas and nays appear in the reports of the pro- ceedings ; but John Dickinson afterwards published his speech against the change of government, and Galloway, who answered him, put in press a speech which Dickinson said he never delivered. Be that as it may, and Galloway acknowledged to have somewhat re-written what he actually said, the speech in print shows great ability. Dickinson had said that the project was ill-timed, when the colony was so much under displeasure at Court. Galloway replied that he had not "the vanity to hope that if we cannot now succeed in removing the preju- dices occasioned by Proprietary Misrepresentations we shall ever see the Day while the Powers of Government are united with immense property that Proprietary Influence or Ministerial Prejudice against us will cease. But I must fear a little time will shew us in the ridiculous Light that Horace shews his Clown 'who meeting a River in his Road sat down on the Bank to wait till the Stream should pass him :
'Rusticus exspectat dum defluat amnis : at ille
' Labitur ; et labetur in omne volubilis ævum.' "
The contest between Dickinson and Galloway did not end with the original pamphlets, Dickinson publishing a fierce invective against Galloway, charging him with extortion and various dishonorable means to enrich himself in his professional and political career. At the election in October following, Galloway was defeated. Subse- quently, in 1765, Galloway was returned to the Assembly, and in 1766 was elected Speaker, and held that position, being nearly always unanimously re-elected, until 1774.
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