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 FROM IHE ORIGINAL PICTURE BY GILBERT iTUART, 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 LIFE AND SERVICES 
 
 COLONEL JOHN NIXON 
 
 PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE 
 
 RESTORATION OF INDEPENDENCE HALL FOR "THE 
 
 NATIONAL CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION" OF 
 
 JULY 2, 1776 
 
 AND PRESENTED AT THE MEETING IN INDEPENDENCE CHAMBER. 
 
 SATURDAY JULY 1, lS7fi 
 
 BY 
 
 (UIARLES HENRY HART 
 
 [Reprinted from "The Pennsylvania Magazine of Hibtory and Biography"! 
 
 (1^ 
 
 -v 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 1877 
 
 7^ 
 

Miss E L I Z A B E Til XI X (J X 
 
 SOLE SURVIVING PESCENDAN'T OF 
 
 COLO.XKL .TOliX NIXON 
 
 BEAIUXG HIS NAME 
 
 THIS JI E M I R OF HER GRANDFATHER 
 
 Is Instribtii 
 
 WITH AFFECTION AND RESPECT 
 
 TIIK AITIIOK 
 
INDEPENDENCE HALL. 
 
 PlIILADKI.rillA, OftoljLT 26, IS75. 
 
 To CHAliLES HENRY HAUT, E.sij. 
 
 Sii;: Tliu C'oinniittve on tlie riesturation of LkU'IK'IkIchco Hall have 
 resolved to invite the presenee of Ameriran Historians, Biogrn pliers, ami 
 Literati at fliat plaee on the seeoml day of July, 187C. They desire that a 
 BloLi'aphieal sketeh of every individual, whose memory is assoeiated with 
 this Building during the early days of the lie])ublie, may lie prepared and 
 de]]osited on that day among the Arehlves of the National MLisenm. 
 
 You arc respectfully reiiuestcd to be present at Indcpenilence Hall on 
 the day above nu'iitioncd, and to bring with you a sketch of the life of 
 
 JOHN NIXON; 
 
 or ill case of a preference for another subject, to communicate the fact. It 
 is desired that these sketches should not exceed two pages of ibolscaj). 
 With gi-eat respect, 
 
 FUAXK M. ETTINCi, 
 
 CjKiiniiiiii <if Co)iniiitli:e. 
 
COLONEL JOHN XIXON. 
 
 BY CHARLES HENRY HART. 
 
 (Centennial CollectioQ.) 
 
 A\Tien I accepted the invitation, I had the honor of recei\nng 
 in October, 1875, from the Committee on the Restoration of 
 Independence Hall, to prepare a memoir of the life of John 
 Kixon to be presented at the meeting of American literati, 
 requested to assemble in Independence Chamber on Jnly 
 2, 1876, the centennial anniversary of the adoption of the 
 " Resolutions respecting Independency," I was doubtful if I 
 should be able to fullil my engagement, so little was known 
 of his public services. That he was a merchant highly 
 esteemed; the second president of the Bank of Xorth America, 
 and had read and proclaimed publicly to the people for the 
 first time the Declaration of Independence, were the only 
 prominent facts known even to his descendants. It seemed as 
 if the limited "two pages of fool's cap" could not be supplied. 
 But careful and laborious investigation among published and 
 unpublished arehives, revealed incident after incident throwing 
 light upon his important career, until at last when the rough 
 material was sifted and shaped into its present form, the im- 
 probable two pages had been duplicated a dozen times. It is 
 presented in its extended size, so that those who come after us 
 may bo made fully accpiainted with the life and services of 
 one of the country's early and pure patriots. 
 
 John Jv'ixon, who read and proclaimed publicly to the people 
 for the first time the Declaration of Independence, was born 
 in the city of Philadelphia, in the year 1733. The exact date 
 of his birth is uncertain, but on April 17, 1734-35 (0. S.), 
 wlicn two years old, he was baptized at Christ Church by the 
 rector. His father, Richard Nixon, is believed to have been a 
 native of Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland, but if so, when 
 he came to this country is unknown. That he was a born 
 
John Nixon. 
 
 Irisliman has been sought to be established from the fact that 
 his sou, the subject of this memoir, was, as will be seen later, 
 a member of "The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick," a social 
 society formed in 1771, whose prerequisite to membershij) was 
 being descended from an Irish parent in the first degree, or to 
 have been a native of Ireland, or a descendant of a former 
 member ; but, as a mother is a parent as well as a father, she 
 might have been the one of Celtic birth and not he. This 
 view is strengthened by the i'lu-t that there is an heirloom in 
 the family, in the shape of an i ild and very large sea jj 
 
 chest with these initials on tlie top in brass nails, G. S. 
 a not uncommon niclbod with the early emigrants ' 
 
 to this countiy for dciKitiug and memorizing the period of 
 their departure from their homes, and the arrangement of the 
 letters would show that the initial of the surname was "N," 
 while "G" and " S" represented respectively the Christian 
 names of the emigrant husband and wife. 
 
 The earliest mention we have of Richard Nixon is the record 
 of his marriage to Sarah l>o\vles at Christ Church, by the 
 Eev. Archibald Cummings, on Jaiuuxry 7, 1727-28 (0. S.). He 
 was a prominent merchant and shipper, and in 1738 purchased 
 the property on Front Street, below Pine, extending into the 
 Delaware Hiver, afterwards known for nearly a century as 
 Nixon's "Wliarf. In 1742, ho was chosen a member of the 
 Common Council of Philadelphia, which position he continued 
 to hold until his death. IVnding the French and Spanish 
 War, which was ended Ijy the Peace of Aix La Chapelle, con- 
 cluded on the 7th of October, 1748, Franklin urged upon the 
 citizens to associate together for the purposes of defence, and 
 tAvo regiments of " Associators" were accordingly formed, one 
 for the city and the other for the county, which were divided 
 into companies, one for each ward and township, and of the 
 Dock Ward Company, in the City Regiment, Richard Nixon 
 was chosen captain. The Dock Ward at this time was, and 
 continued up to the present century, the most important aud 
 influential ward in the city. He was a prominent member of 
 Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, and one of 
 the vestrymen during the years 1745, 1746, and 1747. He 
 
John. Nixon. 
 
 liad four children, all (if whom wore liapti/.od there, and three 
 of them who died in iiilancy were Imr'u'd in its gnnnid, where 
 he liiinself found a resting phu'O also on the Gth of JJeeeniher, 
 1749 (O. 8.). Tlis personal property after his decease \\as 
 appraised at £20,000, a no inconsiderable sum iu those days. 
 His wife survived him many years, dying Jvdy 25, 1785, at 
 the ad\'anced ago of eighty years, and was buried at Chi'ist 
 Church, where reposed the remains of her husband. 
 
 John Nixon, the only child who survived his father, and 
 the subject of this notice, early took a leading iutei'est in 
 public affairs. In March, 1756, at the age of twenty-three, 
 during the excitement of the French "War, he was chosen by 
 a majority of votes of the freemen of Dock Ward, Lieutenant 
 of the Dock Ward Company, " in the stead of Mr. Thomas 
 Willing, the late lieutenant of said company, who was jileased 
 to resign his commission." This company was a sort of home 
 guard, and doubtk'ss the same as the one formed in 1747, 
 of which his fit her was the tirst captain. lie succeeded to 
 the business of his fither, at the old place on Front Street, 
 with Xi.Kon's whart' in the rear, adjoining the warehouses of 
 AVilling & Morris, the most considerable merchants in the 
 l^rovinee or indeed in the colonics. His first transaction of 
 which we have any knowledge is one ^vhich, with the light 
 of modern ideas, is not calculated to be looked upon with 
 favor. We lind him in ^rarch, 1761, with Willing, Morris, & 
 Co., and other i)rominent merchants of the city, signing and 
 presenting to the Assembly of Pennsylvania, a remonstrance 
 to a petition that liad been presented the previous month by 
 citizens of Philadelphia against the importation of slaves, and 
 in consequence of which a bill had been prepared laying a duty 
 of £10 per liead on each negro brought from aln-oad. The 
 importers, iu their remonstrance to the bill, represented that 
 the province was suflTering great inconvenience for want of 
 servants, and "an advantage may be gained l)y the introduc- 
 tion of slaves, which will likewise be a means of reducing the 
 exorbitant price of labor and in all probabilities bring our 
 commodities to their usual prices." The/reprcsent that they 
 have "eml)arked in the trade" of importing negroes through 
 
John Nixon. 
 
 the motives they have mentioned, and that they will labor 
 under great hardships by the law taking immediate effect 
 without giving them time to countermand their orders. This 
 protest, however, had no eftect upon the Quaker House, for 
 the law to lay a duty on negroes was passed within two weeks. 
 
 The next important mercantile transaction, however, with 
 which we iind him connected, was one of a far different 
 character, as it joined him with the destinies of his native 
 land in its conflict with the mother country. After much 
 agitation in the Colonies over their proposed taxation by 
 Great Britain, the fatal Stamp Act v.-as finally passed in 
 March, 17(j5, with the provision that it should not go into 
 effect until the first of the following ISTovemljer. Meetings 
 were held in every town and village in the land, protesting 
 against this outrage upon the rights and liberties of the Colo- 
 nists as British freemen, and petitions were promptly prepared 
 and foi-warded by trusty agents to the home government 
 urging its repeal. But it was left for the merchants of the 
 land to make the hated act nugatory in its purpose, and the 
 first step towards this end was taken by the merchants of 
 Philadelphia, who, in public meeting, pledged to each other 
 their honors not to receive, sell, or import any goods or mer- 
 chandise from Great Britain until the iniquitous Stamp Act 
 should be reisealed. This " ISTon-Importation AcxREEMENT," 
 bearing date October 25 , 1 765 ,' was subscribed by three hundred 
 and seventy-five importers and shop-keepers, and prominent 
 among the signatures appears the lai'ge bold one of John 
 ISTixoN. 
 
 The story of the repeal of the Stamp Act, and the subse- 
 quent imposition of a tax on tea, etc. ; followed by the destruc- 
 tion of the tea in Boston harbor, and the Boston Port Bill, 
 
 ' Since the preccdinj^ was written, investigationa have shown this flate to 
 be an error. The afjfreement itself hears no date, except that placed on it 
 in lead pencil by Mr. Thomas Bradford at the age of ninety, and seventy 
 years after the event took place. Lately discovered contemporary evidence 
 points clearly to November 7, 1765, as the day on which the meeting of 
 merchants was held, and these non-importation resolutions agreed to. — Vide 
 Mag. Amer. Hist., N. Y., June, 1877. 
 
John JSixoii. 
 
 are too fiimiliar to permit of repetition here, but tlioy kept 
 the Colonies in a state of constant ferment, ;ni(l in no pla(« 
 was this more the case than in Phihulelphia, ^s•here in all the 
 measures of these trying times John Nixon took an active 
 jjart. The inhabitants of Boston, being anxious to know \io\y 
 lar tht'j would be sustained by other portions of the Colonies 
 in their effort to withstand the tyranny of the British Crown, 
 Bent Paul Revere to I'hiladelphia with a eireular letter, dated 
 >day 13, 1774, requesting the advice of the citizens of Phila- 
 tlelphia upon the bill closing the I'ort of Boston. Imme- 
 diately upon its receipt on Alaj' 20th, a town meeting was 
 called, and held at the City Tavern, and resoUitions were 
 passed appointing a committee of correspondence, with direc- 
 tions to answer the letter from Boston, and assure the people 
 of that town " that we truly ieel for their unhappy situation, 
 and that we consider tliem as suffering in the general cause." 
 Of this committee Mr. Xixon was a member, and on the fol- 
 lowing day met a portion of the committee, who prcjiared, 
 signed, :nid sent " The letter from the Committee of the C'ity 
 of Philadelphia to the Committee of the City of Boston,"' 
 which contained the key-note of the Revolution in these 
 words: "It is not the value of the tax, but the huhfeasible 
 right of giving and gmnting our own money {h RKurr from which 
 WE CAN NEVKR RECEDE), that is the C|uestion."' 
 
 On tlie 18th of June a meeting of citizens was lield in the 
 State TTouse Yard, at which Thomas Willing and John Dick- 
 inson presided, when it was ivsolvcd that the Act closing the 
 Port of Boston was unconstitutional, and that it was expedient 
 to convene a Continental Congress. A committee of corre- 
 spondence was appointed, directed to ascertain the sense of 
 the people of the province with regard to the appointment of 
 deputies to a general Congress, and to institute a subscription 
 for the relief of the sufferers in Boston. Mr. Xixon was made 
 the third member of this committee, the tlrst and chairman 
 being John Dickinson. The authority of the committee being 
 doubtful, they recommended that at the next general election 
 a new permanent committee should be regularly chosen, which 
 was accordingly done, and he was again duly returned. He 
 
Juhn JS'i.ron. 
 
 was a deputy to the General Conference of tlie Province, 
 which met at Carpenter.s" Hall, July 15, 1774, and remained 
 in session until the 22d, with Thomas Willing in the chair and 
 Charles Thomson for its clerk. The important action of this 
 body was the adoption of resolutions condemning in strong 
 terms the recent acts of I'arliamcnt, and recommending the 
 calliug of a congress of delegates from the different colonies. 
 Mr. Nixon was als(_> a delegate to the Convention for the 
 Pi'ovinee of Pennsylvania, held at Pliiladelphia from the 23d 
 to the 28th of January, 1775, which, among other things, 
 unanimously endorsed and approved the conduct and proceed- 
 ings of the late Continental Congress — the famous tirst Con- 
 gress of September 5, 1774. 
 
 The open strife between the mother country and her 
 colonies had now fairly begun, and on the 10th of April, 
 1775, the hrst conflict of the Revolution took place at Lexing- 
 ton and Concord. It was not until the night of Ajiril 24th 
 that the intelligence of these fights reached Philadelphia, and 
 the sensation caused by tlie news was intense. A meeting 
 was held in the State House Yard, at which it was computed 
 that eight thousand peojile were present. One brief resolution 
 was passed, in effect that the persons present would " associate 
 together to defend with arms" their property, liberty, and lives 
 against all attem}»ts to deprive them of their enjoj^ment. The 
 committee of correspondence elected the jsrevious autumn be- 
 came in this emergency an authority not contemplated at its 
 formation. The members entered at once upon the task, and 
 desired that all persons having arms should give notice, so 
 that they might be disposed of to those wishing them. The 
 "Associators" immediately began to enroll themselves into 
 companies, and drills were held daily, and sometimes twice in 
 the day. The companies were formed into three battalions ; 
 and the "■ Third Battalion of Associators," consisting of about 
 five hundred men, and known as the " Silk Stockings," was 
 officered by John Cadwalader, Colonel ; John Nixon, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel ; Thomas Mifflin and Samuel Meredith, Majors. 
 The first known appearance of these "Associators" in public 
 was early in May, wlien the officers met the southern dele- 
 
John Kixon. 
 
 gates to the Coiitiiicntiil Congress about two miles from town, 
 and escorted tlieni into the city. A few days later a similar 
 compliment was paid to the delegates from the Eastern States. 
 Samuel Curwen, the loyalist, who was in Philadelphia at the 
 time, has preserved an account of this reception in his diary, 
 lie writes: "The cavalcade appeared first, two or three 
 hundred gentlemen on horseback, preceded by the newly 
 chosen city military officers, two and two, with drawn swords, 
 followed by John Hancock and Samuel Adams in a phaeton 
 and pair." The Congress duly met on Tuesday, May 10th, 
 and on the loth of June, upon the motion of Thomas John- 
 son, Jr., of Maryland, George "Washington was chosen unani- 
 mously Commander-m-Chief of the Army raised and to be 
 raised, and his first appearance in public in his military 
 capacity was made five days later, when upon the commons 
 near Centre Square he reviewed the City Associators, number- 
 ing about two thousand men. On the following day he set 
 out for Cambridge, escorted for some distance by the City 
 Troops. 
 
 A "Connnittee of Safety for the Province of Pennsylvania" 
 having been appointed by the Assembly in June, 1775, John 
 Xixon was made a member on its reorganization, October 20, 
 1775, and continued an active and prominent member of the 
 body until its dissolution, July 22, 177G, on the formation of 
 the Council of Safety with David Rittenhouse at its head, 
 and out of the two hundred and fifty-eight meetings which 
 were held Ix'tween October 20, 1775, and .July 22, 1776, he is 
 recorded as being present at one hundred and ninety-seven. 
 Of this Committee of Safety, Franklin was President and 
 Robert Morris Vice-President, but, owing to their being 
 absent so often from the meetings by reason of other public 
 duties, application was made to the Assembly for authority 
 to choose a chairman pro fern, at any time when there was a 
 quorum, and the president and vice-president absent, which 
 was granted, and under this authority Mr. Xixon was chosen 
 the first chairman, November 20, and at all subsequent meet- 
 ings, when he was present and the president and vice-president 
 absent, he was selected to fill the chair. He was Chairman 
 
John Nixon. 
 
 of the Committee on Accounts, and all onlers for the paj'nient 
 of money for public purposes Averc draA\u upon him. In 
 May, 1776, upon information being received that the enemy's 
 vessels were coming up the Delaware, he was requested by 
 the committee to go down to Fort Island and take charge of 
 the defences there, and in July, he was placed in command 
 of the guard ordered to be kept in the city, which was com- 
 posed of four companies, one from each battalion. It was in 
 the month of July also that he jierfoi-ined that act which 
 entitles him peculiarly to a connnernorative notice in this 
 centennial year. 
 
 The resolution for Independence, which had been ofiered in 
 Congress on the 7tli of June by Richard Henry Lee, was 
 finally adopted on tlrj '2d of July, one hundred years ago, and 
 on the following 4lh the reasons for that Independence as 
 set forth in Jefferson's immortal Declaration were agreed to. 
 On the 5th, which was Friday, Congress passed the following 
 resolution : — ■ 
 
 " Resolved, That copies of the Declaration lie sent to the 
 several Assemblies, Conventions and Councils of Safety, and 
 to the several commanding ofKeers of the Continental Troops, 
 that it be proclaimed in each of the United States, and at the 
 Head of the Army."' 
 
 A copy of this resolution was sent the next day by the 
 President of Congress to the Committee of Safety, whereupon 
 it was 
 
 '■'■ Ordered, That the Sheritf of I'liilad'a read or cause to be 
 read and prQclaimed at the State House, in the City of PhiLv 
 delphia, on Monday the Eighth day of July instant at 12 
 O'clock at noon of the same day the Declaration of the Repre- 
 sentatives of the ITnited Colonies of America, and that he 
 cause all his officers and the Constaldes of the said city to 
 attend the reading thereof 
 
 " Ttesobied, That every member of this Committee in or 
 near the city be ordered to meet at 12 O'clock on Monday to 
 proceed to the State House where the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence is to be proclaimed." 
 
 The chronicler, Christopher Marshall, records a "warm sun- 
 
John JSixon. 
 
 shiiK' iiionnng" for ]\Iomlay, July the Eiglitli. The Committee 
 of Luspectiou met at eleven o'clock in the Hall of the Philo- 
 sophical Society on Second Street, and went in a hody to the 
 Lodge, where they joined the Committee of Safety. The two 
 committees then went in pi'ocession to the State House, where, 
 standing on the platform of the observatory which had been 
 erected by the American Philosophical Society to observe the 
 transit of Venus, June 3, 1769, John ISTixon kead and puo- 
 CLAiMED, to a great concourse of people, in a voice clear and 
 distinct enough to be heard in the garden of !Mr. Norris's 
 house on the east side of Fifth Street, tue Declaration of 
 Independence publicly for the first time. It is recorded 
 that it was received with heart-felt satisfaction, and that the 
 company declared their approval by their repeated huzzas. 
 Thomas Dewees was at this time Sheriti'of Philadelphia, and 
 as he had the alternative of reading it himself or causing it to 
 be read, Mr. Nixon was selected, doubtless from his prominence 
 as a citizen and as a member of the Committee of Safety. 
 There is now deposited in Independence Hall a broadside copy 
 of the Declaration, printed at the time, which was found 
 among some papers of .John ISTixon, and is possibly the very 
 one from which he read and [iroclaimed it on the eighth of 
 July, 1770. 
 
 Towards the close of .July, the Philadelphia Associators 
 were called into active service. New Jersey was threatened, 
 and the several battalions marched to Amboy in its defence. 
 Their service lasted about six weeks, when they returned to 
 the city, and remained matil December, when they were called 
 for again, this time to serve immediately under the com- 
 mander-in-chief. At Washington's suggestion all the Asso- 
 ciators of the City and Liberties were formed into one brigade 
 under the command of Colonel Cadwalader, whereupon Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Xixon succeeded to the command of the third 
 battalion, and on the 10th, the city troops, twelve hundred 
 strong, were in full march for Trenton. Washington, in writ- 
 ing to the President of Congress from Trenton Falls, under 
 date of December 13, 177G, says: "Cadwalader with the 
 Philadelphia militia occupies the ground above and below 
 
John Nixon. 
 
 the mouth of Ncshaminy River as tar down as Bunks' Ferry, 
 at which place Colonel Nixon is posted with the Third Bat- 
 talion of rhiladelphia." Here Washington directed redoubts 
 to be thrown up, and, if the enemy attempted to cross, a stand 
 was ordered to be made against them, and on the 22d, he 
 issued an order to Cadwalader specifying " Colonel Nixon's 
 regiment to continue where it is at Dunks' Ferry." This ferry 
 was the important post to guard on the Delaware, as it was 
 fordable, and it was the point assigned for the crossing of one 
 body of the troops on Christmas night to attack Donop and 
 the Hessians near Mount Holly, while Washingtoii crossed 
 higher up the river. How, owing to the floating ice at this 
 point, only a few officers got across, and how Washington 
 took the enemy by surprise and gained a signal victory over 
 them without the aid of these troops, are well known to all, 
 for with this event is comiectcd one of the much controverted 
 points in our history — the disaifection of Joseph E,eed. 
 
 It becomes necessary to advert to this subject in this place 
 for the reason that in the controversy which ensued between 
 Reed and Cadwalader, and which called forth the celebrated 
 pamphlets bearing their names, Colonel Nixon was an actor. 
 On page 24 of General Cadwalader's " Reply to General Joseph 
 Reed's Remarks,"' ajipcars this certificate:— 
 
 "I do hereby certify that in December, 1776, while the 
 militia lay at Bristol, General Reed, to the best of my recol- 
 lection and belief, upon my enquiring the news, and what he 
 tho't of our affairs in general, said that appearances were very 
 gloomy and unfavorable ; — that he was fearful or apprehensive 
 the business was nearly settled, or the game almost up, or 
 words to that eti'ect. That these sentiments appeared to me 
 very extraordinaiy and dangerous, as I conceived, they would, 
 at that time, have a very bad tendency, if publicly known to 
 be the sentiments of General Reed, who then held an appoint- 
 ment in the army of the first consequence. 
 
 JOHN NIXON. 
 
 Philadelphia. 31arch 12, 1783." 
 
 14 
 
John Nixon. 
 
 That Joseph Eecd at this time (.■onteiniilatcd trau^^frrring 
 his allegiance from the Contiueutal Congress to the British 
 King the light of historical research leaves no room for doubt. 
 On the 1st of January, 1777, the time limited to accept the 
 privileges of Howe's proclamation would cx{)ire, and if the 
 J3attle of Trenton had proved a defeat to A\ ashington int^tead 
 of a brilliant victory, Joseph lieed would have accepted its 
 provisions and comiaitted openly the treason he meditated iu 
 his heart. It was Washington's success and not Reed's 
 unswerving patriotism that saved him. These couclusions at 
 least are reached after a careful and diligent examination of 
 the subject from all available standpoints. 
 
 The Philadelphia Associators remained with Washington 
 until late in January, and took a gallant part in the Cattle 
 of Princeton on the second. In a letter written by Reed to 
 Thomas Bradford from head-quarters at jNIorristown, dated 
 January 24, 1777, he says : " General Cadwalader has conducted 
 his command with great honour to himself and the Province, 
 all the field otHcers supported their characters, their example 
 was followed by the inferior ofBcers and men, so that they 
 have returned with the thanks and praises of every general 
 officer in the army. * * * It might appear invidious to 
 mention names where all have behaved so well, — but Colonel 
 [Morgan, Colonel Nixon, Colonel Cox, your old gentleman 
 [William Bradford], and Majoi-s Knox and Cowperthwaite, 
 certainly ought not to pass unnoticed for their behaviour at 
 Princeton." This campaign is the on\y active service in 
 which we know the Philadelphia Associators to have been 
 engaged, except wintering at Yalley Forge in 1778. 
 
 All means of supplying the army having failed, a new plan 
 was established in the spring of 1780 by the formation of an 
 institution called "the Bank of Pennsylvania for the purpose 
 of supplying the army of the United States with provisions 
 for two months." Tlie plan was that each subscriber shoiald 
 give his bond to the directors of the bank for such smn as ho 
 thought proper, binding himself to the payment thereof in 
 specie in case such payment should become necessary to fulfil 
 the engagements and discharge the notes or contracts of the 
 
Joltri Nixon. 
 
 bank. The securities thus given by ninety-three person;} 
 amounted to £315,000, Pennsylvania money, Eobert Morris 
 and Blair McClanachan being the largest contributors at 
 £10,000 each, while John Nixon and many others subscribed 
 each £5000. The bank was opened July 17, 1780, in Front 
 Street, two doors above Walnut, and was governed by two 
 directors and five inspectors ; the first director being John 
 Nixon and the second George Clymer. The entire amount 
 secured was called for, and the last instalment was paid in 
 November. In ISIay of the following year Robert Morris, 
 then Superintendent of Finance, submitted to Congress "A 
 Plan for establishing a National Bank for the United States of 
 North America," and on tlie 31st of December, "The President, 
 Directors, and Corporation of the Bank of North America" 
 were incorporated. This was the first incorporated bank in 
 the United States ; and it is of interest in this connection and 
 may not be generally known, that for this reason, when the 
 National Banking Act of February 25, 1863, went into opera- 
 tion, which provided that all organized banks accepting its 
 provisions should adopt the word " National" in their title, 
 the Bank of North America was permitted specially to accept 
 the provisions of the Act without changing its original title, 
 so that, although a national bank, its title is simply " The 
 Bank of North America." Thomas Willing was the first 
 president of this bank ; and upon his appointment to the 
 presidency of the Bank of the United States on its formation, 
 Mr. Nixon, who had served as a director from January, 1784, 
 was elected in January, 1792, to succeed him, and continued 
 in the oflice until his death, on the 31st of December, 1808, 
 at the age of seventy -six j'cars. 
 
 Mr. Nixon held many positions of public and quasi pulilic 
 importance. In January, 17GG, u])on the Assembly of the 
 Province passing a lull for the " Eegulation of Pilots plying 
 on the River Dela\varc," he was selected with Abel James, 
 Robert Morris, and three others to officiate as Wardens of the 
 Port of Philadelphia ; and the next year was appointed one 
 of the signers of tlie Pennsjivania Pa]ier Money, emitted 
 by authority of the Act of May 20, 17i.>7. In November, 
 
John Nixon. 
 
 177(3, Francis Hopkinson, John Nixou, and John Wharton 
 ^\•e^e constituted by Congress the Continental Navy Board ; 
 and in December, 1778, the Supreme Executive Council of 
 the State contirmed John Nixon, John Maxwell Nesbitt, and 
 ]}onjamin Fuller as a Committee to settle and adjust the 
 accounts of the late Committee and Council of Safety ; while 
 in August of the following year he was appointed by Congress 
 one of the Auditors of Public Accounts, whose chief business 
 ^va3 to settle and adjust the depreciation of the Continental 
 Currency. 
 
 lie was treasurer of the " Society for the Encouragement 
 of American Manufactures and the Useful Arts," established 
 in 1787, and one of the founders of the " Philadelphia Society 
 for the Promotion of Agriculture," formed in February, 1785. 
 In 1789, upon the reorganization of the College, now the 
 University of Peimsylvania, he was elected one of the Board 
 of Trustees ; and in the same year, under the Act of March 
 11, 1789, incorporating "The Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens 
 of Philadelphia," he was elected one of the fifteen aldermen, 
 to serve for seven years. It must be remembered that the 
 position of alderman at that period was very ditferent from 
 the ofUce of the same name at the present day. Then it was 
 one of honor and not of reproach, and the duties, similar to 
 those of the present select council, with certain judicial func- 
 tions attached. In tlie grand Federal procession on the 4th 
 of July, 1788, celebrating the adoption of the Constitution of 
 tlie United States, Mr. Nixon represented Independence " on 
 horseback, bearing the staff and cap of Liberty ; under the 
 cap a white silk flag, with these words, ' Fourth of July, 
 1776,' in large gold letters." 
 
 Mr. Nixon was a man fond of social enjoyment, and as early 
 as 1760 was a member of the celebrated Fish House, — "The 
 Colony in Schuylkill," and in 1763, we find him one of the 
 Mount Regale Fishing Company, which met at Robinson's 
 Tavern, Falls of Schujikill, every other Thursday from June 
 to October, and was composed wholly of men of wealth 
 and fashion — the leaders of Society in that day — as may be 
 seen from the names of Shippen, Chew, Hamilton, Francis, 
 
Jolui Nixon. 
 
 McCall, Lawrence, Swil't, Tilgliman, Allen, Ilopkinson, Will- 
 ing, Morris, and Nixon. He was also an original member 
 of " The Friendly Sous of St. Patrick" composed of persons 
 having Irish hlood, and was present at the famous dinner 
 given to Washington on New Year's day, 1782. To the 
 Pennsylvania Hospital lie A\'as an early and re[)eatcd con- 
 tributor, and served as one of the managers from 1708 to 
 1772. 
 
 After the reorganization of the land office in 1792, Mr. 
 Nixon purchased lai-gely of lauds in the outlying counties 
 of the State which, like most of such adventures, proved 
 unsuccessful. At the time of his death, he was the senior 
 member of the firm of Nixon, Walker, & Co., shipping mer- 
 chants, composed of himself, his only son Ilenry Nixon, and 
 i\Ir. Davitf Walker. His residence was on Pine Street below 
 Third Street, adjoining that of the Rev. Robert Blackwell, 
 Eector of St. Peter's Church, while Fairfield on the Ridge 
 Road, immediately north of I'eel Hall the site of the present 
 Girard College, was his country seat. Mr. Nixon was married, 
 October, 1765, in New York, to Elizabeth, eldest child of 
 George and Jane [Currie] Davis, and had five children, four 
 daughters and one son ; Mary, wife of Francis West ; Eliza- 
 beth, wife of Erick Bollman ; Sarah, wife of William Cra- 
 mond ; Jane, wife of Thomas Mayne Willing ; and Henry, 
 who married Maria, youngest daughter of the Honorable 
 Robert Morris. Mrs. Nixnn died August 31, 1795, at the 
 age of fifty-eight, and ^\■as Iniried in St. Peter's Church-yard, 
 at the corner of Third and I'ine Streets, Philadelphia, where 
 she reposes in the same grave with her husband. 
 
 In appearance, Mr. Nixon was a fine, poi'tly man, with a 
 noticeably handsome, open countenance, as may be seen from 
 his portrait by Gilbert Stuart, painted late in life, in posses- 
 sion of his grandson, Mr. Henry Cramond.' His manners were 
 dignified and rather reserved, while he was noted for kindness 
 of heart, high sense of honor, sterling integrity, and firmness 
 
 ' A miniature painted by Peale in 1772 is iu possessiou ol' Lis grand- 
 daughter Miss West. 
 
John Nixon. 
 
 of decision. In the early days of the revohitionary struggle, 
 !Mr. Nixon shared the conservative views of his fellow towns- 
 men and copatriots Robert Morris, Thomas Willing, and 
 John Dickinson, but after the edict of separation had been 
 announced, none were more eager or earnest in the cause, 
 lie A\'as a strenuous opponent of the old constitution of the 
 State, and a firm adherent of the party formed to effect its 
 change. The closing item of his will shows the sentiments 
 of the man better than any other words can portray them. 
 " Having now my children disposed of my estate in a manner 
 that I hope will be agreeable to you all, I request and earnestly 
 recommend to you to live together in terms of the purest love 
 and most perfect friendship, being fully pursuaded that your 
 happiness and that of your respective families will, in a great 
 measure, depend on this. These are my last words to you, 
 and I trust that you will have them in particular and long 
 renicmbraucc.' 
 
•J^ 
 
 
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