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 1771 
 
 n.tUi.,J ,'fncJ /// ih, I'.i/.- t-r.-n/,- i.ttnfMt 
 

 IIIUKF ACCOUNT 
 
 T II K S (; I K T Y 
 
 FinENDIiY SONS OF ST. rATllICK; 
 
 IHOGKAPHICAL NOTICES OF SOMi: OF THE MFMI3EKS, 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE ^^NlTEs. 
 
 A So( u'l.\ iIi-tmL'iii-licil fnr llif In in .idliiri in f (.fits ni< tnl.«Ts IuiIk' L'l.iri.iiis 
 cause ill wliii li wi- ar. riiilmrk' il. — /'/ffrtrr /"/nm i!'<\. II HihuiL'ton'^ 
 J.cttirlo Ihc l'rf.<iilri,l vfihc Suiiciij—\\^>\, p. 17. 
 
 Dl)il,it)clpl)fn: 
 
 rnr.r Ai!i:i) ami im |![,i.-iii:i) 
 
 BY ORDER OF TIIF IIUJERMAN SOCIETY, 
 
 IS I I. 
 
lb 
 
 5? 
 
 1.4 
 
 UZao I 
 
 llntevcTi according to Act of Congress, in llie year 1844, by 
 
 S AMUKL HOOD, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District 
 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Wm. S. Youno, I'rlnte.. 
 
CONTKiNTS. 
 
 Report and Dedication, - - - - 5 
 
 liCttor from IVaiicis Mopkinson, Esq., . - - (> 
 
 Reply, -...-.. 7 
 Proceedings of Hibernian Society, June 17, 1HI,3, - 7 
 
 Introductory, - - - - - - 
 
 Section I. Of the general character of the cnriigrants, 
 who came from Ireland to Pennsylvania 
 before the Revolution, and that of the 
 members of the Friendly Sons of St. 
 Patrick, - . - -11 
 
 Section II. Of the objects and rules of the Society, 21 
 Section III. Brief account of the Society and the ori- 
 ginal members, - . - 25 
 Section IV. Sketches of the honorary members, - 52 
 Section V. Sketches of other members, - - 59 
 Section VI. The connexion of the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, with the 
 Hibernian Society, and the origin of the 
 latter, - - - - 
 
 Rules of the Society, .... 
 
 Extracts from the Minutes, 
 
 Alphabetical list of members, and time of election, 
 
TO THE 
 
 MEMBERS OF "THE IIIIJERNIAN SOCIETY 
 
 RELIEF OF EMIGRANTS FROM IRELAND. 
 
 The Committee appointed at the meeting of tlic 
 1 7th of June, IS 13, "to prepare and publish extracts 
 from tlie rules, minutes, &c., of "The Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick,'* with an account " of 
 the Society and its INIcmbcrs,'' beg to present to you 
 the result of tlieir labours. They also ask leave to 
 dedicate the same to " The Hibernian Societyy* the 
 immediate successor and lineal descendant of the 
 glorious Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. 
 Though they feel how imperfectly they have per- 
 formed their agreeable task, they can assure you 
 they have availed themselves of every means within 
 their power, to render the account of the Society 
 and its Members as complete as possible. They 
 cannot omit to acknowledge their great obligations 
 to the gentlemen who have so kindly aided them 
 in their researches, particularly to Dr. James Mease^ 
 2 
 
( fi ) 
 
 \vho furnishctl them with much vaUiablc information 
 relative to the personal liislory of the members. 
 Vvvy respectfully, 
 
 SAMri-.L Hood, 
 (Jloiuje Campkell, 
 joseimi jonks. 
 Philadelphia, March 17lh, Vf^U. 
 
 riiiladolphia, MaylHh, J84'J. 
 
 Dear Sir, — 
 
 Among a number of old j)apers hantled to me by 
 tiic late Mr. Daviil Caldwell, 1 find a minute book 
 of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, 
 commencing in September, 1771, and continued till 
 March, 17<)(). 
 
 It contains the rules of the Society, with the auto- 
 graphs of many worthy and distinguished citizens 
 whose memory is at this day most dearly cherished 
 by the Sons of Ireland, and among tiiem, that of 
 General Washington, who was, on the 18th December, 
 1781, unnnimotisbj adoplcd a member of the Society. 
 
 It occurred to me that this book would be accep- 
 table to the Hibernian Society, many of whose mem- 
 bers are found on the roll of the old society. I have 
 consulted Mrs. Caldwell, wlio cheerfully con.sents to 
 this disposition of it. 
 
 He good enough to communicate this note to your 
 
 issociates of the Hibernian Society, and say that the 
 
 book which is at my olTice, will be delivered to such 
 
 ;)ersons as they may authorize to receive it. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 FR.\NCIS IlorKlNSON. 
 SAMUEL HOOD, Esq. 
 
( 7 ) 
 Walnut and Sixth Street, May 9lli, ]Hi?,. 
 
 FRANCIS HOrKINSOiN, Ean. 
 Dear Sir, — 
 
 I huvu received your kind favour of tliis morninp;, 
 and liavc seen Mr. Tjigcrt, tlic President of the Hi- 
 bernian Society, Mr. Jones, the Treasurer, an d 
 several of the members on the subject of your letter. 
 They all concur with mc in saying that tlie Hiber- 
 nian Society will consider the ofl'er made by you on 
 belialf of Mrs. David Caldwell, to present to them the 
 minute book of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, as 
 especially acceptable. 'I'hey authorize me to receive 
 it from you on behalf of the Society. I will avail 
 myself of their next meeting, which will be on the 
 17th of June, to present to the Society this valuable 
 and interesting donation, when I doubt not the So- 
 ciety will take occasion to tender their acknowledg- 
 ments in a suitable manner, both to you and to Mrs. 
 Caldwell. 
 
 I remain. Dear Sir, very truly, 
 
 Your friend and humble Servant, 
 
 SAMI EL HOOD. 
 
 "Ata meeting of the Hibernian Society on the 17th 
 of June, IS 1.3, Mr. Hood having read the foregoing 
 correspondence between Mr. Hoj>kinson and him- 
 self, and presented the minutes, &c., of the Society 
 of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, it was resolved 
 that the thanks of the Hibernian Society be tendered 
 to Mrs. David Caldwell and Francis Ilopkinson, Esq., 
 for the valuable gift, and the courteous manner in 
 which it was presented. 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 "The Book was ordered to be elegantly hound and 
 carefully preserved in the archives of the Society, 
 and a coinmitlcc, consisting of Messrs. Samuel Hood, 
 George Campbell, and Joseph Jones, was appointed 
 to prepare and publisli an account of the Society of 
 tiie Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and its members, 
 with the Kules and Regulations, and such extracts 
 as they might select from its Minutes." 
 
( '^ 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 TifE IIil)crnianS()cicty having been presented with 
 the I{iilcs and minutes of the Society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick, ordcretl the most interesting 
 parts to be published. Desirous also of perpetuating, 
 as far as practicable, the memory of tlic many excel- 
 lent men and ardent patriots who belonged to it, a 
 committee was appointed to collect reminiscences of 
 the Society and its members, and publish them, with 
 the extracts from the Minutes. They were the more 
 especially induced to this, because the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick was tlic parent from 
 which their own Society sprang, and it appeared to 
 be a duty required of them to lose no time in prose- 
 cuting their scheme, since the last of its members had 
 already descended to the grave, and those who could 
 give any authentic account of them must in the course 
 of nature soon follow. 
 
 It was hoped, too, that a brief history of tliis So- 
 ciety, and such sketches of its members as could 
 be gathered even at this late day, might tend to show, 
 in some degree, what part Irishmen enacted in the 
 great drama of the Revolution. — Not that their ser- 
 vices are forgotten or unacknowledged, but l)ecause 
 there seemed to be little of a permanent character 
 among the annals of the revolution, doing full justice 
 to their merits, or showing, what is undeniable, that 
 they were behind no other men in ardour, and effi- 
 ciency in the cause of liberty, or in courage, devotion, 
 2* 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 and sacrifices for their luiopted country, "in -the 
 times that tried men's souls/ 
 
 It is not imagined that the brief and rapid sketches 
 which this desij!;n necessarily contemj)hites, can supply 
 all that is wanting in this res])ect. It is hoped, how- 
 ever, that these hasty memoranda snatched from the 
 fast rising tide of oblivion, may contribute something 
 to fill up tliis hiatus in the reminiscences of the Ame- 
 rican Revolution. 
 
 The time during which the Society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick existed, from 1771 to 17f)S,— /Ae 
 men of whom it was composed, some of the most ac- 
 tive and influential patriots of the country, including 
 John Dickitison, Kobcrt Morris, Thomas Filzsimons, 
 Generals Washington, Wayne, Irvine, 15utler,Thomp- 
 son. Hand, Cadwaladcr, JNloylan, Knox, and Stewart. 
 Commodore IJarry, and numerous others, distin- 
 guished in the Army, Navy, Cabinet ami Congress, — 
 the place in whicii the Society was formed and met, 
 Philadelpliia, then tlie focus of every political anddi- 
 jdomatic movement, the Capitol of the nation, where 
 Independence was declared, national conventions and 
 Congress met, the seat of the confederated Federal 
 and State Governments, the residence of the Fo- 
 reign Ambassadors and ministers, and occasionally 
 the theatre of war — all these circumstances of time, 
 persons and place combine to give additional interest, if 
 not importance to its memoirs. The devotion of its 
 members to the cause of liberty rests not on the high 
 testimonials of Washington alone, but on the history 
 of the society itself, and of its individual members; 
 to give an outline of which is the principal object 
 of the following pages. 
 
// 
 
 BRIEF AC (.'Oil NT 
 
 SOCIETY OF TIIK FRIENDLY SONS 
 
 ST. PATH ICK, Slc. 
 
 SE("noN I. 
 
 OF THE (.F.NKRAI, CIIARACTKR OF TFIF. EMIGRANTS WHO CAME 
 FROM IKKI.AM) TO I'KNNSVI.V A NI A RKKOKE THE RK VOI.L'TIOIf, 
 AND TflAT OK THE. MEMBERS OF THK KRIKNDLY SONS OF ST. 
 
 rAxnicK. 
 
 In speaking of the early history of the province 
 of Pennsylvania liistorians dwell much on the settle- 
 ments of the Swedes under the tlirection of Oustavus 
 Adolpluis, Christina, and the Chancellor Oxcnsteirn, 
 on the j)rctensions and inroads of the Dutch — but 
 especially on the paramount influence exercised in 
 the government by the Society of Friends after Wil- 
 liam Pcnn became proprietor. 
 
 It is natural that we should be curious to know the 
 history of these early settlements, and it is instructive 
 and amusing lo trace the causes of the frequent dis- 
 putes and heart-burnings between the assembly and 
 the governors, but if the true use of the history 
 of the past be to throw light on the present, neither 
 the early Swedish, Dutch, nor English settlements in 
 Pennsylvania, nor the political movements of the 
 
(12) 
 
 provincial government, arc so intiniatcly connect- 
 ed willi licr real history, ami tiuc prosjxM-ity, as 
 the ininicnsc inllux aiul scttleniLMit of Irish emi- 
 grants. Wliilst the proprietary aiul popuhir parties 
 were carrying on a licrce war of words and resolu- 
 tions, in the proviiu'o; when JJoyd scolded and pro- 
 tested, and Logan and Franklin shed torrents of ink, 
 weak men snpjwscd that the very existence of the 
 province depended on the success of some of the 
 belligerent parties. 
 
 In the mean time, the true ft)undations of the suh- 
 sequent prosperity of I^ennsylvania were laid without 
 noise or ostentation, by successive hands of hrave, in- 
 dustrious, and intelligent Irishmen, wliilst, in the 
 inland counties, her real iiistory \v;js :dl the time 
 writing; not, it is true, with the pen, nor on paper, but 
 by the spade, the axe, and the plough, in characters 
 that remain engraven on her soil to the present day. 
 Thus, from Dec. 17^28 to Dec. 172 J), the i)roportion 
 of the various classes of emigrants who landed in the 
 province, was as follows: 
 
 English and Welsh, - - 207 
 
 Scotch, 13 
 
 Palatines, (Germans,) - - 243 
 
 Irish, 5055* 
 
 The Irish emigrants to the province were thus 
 nearly ten to one of all other emigrants taken to- 
 gether, and tliat proportion was douhlle.ss sustained 
 down to the revolution. These, the true founders of 
 Pennsylvania, scattered their settlements thiekly over 
 the interior, until then covered with the woods which 
 
 * Gord. Hist. 207-8, &c. 
 
( 13) 
 
 gave name to the province. Tlic constant recurrence 
 of Irish names on th(; Stale map of Pennsylvania, 
 ahuiKhinlly proves the localities whence the first set- 
 tlers came. Thus tjje Derrys, Donej^als, Tyrones, 
 Strahaiies,Uaphoes, HelfastSjDuhlins, ('oleraines, &.C., 
 were a;z;ain revived amonj; l*enn's Woods, where 
 Irish names became almost as numerous as on the 
 map of Ireland. 'JMie greater part of these settlers 
 were from tlu; north of Ireland, as the names of the 
 settlements indicate, and p;cnerally of the Presbyte- 
 rian relij^ion." 'Djo neij^libouring colony of Mary- 
 land held out inducements in those times to the Ca- 
 tholic Irish, which led much greater numbers of them 
 to that colony than to Pennsylvania. 
 
 If, as it is said, the stern spirit of Puritanism sowed 
 the seeds of freeilom in New England, and the ge- 
 nius of l^piscopacy gave an aristocratic linctiito to 
 the Southern colonics, if the Catholic colony of 
 Maryland has a just claim to setting the first glorious 
 exami)le of religious liberty and toleration; the potent 
 leaven of Presbylerianism, whose form of church go- 
 vernment is so eminently republican, leavened with 
 republicanism the great mass of the people of Penn- 
 sylvania.! It was remarked (by Burke, or IJarre 
 perhaps,) that the Presbyterian emigrants from the 
 north of Ireland were among the most active and 
 instrumental in exciting, urging on, and accomplish- 
 ing the revolutionary movement in America. The 
 
 * Gord. 570-1. 
 
 t For ilic inllucncc of Prcf-bytorianisin in j^ivinj^ a repub- 
 lican funn to the various ^'ovcrnriicuts of the States, see 
 Smyth's Ecclesiastical Ucpublicanism. 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 greater part, iiulocd, of the Irish eniii»;raiits of every 
 sect, hroui;ht witli them an ahuiulant slock of ilissatis- 
 factioii. Tlie conij)arative fri-ecloru of the colonies, 
 wliilst it preseutL'd in strong relief the iiUMjuality 
 of the hiws and tlie achninistration of them in their 
 native country, at the sanie tinu^ alfoi'tlecl Ijicm tlie 
 opportunity of ventiny; tlieir fet linu;s, and expressing 
 their sentiments hohlly, in their new liomes. Tlius 
 the injustice of tl»e iMi^lish pohcy in the athiiinistra- 
 tioii of Irehmd, hy an ohvious process of retrihutivc 
 justice, exercised indirectly a most potent inlUiencc 
 in bringint;; about the dismemberment of the liritish 
 empire, — and the political crimes committed for cen- 
 turies on the soil of Ireland were punished through 
 the instrumentality of Irishmen on the soil of Ame- 
 rica. Among the Irish emigrants, it is needless to 
 say, there were men of great intelligence and enter- 
 prise. James Logan (father of .lames Logan, a mem- 
 ber of the Society of the Friendly sons of St. l^atrick) 
 tlie confidential friend and counsellor of William 
 Penn, and for some time president of the council of 
 the Province, (a monument of whose learning and 
 liberality still remains in the Loganian Library,) was 
 a native of the North of Ireland. Many others might 
 be named, greatly distinguished before the revolution. 
 Perhaps the most unequivocal token of the general 
 intelligence and resj)ectability of these emigrants of 
 every class and sect, may be found in the tolerance 
 with which they regarded the religious o|)inions of 
 each other, since it is well known that in their native 
 country, the spirit of sectarian intolerance and bi- 
 gotry has always burned fiercely, in an inverse ratio 
 
{ 1'' ) 
 
 10 tlic 'mlclli^(Mirc of llu* proplo. 'J'his religious 
 liljnrality aiul charity will be IoiiikI very conspicuous 
 ill th(; history of the Society of the I-'ricndly Sons of 
 St. IVitricU, wlicrc Catholics, Presbyterians, (Qua- 
 kers and Kj)iscopalians were united like a banil of 
 l>rothers, wln-ther they met at the banciuct to relax 
 the severities of business, or joined in plans of bene- 
 volence to relieve the distressed, or at the stern call 
 of duty and patriotis''m, marclied in close-knit ranks 
 to vindicate the outraged rij^bts of their adopted 
 country, or ofTer up their lives as a sacrifice on the 
 altar of her liberty. The lives of the members of 
 tiiis society abound in examples of self-denial, and 
 sacrifices of time, labour, blood, property and life, and 
 aflbrd a fair specimen of the sincerity and ardour 
 with which the Irish people tlirouu;hout the whole 
 continent espoused "the f^lorious cause in which 
 America was then embarked.'* 
 
 Some, like liarry, exchanfi;ed the festivities of the 
 Society for the ocean revels of the tempest and the 
 battle. Many, like Wayne, led the van in every 
 hard-fout^ht field of the revolutionary war, or patiently 
 endured the hardsiiij)s of Valley For^e, — and none 
 were more cflicient in executing]; daring and confi- 
 dential services than the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, 
 who fought in the First Troop of Philadelphia Ca- 
 valry. Other members of the Society, who by mer- 
 cantile enterprise and industry, had accumulated 
 wealth, freely })ourcd it into the coflers of the Na- 
 tional Treasury, or patiently submitted to its destruc- 
 tion by the wantonness of Hessian mercenaries. 
 
 In referring to the origin of the Society of the 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, we find some other as- 
 sociations in the Province with which many of its 
 members were connected; and which, therefore, may 
 be briefly mentioned here. The famous Fishing 
 Club, which is still in existence, was founded in the 
 year 1732, under the appellation of "The Colony in 
 Schuylkill.'* After the revolutionary war, this co- 
 lony, with mock solemnity, declared its independence 
 under the name of "The Schuylkill Fishing Com- 
 pany of the State in Schuylkill.'* The new State 
 proceeded to elect its Governor, Council, and other 
 ministers of sovereign power, — adopted a code of 
 laws, providing for military expeditions against the 
 squirrels, rabbits, partridges, and pheasants of the 
 surrounding country, — and having especial regard to 
 the preservation and gradual increase of their navy 
 and ordnance on the Schuylkill, (namely, their fish- 
 ing-boats and tackle,) without neglecting the fortifi- 
 cations of their Baronial Castle and seat of govern- 
 ment, situated on the site now occupied by Mr. 
 Borie's house on the Schuylkill, but after the con- 
 struction of the Fairmount dam, transferred to its 
 present location below Gray's Ferry. Among the 
 members of this "Colony or State" are found the 
 names of Tench Francis, at divers times counsellor, 
 and treasurer of "the State," &c., Jas. Logan, Francis 
 Johnston, (the facetious secretary,) John Donnaldson^ 
 and John Dickinson, author of the Farmer's Letters; 
 all of whom were members of the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. No doubt, others of 
 the Society whose names will occur hereafter, were 
 drafted from that jovial and happy "colony*" 
 
■,^ 
 
 ■A fL^: ( 17 ) ^' VcoUuiio '■ . ^ 
 
 In the year 1766, the Gloucester Fox Hunting 
 Club was instituted, and continued in existence until 
 about the year 181S. Many of its members were 
 also members of the Society of the Friendly Sons of 
 St. Patrick, for instance, John Dunlap, afterwards 
 Captain of the First Troop of Philadelphia Cavalry, 
 John Mease, Blair M'Clenaghan, James Caldwell, 
 Samuel Caldwell, John Lardner, Alexander Nesbitt, 
 John Boyle, Jas. Mease, John Mitchell, John Dickin- 
 son, Tench Francis, Rob't Morris, John White, John 
 Cadwalader, Turbutt Francis, Rich'd Bache, Matthew 
 Mease, James Moylan, Robert Glen, John Patton, 
 Thomas Robinson, Sharp Delaney. In the memoirs 
 of this Club it is stated that "not less than Iwenty-two 
 of the members associated and formed the <^ First 
 Troop of Philadelphia Cavalry." 
 
 The greater part of these twenty-two were Irish- 
 men, and members of the ^^f ciety of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick. That Society has better claims 
 than the Fox Hunting Club to the formation of the 
 First Troop — for in addition to what has been al- 
 ready said, the names of thirty-five members of the 
 Society are found in its muster roll. 
 
 This celebrated troop of cavalry, which still exists, 
 and whose exploits during the revolution are so well 
 known, was formed 17th Nov. 1774, by a number 
 of "gentlemen of fortune," as General Washington 
 calls them in his letter of Jan. 23, 1777. Of the 
 original members of this troop, ten were drafted 
 from the ranks of the Society of the Friendly Sons 
 of St. Patrick, namely: James Mease, John Dunlap, 
 Henry Hill, John Mease, John Boyle, John Mitchell, 
 3 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 George Campbell, Samuel Caldwell, Andrew Cald- 
 well, and Blair M'Clenaghan. In 1775 and 1776, 
 seven more of the Sons of St. Patrick joined the 
 troop, namely: John Donnaldson, John Lardner, Al- 
 exander Nesbitt, James Caldwell, George Fullerton, 
 Francis Nichols, and Patrick Moore. In March, 
 1777, John M. Nesbitt, James Crawford, George 
 
 Henry, Wilson, (query if Jos. Wilson of the 
 
 " Sons of St. Patrick?") and David H. Conyngham 
 joined; and at various times before the end of the 
 war the following members of the Society attached 
 themselves to the troop, namely, George Hughes, 
 John Murray, Michael Morgan O'Brien, John Bar- 
 clay, John Patton and Francis Johnston*, making al- 
 together twenty-nine members of the troop drafted 
 during the war from the •^ Sons of St. Patrick.''* 
 Others were afterwards added from the same source. 
 Twenty-six members of the troop served in the 
 campaigns of 1776 and 1777; — were at the battles of 
 Trenton and Princeton, took a number of prisoners, 
 and distinguished themselves on every occasion when 
 their services were called for. General Mercer and 
 General Washington both bear testimony to their 
 efficiency in these campaigns. The latter, in dis- 
 charging them from duty in Jan. 23, 1777, "returns 
 to them his most sincere thanks for the many essen- 
 tial services which they have rendered to their coun- 
 try,and to himself personally during the course of that 
 severe campaign." "Though composed," says he, 
 •^of gentlemen of fortune, they have shown a noble 
 
 * See Muster Roll of the First Troop of Philadelphia Ca- 
 valry, p. 47, 48. 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 example of discipline and subordination, and in se- 
 veral actions, have shown a spirit and bravery, which 
 will ever do honour to them, and will ever be grate- 
 fully remembered by me.'^* 
 
 In the campaign of 1799, or Northampton ex- 
 pedition, having received notice of a general order 
 directing the cavalry to hold themselves in readiness 
 to march in a few days. Captain Dunlap makes the 
 following characteristic reply. 
 
 Wednesday evening, March 20th, 1799. 
 Sir,— 
 
 About an hour ago I received through you, the 
 general orders of the Commander in chief, dated this 
 day, with a letter directing me to report when the 
 First Troop of Philadelphia Cavalry will be ready 
 to march. With pleasure I tell you, that when the 
 laws and government of this happy country require de- 
 fence, the First Troop of Philadelphia Cavalry wants 
 but one hour^s notice to march, 
 
 I have the honour to be, with esteem, 
 Your obedient and humble servant, 
 
 JOHN DUNLAP." 
 
 The troop joined the expedition, and were absent 
 seventeen days. 
 
 In the list of honorary members of the troop 
 found in p. 28 — 30 of their bye-laws, &c., thirty 
 members of the Sons of St. Patrick are found. The 
 close connexion, or rather identity of so many mem- 
 bers of the Society and the troop, will be a sufficient 
 apology for noticing so fully the records of this dis- 
 
 * See Bye-Laws of First Troop, p. 10, 11, &c. 
 
(20 ) 
 
 tinguisbed body of patriots in an account of " The 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick." We would not, 
 however, be justified in following them farther. 
 Enough has been said to lay a fair claim for the 
 members of the Society to have had a large share in 
 the honour of originating and long sustaining the 
 troop. It may be added, that the members of the 
 troop fully equipped themselves with horses, &c. at 
 the expense of the individual members, so that even 
 the scriptural query "who goeth a warfare any time 
 at his own charge?" might receive in their case an 
 affirmative response. 
 
 After the revolution, the famous Society of the 
 " Cincinnati " was instituted. In this, too, we en- 
 counter the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, figuring 
 among the most active and prominent members. 
 Brigadiers General Hand, Irvine, and Wayne, of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, were original mem- 
 bers of the Cincinnati. So were the following: Ste- 
 phen Moylan, Thomas Robinson and Walter Stewart; 
 each of whom rose to the rank of Brigadier General; 
 Richard Butler, afterwards Major General, Colonels 
 Johnston, and Thos. L. Moore — Major James Moore, 
 Capt. John Patterson, Capt. John Barclay, Capt. John 
 Barry of the Navy, (the Commodore,) aU of the Friend- 
 ly Sons of St. Patrick. In like manner many other 
 members of the Society became honorary members 
 of the Cincinnati; for instance, William Bingham, 
 Sharp Delaney, John Dickinson, Blair M'Clenaghan, 
 Robert Morris, Col. John Patton, Richard Peters, &c. 
 
 With the exception of its honorary members, 
 the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick was 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 composed of Irishmen, or of those whose parents, (or 
 one of them,) were Irish. They were for the most 
 part "men of fortune," and associated on terms of 
 familiarity, friendship, and equality with the first 
 men of the province, or rather included among them 
 the very best men of the country. It is not, there- 
 fore, a matter of surprise, to find many of them oc- 
 cupying the highest and most responsible stations in 
 the army, navy, cabinet, and in congress; and all of 
 them "distinguished for their firm adherence to the 
 glorious cause of liberty, in which they embarked," 
 with a zeal, ardour, and ability unsurpassed in those 
 days of intense patriotism. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 OF THE OBJECTS AND RULES OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 The objects of the Society were purely social and 
 convivial; — want and distress being at the time of 
 its formation rare in the Province, did not require, 
 so much as now, the union of individuals into asso- 
 ciations for the purposes of charity. Yet it would 
 be a great mistake to infer from this, that the Society 
 was a useless one. As well might we condemn as 
 useless, the friendly intercourse, which gives a zest 
 to the dull routine of business and the stern requisi- 
 tions of duty, as censure " those happy meetings 
 when " (to use the language of Curran in reference 
 to similar scenes,) "the swelling heart conceived 
 and communicated the pure and generous purpose^ 
 3* 
 
(22 ) 
 
 the innocent enjoyment of social mirth expanded 
 into the nobler warmth of social virtue, and the hori- 
 zon of the board became enlarged into the horizon of 
 man.'^ Certainly an association could not be deemed 
 useless, which brought together in familiar contact, 
 such men as Dickinson, Barry, Morris, Wayne, Fitz- 
 simmons, Peters, the Moylans,Hopkinsons, and many 
 others distinguished for their genius, talents, wit, and 
 patriotism, — which bound them together by the tie 
 of friendship, and made them acquainted with the 
 character and qualifications of each other. The So- 
 ciety was formed too at a time when unity of senti- 
 ment and purpose among men of influence, was vital 
 to the success of that mighty movement, which had 
 already begun to agitate the minds of men. The 
 circumstances of the times, and the character of the 
 members, rendered such societies schools of patriot- 
 ism and political wisdom, as well as associations for 
 amusement, relaxation, conviviality and intellectual 
 enjoyment. 
 
 The regular meetings of the Society were held on 
 the 17th days of March, June, September, and De- 
 cember. Each member was required to furnish him- 
 self with a gold medal of the value of three guineas, 
 agreeably to the following description: On the right 
 Hibernia — on the left America — in the centre Li- 
 berty joining the hands of Hibernia and America, 
 represented by the usual figures of a female sup- 
 ported by a Harp for Hibernia, — an Indian with his 
 quiver on his back, and his bow slung, for America, 
 — underneath, Unite. On the reverse, St. Patrick 
 
(23) 
 
 trampling on a snake, — a cross in his hand, — dressed 
 in Pontificalibus, — the motto "Hiar." 
 
 These devices, designed some years before the Re- 
 volution, were certainly ominous, if not prophetic. — 
 The goddess of Liberty joining the hands of Hibernia 
 and America, with the superscription ^'Unite,'^ was 
 suflQciently significant, considering that the effect of 
 that union powerfully promoted the subsequent dis- 
 memberment of the British empire, and the establish- 
 ment of the liberty and independence of America, 
 The motto Hiar, or without the aspirate lar, in the 
 Celtic language, signifies "West," — and from it came 
 the name of the country Ere, Erin, or Ireland; and 
 lerna, aspirated Hibernia. But the word Hiar had 
 in it a duplicate and equivocal signification, peculiarly 
 appropriate as the motto of a society, whose object 
 was to ^'Unite'^ in fellowship, the sons of the little 
 Isle of the " West/' with those of the great continent 
 of the ''West.'' 
 
 This medal the members were obliged to wear at 
 the meetings of the Society, under the penalty of 7s. 
 6d. for neglect to do so on St. Patrick's day, and 5$. 
 on the days of the quarterly meetings. 
 
 Ten honorary members were eligible. The qua- 
 lifications for ordinary members were, that the ap- 
 plicant should be a descendent of Irish parents on 
 either side in the first degree, or a descendant of a 
 member ad infinitum (Honorary m.embers excepted.) 
 So that the applicant must either have been a native 
 of Ireland himself, or one of his parents must have 
 been so, or he must have been a descendant of a 
 member. Honorary members could not vote, and 
 
(24 ) 
 
 were not subject to fines. These were the principal 
 rules, and in how many particulars the Hibernian 
 Society followed the parent Society, is obvious. The 
 rules were doubtless pretty strictly adhered to when 
 possible to be enforced. There is, however, one re- 
 markable departure from them. When it was pro- 
 posed to elect General Washington a member, it was 
 found that neither of his parents were Irish. It is 
 true he might have been elected an Honorary Mem- 
 ber, but whether the constitutional number of ten 
 was ah-eady full, or what is more likely, desiring a 
 closer and more intimate fellowship with him than 
 they enjoyed with the Honorary Members, and 
 wishing him to have all the privileges of a genuine 
 Son of St. Patrick, the fertile ingenuity of some of 
 the members invented a plan by which Gen. Wash- 
 ington could be converted into an Irishman, and 
 thereby at once rendered eligible. They reasoned 
 in this way, we ourselves have no American blood 
 in our veins, yet, by adoption, we have become mem- 
 bers of the young republic of America, and thereby 
 Americans. Why then may not the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick make General Wash- 
 ington an Irishman by adoption? This process of 
 argumentation appears to have removed all scruples 
 about the integrity of their rules, and "His Excel- 
 lency, General Washington," (to use the language of 
 the minutes of the 18th Dec. 1781,) "was unani- 
 mously adopted (not elected) a member of the So- 
 ciety." But we will have occasion to refer to that 
 event hereafter. 
 
( ^5 ) 
 
 SECTION in. 
 
 BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE SOCIETY, FROM 1771 TO 
 1798. AND OF ITS ORIGINAL MEMBERS. 
 
 The first meeting of the Society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick, appears from the minutes to have 
 been held at Burns' Tavern, on Tuesday the 17th 
 Sept. 1771, — when fifteen regular and two honorary 
 members were present. There appear to have been 
 twenty-four original members, besides seven honorary 
 members. 
 
 Before proceeding to the history of the Society, it 
 is proposed to give in this place, (as far as we are 
 able,) some sketches of the original members, re- 
 serving other members for subsequent notice. 
 
 Stephen Moylan^s name stands first on the list of 
 original members, and his signature the first attached 
 to the rules. He was the first President of the So- 
 ciety, and was doubtless one of the most active in its 
 formation. He seems also to have been the last Pre- 
 sident of the Society, being restored to the office in 
 1796, after an interval of twenty-two years. This 
 gentleman was a native of Ireland, and brother 
 to the Catholic Bishop of Cork in that country. 
 Three of his brothers, Jasper, James and John, after- 
 wards joined the society. Stephen Moylan entered 
 the army of the Revolution, in which he soon be- 
 came distinguished, was much in the confidence of 
 General Washington, and rose to the rank of Briga- 
 
(26 ) 
 
 dier General. He was a man of high honour and re- 
 spectability, and one of the original members of the 
 society of the Cincinnati. After the war he resided 
 some years in Chester county, where he was Pro- 
 thonotary of the Court. He died at Philadelphia, 
 and is interred in the burial ground of St. Mary's 
 Church, South Fourth street, where a monument co- 
 vers his remains. 
 
 George Meade, a native of Ireland and a Catholic, 
 was a highly respectable and wealthy ship owner 
 and merchant in Philadelphia, and many years part- 
 ner in trade with Thomas Fitzsimmons, one of the 
 original members. JVIr. Meade's high character and 
 integrity may be inferred from the following anecdote. 
 About the year 1790 he became embarrassed in his 
 business and failed, owing to the insolvency of a 
 house in France. His largest creditor was John 
 Barclay, an extensive and liberal merchant of Lon- 
 don. Immediately upon his failure Mr. M. wrote to 
 Mr. B., informing him of Ihe condition of his affairs, 
 but expressing a hope that he might yet be able to re- 
 trieve his losses. Mr. B. in reply requested Mr. M. 
 not to trouble his mind on account of the debt he al- 
 ready owed, and directed him to draw at sight for 
 ^610,000 sterling more. With this generous assis- 
 tance Mr. Meade was enabled to retrieve his fortunes, 
 and had the satisfaction not only to repay Mr. B., 
 but to dischargje all his former obligations in full. 
 He was somewhat eccentric in his manners, but so- 
 cial, hospitable, and benevolent. 
 
 He was one of the founders of the Hibernian So- 
 ciety, and subscribed ^5000, to supply the army with 
 provisions in 1780. He died about thirty years ago. 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 William West, the father of Francis West, and 
 John West, also members of this Society, and grand- 
 father of Captain West and Dr. West now of Phila- 
 delphia, was a native of Ireland, and in those early- 
 days, one of the heads of the Irish interest in Phila- 
 delphia. He was an eminent dry goods merchant, 
 greatly esteemed for his moral worth, sound discre- 
 tion, abilities, and business talents. He was quarter 
 master in the American army of the revolution, and 
 died during the war. 
 
 George Campbell was a native of Stewartstown 
 in the county of Tyrone, Ireland, where the family 
 had been long settled. He was admitted to practise 
 at the Armagh assizes in 1751, and pursued the pro- 
 fession until 1765, when he emigrated to Philadel- 
 phia, where he passed the remainder of his days. At 
 the time of the difficulties with Great Britain he 
 took a warm interest in the question, and was among 
 the originators of the first City Troop, in which he 
 served until they obtained their discharge after the 
 peace. He continued the practice of law, and was 
 elected a member of the Legislature from the City, 
 and appointed, in 17S3, Register of Wills for the 
 City and County of Philadelphia, which he held 
 by appointment of successive Governors until the 
 year 1800, when from party feelings, he was re- 
 moved. He died in the year 1810, at the age of 
 80 years, enjoying the respect and esteem of all 
 who knew him. He was one of the subscribers to 
 the old Pennsylvania Bank in 1780, to supply the 
 army with provisions. His son, George Campbell 
 Esq., is a member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 MatlheiD Mease was born in Strabane, county 
 Tyrone, Ireland, and emigrated at an early age to 
 America, settling in Philadelphia, where his uncle, 
 John Mease ^ an eminent and wealthy merchant, re- 
 sided. Though educated for a merchant, he entered 
 the American Navy, and became Purser of the " Bon- 
 homme Richard." In the desperate encounter be- 
 tween that vessel and the Serapis, Mr. Mease, not 
 relishing the thought of being an idle spectator of the 
 engagement, obtained from Paul Jones the command 
 of the quarter deck guns, which were served under 
 him, until he was carried below to the cockpit, 
 dangerously wounded on the head by a splinter. f 
 He died in Philadelphia, in 1787. 
 
 James Mease was born in Strabane, Ireland, bro- 
 ther of Matthew Mease, already mentioned, came to 
 
 * John Mease, here referred to, was a native of Ireland, 
 (Strabane,) and amassed a large fortune by mercantile busi- 
 ness in Philadelphia. He was very liberal in his charities. 
 As an instance, it may be mentioned, that he presented to 
 the 1st Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, the ground now 
 occupied by the Presbyterian Church and grave-yard in Pine 
 St., between 4th and 5th Streets, and a parsonage-house near 
 3d and Willing's alley. He died in 1767. Two branches 
 of the Mease family still exist in Ireland, one near Castlefin, 
 county Donegal, and the other in Strabane. The late Dr. 
 Mease of Strabane, was for many years physician in the fa- 
 mily of the Marquis of Abercorn, and afterwards practised in 
 Strabane, until his death some years ago. He was one of 
 the most eminent physicians in the North of Ireland. The 
 writer of this remembers him well. 
 
 + See Paul Jones' account in Sherburne's life of him, p. 
 120, 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 America before the revolution. He was one of 
 those who originated the first Troop of Philadelphia 
 cavalry, and served in it with gallantry, during the 
 war. He was an eminent merchant, and subscribed 
 ^5000 for supplies to the American army in 1780. 
 
 John Mease, brother of the foregoing, was born in 
 Strabane, Ireland. He came to this country, in the 
 year 1754, and for many years was an eminent 
 shipping merchant of Philadelphia. He was an 
 early and an ardent friend to the cause of indepen- 
 dence, and one of the original members of the first 
 Troop of city cavalry, of which his grandson, John 
 Butler, is at present the Captain. On the ever me- 
 morable night of the 25th of December, 1776, he was 
 one of twenty-four of that corps who crossed the 
 Delaware, with the troops under General Washington, 
 when the Hessians were captured. 
 
 Mr. Mease was one of five detailed to the ser- 
 vice of keeping alive the fires along the line of the 
 American encampment at Trenton, to deceive the 
 enemy, whilst the Americans marched by a private 
 route to attack their rear guard at Princeton. He 
 served with the Troop until the end of the war, and 
 sufiered great loss of property, in his warehouses and 
 dwelling. For the last thirty years of his life, he 
 was one of the admiralty surveyors of the Port of 
 Philadelphia, and died in 1826, at the advanced 
 age of 86. He subscribed £4000 to supply the army 
 in 1780. His son, Dr. James Mease of Philadel- 
 phia, still survives him. Mr. John Mease was the 
 only man who continued, in the latter days, to wear 
 4 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 llie old three-cornered hat of the revolution, and was 
 familiarly called " the last of the cocked hats,'' 
 
 Thos. Fitzsimmons was a native of Ireland, and a 
 Catholic. He was an extensive merchant of Phi- 
 ladelphia, before and during the revolution, com- 
 manded a volunteer company, and was engaged in 
 active service during the war. After the war, he 
 was for many years a member of the State Legisla- 
 ture, and represented Philadelphia in Congress with 
 distinction. He was for a long time a Director in 
 the Bank of North America, and President of the 
 Insurance Company of North America, in which 
 latter office he continued until his death. He was a 
 man of high and honourable character, and his influ- 
 ence in the country, and especially among the mer- 
 chants, was second to none. He married a sister of 
 George Meade, and died about twenty years ago 
 without issue. 
 
 Mr. Fitzsimmons was one of the most efficient 
 and able men who laid the foundations of the com- 
 mercial and financial systems of the United States. 
 He, and Mr. Goodhue of Salem, though they spoke 
 but seldom and briefly, were always looked to in 
 Congress for facts and the correction of errors in 
 practical questions of commerce, exchange, &c., and 
 the operation of legislative measures in relation 
 thereto. To have been a counsellor and adviser of 
 Franklin, Hamilton, and Jefierson, &c.,the coadjutor 
 of Robert Morris, in what vitally concerned, not 
 only the present safety, but the future prosperity of 
 these United States, is fame that few men of those 
 times could aspire to, and yet is nothing more than 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 may with justice be claimed for Thomas Fitzsim- 
 mons. His house, namely, Geo, Meade & Co. sub- 
 scribed to supply the army in 1780, £5,000. His 
 name is attached to the Constitution of the United 
 States. 
 
 John Mitchell, a native of Ireland, (a nephew 
 of Mr. Andrew Caldwell, hereafter noticed,) was 
 brought up a merchant. His father died of yellow 
 fever in 1768. He resided many years in France as 
 a merchant, was afterwards Consul of the U. S. at 
 St. Jago de Cuba, and Admiralty Surveyor of the 
 port of Philadelphia. He was a member of the First 
 City Troop; a man of handsome manners and va- 
 rious and extensive information. 
 
 Randle Mitchell, a native of Ireland, was a partner 
 of his brother John Mitchell, mentioned above, and 
 a highly respectable man. 
 
 Wm. Mitchell, was the first Secretary and Trea- 
 surer of the Society. 
 
 John Maxwell J^eshitt. This eminent merchant 
 and devoted patriot, was a native of the North of 
 Ireland, who emigrated to America before the revo- 
 lution. In 1777 he joined the First Troop of Phila- 
 delphia cavalry. He conducted one of the most 
 extensive mercantile houses in Philadelphia, under 
 the firm of J. M. Nesbitt & Co., during the war, and 
 afterwards under the name of Conyngham & Nesbitt. 
 He embarked his all in the cause of liberty, and with 
 a devoted patriotism, not exceeded in history, fear- 
 lessly staked his life, his fortune, and, what he valued 
 more than both, his sacred honour, on the success of 
 America. His benefactions to her cause had in 
 them a simple greatness which should make his 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 memory dear to America in every future age, as he 
 was, whilst living, beloved and trusted by all his 
 compatriots. Mention will hereafter be made of 
 the formation of the Pennsylvania Bank for the sup- 
 ply of the army of the United States with provisions, 
 to which J. M. Nesbitt & Co. subscribed 565,000. 
 But before that event, Mr. Nesbitt had already ren- 
 dered most essential service to the army. This is 
 related in Hazard's Reg. of Pa. vol. 6, p. 28. "So 
 great was the distress of the American army in 17S0, 
 that General Washington was apprehensive that they 
 would not be able to keep the field. The army, 
 however, was saved by a combination of providen- 
 tial circumstances; Gen. Washington having written 
 to Richard Peters, Esq., giving him full information 
 of the state of the army, that gentleman immediately 
 called on J. M. Nesbitt, Esq., and explained to him 
 the distress of the army and the wishes of the Gene- 
 ral.'' Mr. Nesbitt replied, " that a Mr. Howe, of 
 Trenton, had offered to put up pork for him, if he 
 could be paid in hard money. He contracted with 
 Howe to put up all the pork and beef he could pos- 
 sibly obtain, for which he should be paid in goW 
 Mr. Howe performed his engagement, and J. M. 
 Nesbitt & Co. paid him accordingly. Mr. Nesbitt 
 told Mr. Peters that he might have this beef and 
 pork, and in addition a valuable prize just arrived to 
 Bunner, Murray & Co. laden with provisions. "1 
 need not tell you," continues Mr. Hazard's corre- 
 spondent, " how pleased Mr. Peters was with the re- 
 sult of the application — the provisions were sent in 
 time, and the army was saved. Mr. Nesbitt was 
 a faithful coadjutor of Robert Morris during the war 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 in the supply of money and necessaries for the army 
 and in the support of public credit when Mr. Morris 
 acted as financier." 
 
 Mr. Nesbitt was the second President of the So- 
 ciety of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, succeeding 
 General Moylan, in 1773, and served at that time 
 for one year. He was re-elected President of the 
 Society, in June, 1782, and continued to be re-elected 
 annually until his resignation in March, 1796, having 
 been President of the Society, altogether, for nearly 
 fifteen years. He was one of the founders of the 
 Hibernian Society. 
 
 Gen. John Shoe was a native of Ireland, and a 
 merchant in Philadelphia, in partnership with Richard 
 Bache, (one of the honorary members) the son-in- 
 law of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. He served a cam- 
 paign in 1776, and resigned his commission. He 
 was taken prisoner at Fort Washington, York Island, 
 after the battle of Long Island. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson appointed him collector of the Port 
 of Philadelphia. He was afterwards a General in 
 the Militia, Colonel of Volunteers, and Treasurer of 
 the City. 
 
 Mr. Shee was a man of excellent manners, and 
 good acquirements. He married an heiress, the 
 beautiful and accomplished daughter of Mr. Law- 
 rence, one of the principal merchants in Philadel- 
 phia. He subscribed to supply the army in 1780. 
 
 Thomas Barclay was a native of Ireland, and a 
 man of great influence and respectability. He was 
 President of the Society from June 17, 1779, to June 
 
 17, 1781. Some years afterwards, he was appointed 
 
 4* 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 Consul General from the United States to the Bar- 
 bary powers, but died at Lisbon, on his way to the 
 North of Africa. He subscribed ^5,000 for supply- 
 ing the army in 1780. He was a man of elegant 
 manners. The family is connected with Mr. Shiel, 
 M. P., the great Irish orator. 
 
 Colonel John JSTixon, was a native of West-Chester, 
 Pa., and a merchant of Philadelphia. His father, 
 Richard Nixon, was born in Wexford, Ireland. Col. 
 Nixon was an ardent, active, and most efficient friend 
 of America in the revolutionary struggle. He was 
 with his regiment at the battle on Long Island, and 
 wintered at Valley Forge. He was for some time an 
 Alderm.an of Philadelphia, and had the honour of 
 first reading the Declaration of Independence, on the 
 12th July, 1776, to the people assembled in Inde- 
 pendence Square. This he did from the central 
 window of the State House fronting the Square, 
 during the tolling of the bell, on which had been 
 engraved, twenty-three years before, these prophetic 
 words — ^^ Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto 
 all the inhabitants thereof.^' Lev. xxv. 10. 
 
 The country seat of Colonel Nixon was burned by 
 the British troops. He served as the first of the 
 two Directors of the famous Bank of Pennsylvania, 
 established in 1780, for supplying the army of the 
 U. States with provisions — and subscribed ^5,000 
 for that purpose. After the establishment of the 
 Bank of North America in 1782, w^hich appears to 
 have sprung from the Bank of Pa., he was made 
 President of it, and continued in that office until his 
 death. He carried the colours at the procession after 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 the establishment of the Constitution of the U. S. In 
 his person Col. Nixon is described as a remarkably 
 fine portly man. His talents, patriotism, integrity 
 and many virtues, won for him the respect and con- 
 fidence of his fellow citizens. He died about Jan. 
 1st, 1809. Several of his descendants still live in 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 John Boyle was a native of Ireland, and one of the 
 original members of the First City Troop, celebrated 
 for his social and convivial qualities. 
 
 Geo. Fullerton, a native of Ireland, served in the 
 First City Troop in the army of the Revolution. 
 He died from a wound received by the accidental 
 discharge of his pistol at a review near Trenton, in 
 1776, and lies buried in the ground of the First 
 Presbyterian Church, in Bank St., Philadelphia, near 
 the spot which contained the remains of his gallant 
 countryman " Haslet," who fell in the battle of 
 Princeton. 
 
 George Davis, was a native of Ireland, settled in 
 Philadelphia, and afterwards removed to Trenton, 
 N. J., a private gentleman — a man of amiable man- 
 ners and highly esteemed by all the inhabitants of 
 Trenton. He died a bachelor. 
 
 Samuel Caldwell was a native of the north of Ire- 
 land, an eminent shipping merchant, and partner of 
 James Mease, constituting with him the firm of Mease 
 and Caldwell. He was one of the founders of the 
 First Troop, and one of the subscribers in 1780 to 
 the bank formed to supply the army of the United 
 States with provisions. He was appointed by Judge 
 Francis Hopkinson, clerk of the District Court of the 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 United States at Philadelphia, at the first opening of 
 that court on the 6th of Oct., 1789. He continued in 
 the office until his death in 1794. Mr. Caldwell was 
 a man of great respectability, and highly esteemed 
 by all who knew him. He was for many years se- 
 cretary and treasurer of the society. 
 
 Benjamin Fuller, a native of Ireland, was treasurer 
 and secretary of the society, and president from 
 June, 1776, to June, 1779. 
 
 He was the most eminent ship broker of his time, 
 in Philadelphia, remarkable for his correctness in bu- 
 siness transactions. His accounts and minutes of the 
 society are a pattern of neatness and precision. He 
 accumulated a handsome fortune, and died a bachelor. 
 
 Like many other gentlemen of that day, he ab- 
 horred physic, and the visits of medical gentlemen in 
 their official capacity. At one time, v/hile lying 
 dangerously ill, on his snug little bed, in his bachelor 
 chamber, over his counting-house, a consultation of 
 physicians was held in his room. The doctors con- 
 versed together in an audible voice, and just as they 
 had concluded him past recovery, and that nothing 
 farther could be done in his case, to their great as- 
 tonishment, he drew aside the curtains, and ex- 
 claimed in his usual energetic manner, "Gentlemen, 
 I am greatly obliged to you! — I feel much better 
 since you entered the room! — You may go away 
 now, gentlemen, I shall not want your services any 
 longer." While the physicians looked at each other in 
 amazement, he rang the bell, and addressing the ser- 
 vant, desired him to "show the gentlemen down 
 stairs," They assured the servant his master was 
 
( 37) 
 
 delirious, and presuming there was no hope of his re- 
 covery, were proceeding to give directions that he 
 might be indulged in any thing he should desire to 
 have, when Mr. F. cut them short by calling out, 
 "John, John, turn them out and fasten the doors after 
 them; — V\\ take no more of their infernal drugs." 
 On the return of the servant he had all the bottles 
 and medicines thrown out of the window, and the 
 crisis of his disease being then passed, he from that 
 moment rapidly recovered. He lived for many years 
 afterwards, and when his friends joked with him on 
 this treatment of the doctors, he would reply, "The 
 scoundrels wanted to kill me with their cursed stuffs, 
 but I lived to attend both their funerals." Mr. 
 Fuller subscribed £2,000 in 17S0, to supply the army 
 with provisions. 
 
 Tench Francis was a native of Pennsylvania. His 
 father was Attorney General of the Province, and a 
 relative of Dr. Francis, the translator of Horace, and 
 Sir Philip Francis, one of the reputed authors of Ju- 
 nius' letters. Mr. Francis was for many years agent 
 for the Penn family in Pennsylvania — and was the 
 first cashier of the Bank of North America, which 
 office he retained until his death, about 20 years ago. 
 Several of his descendants are living. Among them 
 are Mr, Charles Francis, Mrs. George Harrison, 
 Mrs. Joshua Fisher of Philadelphia, and Gov. Francis 
 of Rhode Island, recently elected senator in Congress 
 from that State. Mr. Francis was a bon vivant, wit, 
 and man of talent. It appears from the minutes 
 that Mr. Philip Francis was proposed as a member 
 March 17, 1772. Query, was this the well known 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 Sir Philip Francis? Mr. Francis subscribed £5,500 
 in 1780, for supplying the American army. 
 
 Col. Turhult Francis, a brother of Tench Francis, 
 above named, served in the Revolutionary Army. He 
 was the father of Samuel Mifflin, the respected Presi- 
 dent of the Union Canal Company, who took the name 
 of Mifflin to inherit the estates of his grand-father. 
 
 •Andrew Caldwell, a native of Ireland, a highly re- 
 spectable and successful merchant, and a member of 
 the First City Troop. 
 
 The attendance at the first meeting, Sept. 17, 1771, 
 as has been said, consisted of fifteen ordinary and two 
 honorary members. At that meeting. President Moy- 
 lan appointed his council, treasurer, and secretary, 
 which constituted the administration during the presi- 
 dential term of office. At the meeting, January 17, 
 1772, after the election of officers and members, 
 whereof three were honorary, namely, Samuel Mere- 
 dith, Richard Bache, and Lambert Cadvvalader, Mr. 
 White reported that Mr. James Mease had written 
 to him from London, that he had made inquiry there 
 concerning the cost of a set of dies, for striking me- 
 dals, (agreeably to the rules,) and found they would 
 cost from £50 to ^^60 sterling. A tax of 50 shillings 
 currency was thereupon imposed on each member to 
 purchase a bill for £50 sterling, to be remitted to Mr. 
 Mease, or in his absence to Mr. Wm. Mitchell. 
 
 The dies were accordingly procured in London, 
 but were left there in order that the medals might be 
 cast, and sent out as ordered by the members. This 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 arrangement had the effect of cutting off all supplies 
 of medals during the continuance of the revolutionary 
 war. When therefore General Washington, in Dec. 
 1781, was adopted a member of the society, and it was 
 determined to present him with a gold medal of the 
 society, Mr. James Mease gave his medal for that 
 purpose, and after the war a new one was imported 
 for Mr. Mease from England.^ On the 17th Sept. 
 1783, we find Samuel Caldwell the secretary, re- 
 mitting to Capt. Isaac All, one of the members then 
 in London, a bill of exchange for 439 livres Tour- 
 nois, to procure a supply of medals, which it is to be 
 presumed were duly furnished. The medal which 
 belonged to Geo. Campbell, (President of the Society 
 in 1781-2,) is now in possession of his son, George 
 Campbell, Esq. of Philadelphia, a member of the Hi- 
 bernian Society, and the medal which belonged to 
 John Donnaldson, is still preserved and highly valued 
 by his descendants. 
 
 The beauty and perfection which they retain un- 
 impaired, reflect much credit on the London artists 
 who manufactured the dies and cast the medals — to 
 say nothing of the taste of those who proposed the 
 designs. 
 
 The meetings of the society continued to be regu- 
 larly held, sometimes at Burns' Tavern, sometimes 
 at Duffy's, sometimes at Smith's, sometimes at the 
 Wigwam, afterwards Evans', and again at the City 
 Tavern, till Dec. 1775. At this time the revolu- 
 tionary feeling had become intense, and the side 
 which the members of the Society of the Friendly 
 
 * See Correspondence, &c. 
 
(40) 
 
 Sons of St. Patrick had taken is very unequivocally 
 indicated by the record of their proceedings at the 
 meeting of Dec. 17, 1775. A motion was made and 
 seconded "that Thos. Batt, a member of this Society, 
 should be expelled for taking an active part against 
 the liberties of America; the determination was post- 
 poned till the next meeting, in order for a more de- 
 liberate consideration." At the next meeting, March 
 
 1776, "The question being put upon the motion 
 made at the last stated meeting, whether Capt. Thos. 
 Batt be expelled from the Society, it was unanimously 
 carried in the affirmative." At this meeting there 
 were present twenty-one members, among them 
 Generals Wayne, Shee and Nixon, and several of the 
 First Troop of Philadelphia Cavalry. 
 
 The pent-up flames of the war at last burst forth, 
 and most of the members of the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick became participants and 
 actors in the stirring scenes that followed. 
 
 The festivities of the society, the wit, the song and 
 the joke, yielded to the stern requisitions of duty — 
 and the excitement of the banquet was succeeded by 
 that of danger, battle, and glory. The minutes of 
 the society come down regularly to the meeting of 
 June 17, 1776. Here there is a gap until Sept. 17, 
 1778, with this only entry, namely: "The State of 
 Pennsylvania having been invaded, and the city of 
 Philadelphia taken by the British army under the 
 command of General Sir Wm. Howe, in September 
 
 1777, the society had no meeting until Sept. 1778; 
 the minutes of the meetings of September and De- 
 cember, 1776, and March and June, 1777, areunfor- 
 
(41 ) 
 
 tunately lost." The meetings from Sept. '78 until 
 the end of the war were regularly held, and though 
 those who were in the army and navy, are generally 
 noted as absent, yet we find many of them snatching 
 occasional momentsof enjoyment, amid the hardships 
 of war, in a reunion at the festivals of the society. 
 '^Msent in camp,^' ^^ absent at sea^''^ are frequent en- 
 tries opposite the names of members, and at the 
 meeting of the 17th June, 1779, it was "agreed that 
 such members of the society as are officers in the 
 army, shall not be subject to fines for absence while 
 in service in the field.'* General Wayne was pre- 
 sent at this meeting, as were several members of the 
 First Troop — Colonel Walter Stewart, John Palton, 
 Com. Barry and Mr. John Dunlap, afterwards Capt. 
 of the First Troop. The case of members absent at 
 sea had been already provided for in the 4th rule. 
 
 Intimately connected with the glory of the Society 
 of the Sons of St. Patrick, is a matter which must 
 be referred to in some detail. 
 
 In the year 1780, a transaction took place in Phi- 
 ladelphia, almost unparalleled in the history of na- 
 tions and patriotism, which casts a lustre not only on 
 the individuals who were the authors of it, but on 
 the whole community to which they belonged. 
 
 If the glorious examples of the past could influence 
 the conduct of men of the present day, the reputation 
 and good name of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania 
 would soon be firmly fixed on so immovable a pe- 
 destal, as to defy the malicious assaults of British 
 libellers, and even the more dangerous folly, selfish- 
 ness, and cowardice of our own partisan politicians. 
 5 
 
(42 } 
 
 At the time alluded to, when every thing depended 
 on a vigorous prosecution of the war, when the Ame- 
 rican army was in imminent danger of being com- 
 pelled to yield to famine, a far more dangerous enemy 
 than the British, when the urgent expostulations of 
 the commander-in-chief, and the strenuous recom?7ien- 
 dations of Congress, had utterly failed to arouse a just 
 sense of the danger of the crisis, the genuine love of 
 country, and most noble self-sacrifices of some indi- 
 viduals in Philadelphia, supplied the place of the 
 slumbering patriotism of the country, and saved her 
 cause from most disgraceful ruin. In this great 
 emergency was conceived and promptly carried into 
 operation, "the plan of the Bank of Pennsylvania, 
 established for supplying the army of the United 
 States with provisions for two months." 
 
 On the 17th June, 1780, the following paper, which 
 deserves to rank as a supplement to the Declaration 
 of Independence, was signed by ninety-three indi- 
 viduals and firms; 
 
 "Whereas, in the present situation of public afiairs 
 in the United States, the greatest and most vigorous 
 exertions are required for the successful management 
 of the just and necessary war in which they are en- 
 gaged with Great Britain: We, the subscribers, deeply 
 impressed with the sentiments that on such an occa- 
 sion should govern us, in the prosecution of a war, 
 on the event of which our own freedom, and that of 
 our posterity, and the freedom and independence of 
 the United States are all involved, hereby severally 
 pledge our property and credit for the several sums 
 specified and mentioned after our names, in order to 
 
(43 ) 
 
 support the credit of a bank to be established for fur- 
 nishing a supply of provisions for the armies of the 
 United States: And do hereby severally promise 
 and engage to execute to the Directors of the said 
 Bank, bonds of the form hereunto annexed. 
 
 "Witness our hands, this 17th day of June, in the 
 year of our Lord, 1780."* 
 
 Then follow the names of the subscribers with the 
 sums respectively subscribed, amounting to <£300,00Cf 
 Pennsylvania currency, payable in gold or silver. 
 
 Of this amount, twenty-seven members of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick subscribed, £103,500. 
 The names of these, with the amounts of their sub- 
 scriptions, are as follow: namely, 
 Robert Morris, - £10,000 John Mease, - - £4,000 
 
 Blair M'Clenachan, 
 
 10,000 
 
 Bunner, Murray, & Co 
 
 . 6,000 
 
 William Bingham, 
 
 5,000 
 
 John Patton, - 
 
 2,00(1 
 
 J. M. Nesbitt & Co., 
 
 5,000 
 
 Benjamin Fuller, - 
 
 2,000 
 
 Richard Peters, - 
 
 5,000 
 
 Geo. Meade & Co., 
 
 2,000 
 
 Samuel Meredith, - 
 
 5,000 
 
 John Donnaldson, - 
 
 2,000 
 
 James Mease, - 
 
 5,000 
 
 Henry Hill, - - 
 
 5,000 
 
 Thomas Barclay, - 
 
 5,000 
 
 Kean &, Nichols, - 
 
 4,000 
 
 Hugh Shiell, - - 
 
 5,000 
 
 James Caldwell, - 
 
 2,000 
 
 John Dunlap, - 
 
 4,000 
 
 Samuel Caldwell, - 
 
 1,000 
 
 John Nixon, - 
 
 5,000 
 
 John Shee, 
 
 1,000 
 
 George Campbell, - 
 
 2,000 
 
 Sharp Delany, 
 
 1,000 
 
 Tench Francis, 5,500. 
 
 There were five inspectors of the Bank, of whom 
 three, Robert Morris, J. M. Nesbitt, and Blair 
 M'Clenachan, were members of the St. Patrick's, 
 So was the first of the two directors, John Nixon, 
 
 * American Remembrancer, vol. x., p. 229. — 6 Haz. Reg. 
 of Pennsylvania, p. 28,-2 do. 259—261. 
 
(44 ) 
 
 and the factor, Tench Francis. All these agreed to 
 serve without compensation. The several bonds 
 were executed to the two directors, and were condi- 
 tioned for the payment of an amount not exceeding 
 the sum subscribed by each obligor, for furnishing a 
 supply of provisions for the armies of the United 
 States. The bank opened July 17, 1780, in Front 
 street, two doors below Walnut. The tenth and last 
 instalment was called in on the 15th Nov. 17S0. The 
 bank continued in operation till the establishment of 
 the bank of North America, Jan. 7, 1782, which ap- 
 pears to have sprung from it, and to have monopo- 
 lized the glory which belonged to the old bank of 
 Pennsylvania, of having rendered essential service to 
 the country during the revolution.* Geo. Campbell, 
 Esq., whose father was a subscriber, has in his pos- 
 session several of the original bonds. 
 
 At length, the clouds which had hung heavily over 
 the liberties of America, began to be dissipated by 
 the glorious sun-burst of victory, and the surrender 
 of Cornwallis extinguished the last hope of the Bri- 
 tish in America. Once more the convivial reunions 
 of the Friend!}^ Sons of St. Patrick revived, and 
 in the winter of 1781-2, commenced a series of bril- 
 liant entertainments, continued at intervals for several 
 years, which fairly entitle this epoch to the appella- 
 tion of the Golden Age of the society. 
 
 General Washington had now become acquainted 
 with the talents, courage, and patriotic devotion of 
 most of the members of the society; not to be sure 
 at the festive board, but on many a hard-fought field, 
 
 * Gouge's History of Paper Money and Banking, chap. 4. 
 a Haz. Reff. of Pa. 259—261. 
 
(45 ) 
 
 and by the substantial evidence of pounds, shillings, 
 and pence. The steady courage of Moylan, Irvine, 
 and Cadwalader, the impetuous boldness of Wayne, 
 the fiery valour of Thompson, Stewart, and Butler, 
 the efficient services of the First Troop, were fully 
 appreciated by the calm observation of Washington. 
 These had all been among his dearest companions in 
 arms, — and a fellowship in danger, hardship, and vic- 
 tory, already united them to him by the strongest 
 ties of affection. It was very natural, therefore, that 
 when these Sons of St. Patrick met, during the short 
 intervals of war, and at the close of each campaign, 
 they should desire that he who had been their com- 
 mander, their companion and their friend, amidst 
 other scenes, should unite in their festive enjoyments, 
 to smooth the brow so long furrowed with care, but 
 now crovvned with laurels. 
 
 Accordingly, at a meeting of the president of the 
 society and his council, on the 7th December, 1781, 
 General Washington, being then in Philadelphia, by 
 the request of congress, the secretary was directed to 
 invite his Excellency and suite, in the name of the 
 society, to dinner, on the 17th December, at the City 
 Tavern, *'but that this deviation from the rules of (he 
 society should not be deemed a precedent hereafter." 
 General Washington was prevented by other engage- 
 ments from accepting this invitation. On the 17th, 
 however, a numerous meeting of the society was 
 held, and dined at Evans' Tavern. — Generals Hand 
 and Knox were proposed as members, and, after- 
 wards, duly elected. On the same evening, " Jiis 
 Excellency, General Washinglon, was unanimously 
 5* 
 
(45) 
 
 adopted a member of the society. It was ordered that 
 the president, vice-president, and secretary, wait on 
 his Excellency with a suitable address on the occa- 
 sion, and present him with a medal in the name of 
 the society. Also, that they invite his Excellency 
 and his suite, to an entertainment to be prepared and 
 given him at the City Tavern, on Tuesday, the first 
 of January, (1782,) to which the secretary is requested 
 to invite the president of the state, and of Congress, 
 the Minister of France, M. Marbois, M. Otto, the 
 Chief Justice, the speaker of the House of Assembly^ 
 Mr. Francis Rendon, M. Holker, Count de la Touche, 
 and Count Dillon, with all the general officers that 
 may be in the city." 
 
 In pursuance of this order, the president and se- 
 cretary waited on General Washington with the fol- 
 lowing address: ^ - - • -' /•- . 
 " May it please your Excellenc)', 
 
 "The society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick,, 
 in this city, ambitious to testify, with all possible re- 
 spect, the high sense they entertain of your Excel- 
 lency's public and private virtues, have taken the 
 liberty to adopt your Excellency a member. 
 
 '« Although they have not the clothing of any civil 
 establishment, nor the splendour of temporal power 
 to dignify their election, yet they flatter themselves, 
 that as it is the genuine offspring of hearts filled with 
 the warmest attachments, that this mark of their es- 
 teem and regard will not be wholly unacceptable to 
 your Excellency. 
 
 "Impressed with these pleasing hopes, they have 
 directed me to present to your Excellency a gold me- 
 dal, the ensign of this fraternal society, which, that you 
 
(47) 
 
 may be pleased to accept, and long live to wear, is 
 the warmest wish of 
 " Your Excellency's 
 
 most humble and respectful servant, 
 By order and in behalf of the Society, 
 
 Geo. Campbell, President. 
 *'To his Excellency, General Washington, 
 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Army.'* 
 
 To which his Excellency was pleased to give the 
 following answer, namely: 
 
 "Sir: 
 
 . "I accept with singular pleasure, the Ensign of so 
 worthy a fraternity as that of the Sons of St, Patrick 
 in this city; — a society distinguished for the firm ad- 
 herence of its members to the glorious cause in which we 
 are embarked. 
 
 " Give me leave to assure you, sir, that I shall never 
 cast my eyes upon the badge with which I am ho- 
 noured, but with a grateful remembrance of the 
 polite and aflfectionate manner in which it was pre- 
 sented. 
 
 " I am, with respect and esteem. 
 
 Sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 George Washington. 
 
 '^To George Campbell, Esq., President of the Soci- 
 ety of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, in the City 
 of Philadelphia." 
 
 "After which the President, (by a card) having 
 requested the honour of his Excellency's company, 
 together with the gentlemen of his suite, at dinner, 
 at the City Tavern, on Tuesday, the 1st of January, 
 
(48 ) 
 
 he was pleased to accept of the invitation, and accord- 
 ing to the order of last meeting, the Secretary sent 
 cards to all the persons therein specified, requesting 
 the pleasure of their company at same place and time, 
 namely, 4 o'clock. 
 
 " At an extra meeting at George Evans', on Tues- 
 day, the first of January, 1782, the following gentle- 
 men were present. 
 
 His Excellency, General 
 
 Washington, 
 Gen. Lincoln, 
 Gen. Steuben, 
 Gen. Howe, 
 Gen. Moultrie, 
 Gen. Knox, 
 Gen. Hand, ^ 
 
 Gen. M'Intosh, 
 His Excellency, M. Luzerne, 
 M. Rendon, 
 
 His Excellency, M. Hanson, 
 His Excellency, Wm. Moore, 
 Mr. Muiilenberg, 
 Col. French Tilghman, 
 Col. Smith, 
 Major Washington, 
 Count Dillon, 
 Count De la Touche, 
 M. Marbois, 
 M. Otto, 
 M. Holker. 
 
 John Nixon, 
 Samuel Caldwell, 
 Andrew Caldwell, 
 Mr. James Mease, 
 Sharp Delany, Esq. 
 Mr. D. H. Conyngham, 
 Mr. George Henry, 
 Mr. Blair JVI'Clenachan, 
 Mr. Alexander Nesbitt, 
 Mr. John Donnaldson, 
 Mr. John Barclay, 
 Mr. James Crawford, 
 Mr. John Patton, 
 Mr. James Caldwell, 
 Mr. John Dunlap, 
 Mr. Hugh Shiell, 
 Mr. George Hughes, 
 Mr. M. M. O'Brien, 
 Jasper Moylan, Esq. 
 Col. Ephraim Blaine, 
 Col. Charles Stewart, 
 Col. Walter Stewart, 
 Col. Francis Johnston, 
 
 21 Guests. 
 
 Geo. Campbell, Esq., President. Dr. John Cochran, 
 
 Mr. Thos. Fitzsimmons, V. P. Mr. Wm. Constable, 
 
 Wm. West, Henry Hill, Esq. 
 
 Matthew Mease, Robert Morris, Esq. 
 
 John Mease, Samuel Meredith, Esq. 
 John Mitchell, 35 Members, 
 
 J. M. Nesbitt, 
 
(49 ) 
 
 This brilliant entertainment, it will be seen, was 
 graced by the presence of the bravest and most dis- 
 tinguished generals of the allied army of America 
 and France, Generals Washington, Lincoln, Howe, 
 Moultrie, Knox, Hand, M'Intosh, and Baron Steu- 
 ben — Colonels Washington, Smith, Tilghman, Count 
 Dillon, a French officer of Irish descent, afterward 
 much distinguished in the wars of the French revo- 
 lution, and Count de la Touche. The French and 
 Spanish ministers with their Secretaries, &c., were 
 also present. Several of the First Troop, (members 
 of the Society,) Colonels Charles and Walter Stew- 
 art — Colonels Blaine and Johnston, with Robert 
 Morris, Samuel Meredith, and Henry Hill, honorary 
 members. 
 
 The next regular meeting, (the anniversary meet- 
 ing of the Society,) was held at George Evans', on 
 Monday, the 18th March, 1782 — and was even more 
 brilliant than the preceding one. General Wash- 
 ington being still in Philadelphia, was present with 
 Generals Lincoln, Dickinson, Moultrie, and Baron 
 Steuben, Messrs. Muhlenberg, Moore and Hanson, 
 Captain Truxton, of the Navy, &c. Of the honorary 
 members, John Dickinson, Robert Morris, Samuel 
 Meredith and Henry Hill, were present. Commo- 
 dore Barry is mentioned as beyond sea, and Wayne, 
 Butler, Irvine and Cochran, at camp. Generals 
 Hand and Knox, and Captain Thomas Read, were 
 elected members. 
 
 But to pursue the history of the Society in farther 
 detail would be tedious — suffice it to say that the 
 usual conviviality, the elegant hospitality, and the 
 
( 50 ) 
 
 harmony and friendship which had ever characterized 
 the Society, continued until its dissolution. During 
 the long Presidency of J. M. Nesbitt, from June 
 17th, 1782, to March 17th, 1796, the meetings, espe- 
 cially the anniversaries, were well attended. It will 
 be sufficient, therefore, to refer to the extracts from 
 the minutes, and the original minutes themselves in 
 possession of the Hibernian Society, for a more mi- 
 nute account of their transactions. This part of Ihe 
 work may be concluded, therefore, with lists of some 
 of the guests who attended the dinners of the Soci- 
 ety, and of the officers of the Society, from 1771, 
 to 1798. 
 
 Among the guests at the quarterly and anniversa- 
 ry meetings, are the following. 
 
 Their Honours the Governors, in 1772-3 and 4, 
 Richard Penn, and John Penn. Mr. Bayard, Jas. 
 
 Delancy, Esq., Dr. Steel, John Ross, Esq., 
 
 Burnett, Esq., Colonel Fell, Philip Dickinson, Mr. 
 Livingston, Mr. Haliday, Gen. Lee, Mr. Benezet, 
 Dr. Sandiford, Cumberbatch Sober, Esq., John Ew- 
 ing, Mr. Junifer, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Shippen, Mr. Mau- 
 rice, Daniel Roberts, Joseph Devonish, Pres. Reed, 
 (1781,) Chevr. Paul Jones, Pres. Huntington, Mr. 
 Speaker Muhlenberg, Gov. Howley, Col. Tennent, 
 Capt. Nicholson, Gen. Howe, Major M'Pherson, 
 Gen. Lincoln, Gen. Steuben, Gen. Moultrie, Gen. 
 Mcintosh, His Excellency M. Luzerne, Mr. Sect'y 
 Rendon, His Excellency M. Hanson, His Excell'y 
 Mr. William Moore, Col. Smith, Col. Tench Tilgh- 
 man. Major Washington, Count Dillon, Count De la 
 Touche, M. Marbois, M. Otto, M. Holker, Colonel 
 
{ 51 ) 
 
 Humphreys, Major Walker, Captain Colefax, Capt. 
 Truxton, Mr. Van Berkell, Judge M'Kean, Gov. 
 Morris, Judge Hopkinson, The Imperial Resident 
 Mr. Lear, Gov. Mifflin, Judge Biddle, Mr. Jefferson, 
 Mr. Hamilton, Judge Wilson, Mr. Casseneave, The 
 President of the State, (in 1786,) The Chief Justice, 
 Charles Biddle, William Smith, John Shaw, General 
 Armstrong, General Mifflin, Colonel Howard, &c. 
 &c. Many of the most distinguished guests were 
 in frequent attendance. 
 
 Presidents of the Society, from 1771, to 179S, viz. 
 Stephen Moylan, from 1771, to June 17, 1773. 
 J. M. Nesbitt, from June, 1773, to June, 1774. 
 Wm. West, from June, 1774, to June, 1776. 
 Benjamin Fuller, from June, 1776, to June, 1779. 
 Thomas Barclay, from June, 1779, to June, 1781. 
 George Campbell, from June, 1781, to June, 1782. 
 J. M. Nesbitt, from June, 1782, to March, 1796 — 
 
 (thirteen years, nine months.) 
 Stephen Moylan, from March, 1796, to 1798. 
 
 Secretaries and Treasurers, viz. 
 Wm. Mitchell, 1771. 
 Benjamin Fuller, March, 1772. 
 Samuel Caldwell, Sept. 8th, 1775. 
 John Brown, Sept. 17th, 1792. 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 SKETCHES OF THE HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 Henry Hill was a native of Maryland, and many 
 years a merchant trading with Madeira. '^ Hill's 
 Madeira " was proverbial. He resided in the house in 
 4th street, below Spruce Street, afterwards occupied 
 by the late Dr. Physick. He died of the yellow fever, 
 in 1798, leaving a very large estate, but no family. 
 Mr. Hill was a member of the Legislature, and a 
 mild, amiable, highly respectable man. He sub- 
 scribed ^5,000 in 1780, for supplies to the American 
 army. 
 
 John Dickinson, a distinguished lawyer, statesman 
 and writer. He was President of Delaware and of 
 Pennsylvania, a member of the Pennsylvania as- 
 sembly, in 1764, of the general congress, in 1765, of 
 the first revolutionary congress, in 1774, and subse- 
 quent years. Though doubtful of the expediency 
 of declaring independence, yet when once declared, 
 he was the only member of Congress who marched, 
 within a few days after, to meet the enemy. He 
 wrote many of the able and eloquent state papers 
 issued by the first Congress, having already acquired 
 an uncommon reputation b3^his celebrated "Farmer's 
 Letters." His writings greatly contributed to the 
 success of the Revolution. His conversation and 
 manners were very attractive, and his countenance 
 
( S3 ) 
 
 and person very fine. He died at Wilmington, 14th 
 February, 180S, aged 75. Encyclopaedia Americana^ 
 Vol. iv. p, 227. 
 
 Robert Morris, the distinguished financier, was a 
 native of England. At the age of thirteen he came 
 to America and entered the counting-house of Charles 
 Willing, Esq. At Mr. Willing's death he became a 
 partner of his son Thomas Willing, Esq., and the con- 
 nexion lasted 39 years. He took a decided part on the 
 side of the Colonies against the mother country, and 
 had the control of the American finances from, 1781, 
 to the close of the war. His house was a scene of 
 the most liberal hospitality, and open for nearly half 
 a century to all the strangers of distinction who 
 visited Philadelphia. Mr. Morris was a man of tem- 
 perate habits, but fond of convivial meetings. He 
 died in impoverished circumstances Sth of May, 1806, 
 aged 71. (Encyc. Amer. Vol. ix. p. 229.) Henry 
 Morris, the late excellent sheriff of Philadelphia, was 
 his son. In 1780, Mr. Morris subscribed £10,000 
 for supplying the American army with provisions. 
 
 Richard Penn, grandson of Wm. Penn, and son of 
 
 Richard Penn, and Lardner, his wife, was born 
 
 in 1734. This gentleman was the most amiable and 
 popular of all the descendants of Wm. Penn, and, 
 had his spirit and principles been paramount in the 
 province, much of the quarrelling and heart-burn- 
 ings between the proprietaries, governors, and as- 
 sembly, would have been prevented. He was lieu- 
 tenant-governor of the Province from October, 1771, 
 to September, 1773, when his administration was 
 6 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 terminated by the return of his brother, John Penn, 
 from England. He married Miss Polly Masters, 
 and died in England in ISll, aged 77, leaving seve- 
 ral children. His wife died in 1829, aged 73. He 
 is described as a fine, portly-looking man, and a 
 bon vivanU Of course, he went to England on the 
 breaking out of the Revolutionary War, without, 
 however, forfeiting the regard of his friends, who 
 belonged to the resistance party. He presented to 
 George the 3d the last petition sent by the colonies, 
 i^.t a dinner of the Society prior to his leaving Phi- 
 ladelphia, he is said to have perpetrated this signifi- 
 cant pun. Several gentlemen present were discussing 
 .he expediency of union, and the necessity the friends 
 of liberty lay under, ^Ho hang together,' ' in order to 
 ensure the success of their cause. Mr. Penn, laugh- 
 ing, remarked, "Unless you hang together, you will 
 very likely hang separately.^' 
 
 James Searle was a native of Cork, Ireland, and a 
 wine merchant of Philadelphia, having also a house 
 in the island of Madeira, under the firm of John 
 Searle and Co. " Searle's Madeira^' was as famous 
 a brand as "Hill's." He died about the year 1799. 
 Mr. Searle was one of the greatest wits of the time, 
 .a high-bred gentleman, and very convivial. 
 
 William Hicks was prothonotary of Buck's county, 
 and died during the war. 
 
 General John Cadwalader, one of the best and 
 bravest officers of the Revolutionary war, and one of 
 the earliest advocates of the cause of liberty, was a 
 native of Philadelphia, where he raised and com- 
 manded a company of volunteers, composed of the 
 
( 55 ) 
 
 young men of Philadelphia, called by the tories the 
 silk stocking company, but most of whom were af- 
 terwards distinguished officers in the regular army. 
 He was a member of the Pennsylvania Convention 
 of 1775, appointed by Congress Brigadier General 
 in 1777, participated in the battles of Princeton, 
 Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. His 
 vote in the council of war decided the question of 
 the attack in the last mentioned engagement. Wash- 
 ington intrusted him with one of the divisions of the 
 army, in the attack at Trenton. After the war, he 
 was a member of the assembly of Maryland, where 
 he died, February 10, 1786, aged 43. He was a re- 
 lative of John Dickinson, and a gentleman of great 
 fortune; grandfather of the present General George 
 Cadwalader, of Philadelphia. 
 
 Richard Bache was a native of England, and came 
 to this country in early life, and at the beginning 
 of the Revolution was chairman of the republican 
 society, in Philadelphia. He married the only 
 daughter of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, whom he 
 succeeded, as Post-master General of the United 
 States, November, 1776, which office he retained 
 until 1782. He died in Berks county, Penna., 
 July 29, 1811, aged 74. Mr. Bache was one of the 
 originators of the Hibernian Society. His grandson, 
 Alexander Dallas Bache, who now superintends the 
 coast survey under the government of the United 
 States, and was late a professor in the Military aca- 
 demy at West Point and in the Universit}^ of Penn- 
 sylvania, is one of the most distinguished scientific 
 men in the country. 
 
( 5Q ) 
 
 Colonel Lambert Cadwalader, brother of the pre- 
 ceding General John Cadwalader, was an officer in the 
 Revolutionary army. He was in the battle on Long 
 Island, and at Fort Washington, where he was taken 
 prisoner, but afterwards exchanged. He was a re- 
 presentative in Congress, from New Jersey after the 
 war, and one of the commissioners appointed by 
 Washington for receiving subscriptions to the first 
 Bank of the United States. He died about 20 years 
 ago, near Trenton, New Jersey, where his son. Ge- 
 neral Cadwalader, now resides. He was a highly 
 honourable gentleman. 
 
 Samuel Meredith, son of Reese Meredith, an emi- 
 nent merchant, the particular friend of General 
 Washington, and early patron of Commodore Barry. 
 
 JSIr. Meredith was a man of large fortune. He 
 served as Colonel in the Militia in several campaigns 
 during the war of the Revolution, and was appointed 
 by Washington treasurer of the United States. He 
 married a sister of General John Cadwalader, and re- 
 moved to Luzerne, where he died, about 20 years 
 ago. Colonel Meredith subscribed i;5,000 for the 
 army in 17S0. He was a high-bred gentleman, and 
 a most amiable and honourable man. 
 
 William Hamilton, a native of Philadelphia, and a 
 man of very great wealth. He owned the ground 
 upon which the city of Lancaster is built, besides 
 very valuable real property in and around Philadel- 
 phia, and resided at the Woodlands on the banks of 
 the Schuylkill. He was an eminent botanist, and 
 fond of conviviality. Being supposed to have es- 
 poused the cause of Great Britain against the colonies, 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 and, after the commencement of the war, having 
 ceased to attend the meetings of this society, we find 
 the followingentry upon the minutes of the meeting on 
 the 17th June, 1782: "Upon motion made and second- 
 ed, resolved that the vote of this society be taken at the 
 next meeting vvhether William Hamilton, Esq., shall 
 be longer considered an honorary member of this soci- 
 ety." And at the meeting on 17th Sept., 17S2, the fol- 
 lowing: "The vote being taken, agreeably to the re- 
 solve of last meeting, respecting William Hamilton, 
 Esq., the members met, having considered the cir- 
 cumstances respecting this gentleman, and particularly 
 having observed that he hath not attended any of the 
 meetings of the Society since the anniversary 1774, 
 though he hath been regularly notified of all the 
 meetings since held, we therefore presume it is either 
 inconvenient or not agreeable to his own inclinations 
 to attend, and therefore vote that he be no longer 
 considered as an honorary member of the Society." 
 Mr. Hamilton was afterwards tried at Philadelphia 
 for treason, but acquitted. He died about twenty 
 years since. 
 
 John Lardner was a native of Philadelphia, and son 
 of Linford Lardner, an English gentleman of high 
 breeding, and one of the council of the Province, 
 both before and after the death of William Penn. 
 Mr. John Lardner served during the war in the first 
 City Troop, which one of his sons recently com- 
 manded. The Lardner family have always been 
 highly honourable and respectable. Several of his 
 sons are now living in the city of Philadelphia. 
 
 6* 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 Richard Peters was an eminent American judge 
 and agriculturist. Born near Philadelphia, Augu&t 
 22d, 1744. From his youth he was distinguished for 
 his wit, humour, and vivacity. He was closely con- 
 nected with Robert Morris in all the exertions and 
 sacrifices which were made for supplying the necessi- 
 ties of the American army. At the opening of the Re- 
 volution, he became a captain of a company of volun- 
 teers; was afterwards employed in the War Office, 
 and served for some time as a member of Congress, 
 General Washington appointed him Judge of the 
 District Court of Pennsylvania, which office he occu- 
 pied with distinguished ability for thirty-six years, 
 until his death. In private life he was pre-eminent 
 for convivial humour, and the number and felicity 
 of his bon mots. Encyclopaedia Americana, Vol. X. 
 p. 56. Mr. Peters subscribed jC5,000 for supplying 
 the army in 17S0. 
 
 William Bingham was a native of Philadelphia, and 
 a gentleman of great wealth and influence. During 
 the American war he was prize agent for Pennsyl- 
 vania, in the island of Martinique. In 1786, he re- 
 presented Philadelphia in Congress, and in 1795 suc- 
 ceeded Robert Morris as senator. Mr. Bingham 
 married Miss Willing, one of the most beautiful wo- 
 men of America, by whom he had several children, 
 one of whom married Mr. Baring of England, now 
 Lord Ashburton. The statue of Franklin, over the 
 entrance of the Philadelphia Library, was presented 
 to the company, by Mr. Bingham. 
 
 He was a gentleman of liberality and intelligence. 
 He subscribed ^5,000 in 1780, to supply the army* 
 
( 59 ) 
 
 He resided in the house now known as the " Mansion 
 House Hotel," in South Third street. He died in 
 England, in 1804, aged 52. 
 
 Colonel Thomas Lloyd Moore, a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, son of Gov. Moore of the province, who was 
 a frequent guest at the dinners of the society. Thos. 
 L. Moore was a colonel in the American army. He 
 was a gentleman of high breeding and fine manners, 
 and fond of social enjoyments. He was father of 
 Mrs. Richard M. Willing, and grandfather of Thos. 
 Moore Willing, Esq., of Philadelphia. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 SKETCHES OF OTHER MEMBERS. 
 
 Isaac Ml, or Jluld, was captain of a merchant ves- 
 sel, belonging to Mease and Caldwell, which traded 
 between Philadelphia and France, after the war. He 
 seems to have been in London in September, 1783, 
 and was charged by the society with bringing from 
 thence as many gold medals for the members as he 
 could procure for 439 livres Tournois. He was an 
 amiable man, and mucii esteemed by his friends. 
 
 John Barclay was a native of Ireland, a shipping 
 merchant, and for many years president of the bank 
 of Pennsylvania. He was mayor of Philadelphia in 
 1791, and remained in the city during the whole time 
 that the yellow fever raged there, in 1793, attending 
 
( 60 ) 
 
 to his duty and business^ and escaped the fever. He 
 was one of the First Troop of City Cavalry. A man 
 of very handsome manners, father-in-law of Mr. 
 Clement Biddle. 
 
 Thomas Barclay, an original member. See ante. 
 
 William Barclay, a native of Ireland, and merchant 
 of Philadelphia. He was on board of the Shilelab, 
 which sailed for France from the capes of the Dela- 
 ware after the war, and was never heard of. 
 
 John Barry was the first commodore of the Ame- 
 rican navy. He was born in the county of Wexford, 
 Ireland, in 1745.* In February, 17S1, he sailed in 
 the frigate Alliance, from Boston to L'Orient, car- 
 rying Colonel Laurens on an embassy to the French 
 court. He sailed again from Boston, in the same 
 vessel, and carried La Fayette and the Count de 
 Nouailes to France. It is related that Gen. Howe, at 
 one period, attempted to bribe him to desert the cause 
 of America, by the promise of 15,000 guineas, and 
 the command of a British frigate, and that the ofier 
 was rejected with disdain. Commodore Barry served 
 from the commencement to the close of the war, and 
 was engaged in several actions with distinguished 
 success. His exertions contributed in no small de- 
 gree to the success of the revolution. He enjoyed 
 
 * Mr. Barry entered the merchant service in early life, as 
 captain of a ship owned by Reese Meredith, (father of Samuel 
 Meredith, one of the honorary members of this society,) with 
 whom he was a great favourite. General Washington, on his 
 visits to Philadelphia, always staid at Mr. Reese Meredith's 
 house, and thus became acquainted with Captain Barry anti 
 his abilities. 
 
( 61 ) 
 
 the entire confidence of General Washington, from 
 whom he, more than once, received a public expres- 
 sion of thanks. He died at Philadelphia in 1803, 
 aged 58, after a life of usefulness and honour. This 
 estimable man was about the ordinary stature; his 
 person was graceful and commanding; his whole de- 
 portment was marked by dignity, unmixed with os- 
 tentation; and his strongly-marked countenance ex- 
 pressed the qualities of his mind, and the virtues of 
 his heart. The late Commodore Dale was a favourite 
 protege of Commodqre Barry. (Encyc. Am.) 
 
 Captain Thomas Bait was for some time vice-pre- 
 sident of the society; a retired half-pay officer of the 
 British army, and a man of highly respectable cha- 
 racter. Having attached himself to the Tory party 
 at the commencement of the revolution, he was ex- 
 pelled from the society for his outrageous loyalty. 
 {See Minutes.) 
 
 Colonel Ephraim Blaine, a native of Ireland, who 
 had settled in Carlisle. He became a quarter-master 
 in the American army during the war, and was well 
 known in the interior of the State for his patriotic 
 exertions in the cause of the American revolution. 
 
 John Bleakly was a native of Philadelphia. His 
 father was born in the north of Ireland, and amassed 
 a large fortune in America, which was mostly inhe- 
 rited by his son John. Mr. Bleakly was a gentle- 
 man of liberal education and great accomplishments. 
 He was one of the few young Americans of the time 
 whose fortune permitted them to travel in Europe. 
 After spending some years abroad, he returned to 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 America, and died in Philadelphia about the year 
 1803. He was distinguished for his benevolence, 
 and his zeal in the promotion of all literary objects. 
 Being disappointed in love, he never married. He 
 left a large estate, and among other charitable be- 
 quests, he left to the corporation of Philadelphia 
 cjCl,000, as a fund to procure fuel during the winter 
 season, for poor house-keepers, widows — and ^1,000 
 as a fund to relieve those who may be reduced to the 
 necessity of being placed in the hospital during the 
 existence of the yellow fever, both of which bequests 
 were paid into the city treasury in 1804. The former 
 bequest, with Mr. Girard's of ^10,000, for a similar 
 purpose, yields much relief to many of the poor of 
 Philadelphia every winter. The yellow fever fund 
 was paid over to the managers of Wills' Hospital, 
 under the authority of an act of Assembly, passed 
 April 16, 1S3S. 
 
 John Boyle was a native of the north of Ireland, 
 and pursued the linen business in Philadelphia. He 
 was an original member of the First Troop, of re- 
 markably social habits, and much esteemed. 
 
 John Brown, a native of Ireland, accomplished in 
 all gentlemanly tastes, came to America in early life, 
 was engaged in the counting-house of Robert Morris, 
 and was secretary of the board of war during the revo- 
 lution. He enjoyed the confidence of all the distin- 
 guished public men of the time, and amassed a large 
 fortune in trade. Some of his acquaintances speak 
 of him as having contributed liberally to the neces- 
 sities of his early friends. He died in Philadelphia 
 a few years since. He was one of the founders, and 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 his nephew, Mr. John Brown Parker, is now a mem- 
 ber of the Hibernian society. 
 
 Col Richard Butler was born in Pennsylvania, of 
 Irish parents. He was one of five brothers, all dis- 
 tinguished officers in the American army of the re- 
 volution. He distinguished himself on frequent oc- 
 casions during the war, particularly at Stony Point, 
 and Saratoga. He rose to the rank of Major General. 
 He was second in command in the expedition under 
 General St. Clair, against the Indians, in 1791, and 
 was killed at the battle of the 4th of November, at 
 the defeat of St. Clair. Two of his brothers fought 
 desperately in the same battle. The Indian chief, 
 Little Turtle, afterwards boasted of having toma- 
 hawked General Butler at that battle, having found 
 him wounded, leaning against a tree. He was a mem- 
 ber of the society of the Cincinnati. Honourable 
 mention is made of General Butler in Marshall's Life 
 of Washington. The Butlers are a branch of the 
 family of the dukes of Ormond. 
 
 Andrew Caldwell, an original member. See ante. 
 
 David Caldwell, son of Samuel Caldwell, already 
 referred to among the original members, — succeeded 
 his father in the office of clerk of the District Court 
 of the United States, and continued in it until his re- 
 signation in October 6, 1831, the forty-second an- 
 niversary of the original appointment of his father 
 as Mr. Caldwell remarks in his letter of resignation, 
 addressed to the late Judge Joseph Hopkinson, son 
 of Judge Francis Hopkinson, who had appointed his 
 father. The reply to this letter of resignation, is 
 highly honourable to the two fathers and the tvv(^ 
 
 I'k 
 
{ 64 ) 
 
 sons. «I reciprocate," says Judge Hopkinson, ^^most 
 truly your expressions of aifection and respect. Our 
 intimacy commenced in our childhood, and was the 
 growth of the friendship that subsisted between our 
 fathers. I think we may now say that it is not 
 likely to be interrupted during our lives." Speaking 
 of the estimation in which Mr. Caldwell was held by 
 the bar, he says, "You know how much they esteem 
 you, and how highly they value your services, as well 
 as the liberal and courteous manner in which they 
 have always been rendered." The members of the 
 bar presented him with a silver cup, on his leaving 
 his office, as a testimonial of their esteem and regard, 
 and of appreciation of his long and valuable services 
 to the profession. Mr. Caldwell, at his death, left a 
 widow and some children. One of his daughters 
 married Dr. Bradford of Philadelphia. It is to Mrs. 
 Caldwell and the good offices of Francis Hopkinson, 
 Esq., that the Hibernian Society are indebted for the 
 rules, minutes, &c., of the society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick — a donation which led to the pre- 
 paration of this work, by order of that society. Mr. 
 Caldwell's long life of usefulness and unsullied inte- 
 grity won for him the esteem of all who knew him, 
 and that chief earthly reward of a well spent life, "a 
 conscience void of offence towards God, and towards 
 man." 
 
 James Caldwell — a merchant of Philadelphia, and 
 a member of the First Troop of Cavalry. He was a 
 very amiable man, and remarkably handsome. He 
 died soon after the war. Mrs. Kepley of Philadel- 
 phia is his daughter. He subscribed i^2,000 in 1780, 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 for the supply of the American army. He was an 
 original member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 John Caldwell, a native of Philadelphia, whose pa- 
 rents were Irish. He was by profession a lawyer — 
 for a time first clerk in the war department, and 
 afterwards removed to Baltimore. 
 
 Samuel Caldwell, one of the original members. See 
 ante. 
 
 George Campbell, an original member. See ante. 
 
 James Campbell, a native of the north of Ireland. 
 He was a worthy, honest, much esteemed man, and 
 died of the yellow fever in 1797. He was a shipping 
 merchant in company with the late Stephen Kingston, 
 under the firm of Campbell and Kingston. His only 
 child married Captain John Donnaldson. He was an 
 original member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 Samuel Carson, a native of Ireland, and a very ex- 
 tensive shipping merchant of Philadelphia. He left 
 a large fortune. Some of his descendants still reside 
 in Philadelphia, among them Dr. Carson. 
 
 Daniel Clark, a native of Ireland — well known in 
 Philadelphia in early life. A man of superior energy 
 and business talents, and of high honour and integrity. 
 He was for some time a merchant in this city, but 
 removed to Natchez after the war, where he died, 
 after having amassed a large fortune. His house was 
 the scene of liberal hospitality. His nephew, Daniel 
 Clark, was formerly a member of Congress from 
 New Orleans. 
 
 Dr. John Cochran, a native of Chester county, 
 Pennsylvania. He was a surgeon in the American 
 army of the revolution. He settled in the state of 
 7 
 
( 66 ) 
 
 New York after the war, where he held an office 
 under the general government until his death. 
 
 Dr. Cochran was beloved and esteemed at head 
 quarters, and among all the officers of the army, and 
 members of Congress. He married into the Schuyler 
 family of New York. The Cochran family furnished 
 to Chester county and to the several departments of 
 the United States government, many of their most 
 valuable and respectable officers. 
 
 James Collins was a native of the south of Ireland, 
 a dry goods merchant, and partner of Capt. Truxton 
 of the navy. The firm was Collins and Truxton. 
 Mr. Collins was a member of the Legislature from 
 Berks county, Pennsylvania, and a gentleman distin- 
 guished by his polite and affiible manners. 
 
 William Constable was a partner of Robert Morris 
 in New York, and married in the White family there. 
 He was an elegant and accomplished man. His fa- 
 mily is now in New York, and connected with the 
 M'Vicar and other highly respectable families of that 
 city. 
 
 David Hayjield Conyngham, a highly respectable 
 gentleman, and very extensive merchant, a native of 
 the north of Ireland. He was an original member 
 of the First Troop of City Cavalry. He was a partner 
 of J. M. Nesbitt and Co., and Conyngham and Nes- 
 bitt, already referred to. Mr. Conyngham died a few 
 years ago, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. One 
 of his sons, Mr. Nesbitt Conyngham, resides in Lan- 
 caster, and another is a judge at Wilksbarre. Mr. 
 Conyngham was a relative of the famous Commo- 
 
( 67 ) 
 
 dore Gustavus Conyngham, a native of the county 
 Donegal, Ireland. 
 
 James Crawford, a native of Ireland, and eminent 
 shipping merchant, trading under the firms of Haines 
 and Crawford, and James Crawford and Co. He 
 was an ardent friend to the cause of American free- 
 dom, and one of the founders of the First Troop and 
 of the Hibernian Society. After the war, he traded 
 to the West Indies, and became an insurance broker 
 in company with John Donnaldson. He was ruined 
 by the plunder of Lord Rodney at St. Eustatius. 
 
 George Davis, an original member. 
 
 Sharp Delany, a native of the County Monaghan, 
 Ireland, was a druggist in Philadelphia, before the 
 war. He was a member of the Legislature, and an 
 honorary member of the Society of the Cincinnati. 
 General Washington appointed him Collector of the 
 Port of Philadelphia, which office he held until his 
 death. One of his daughters is still living. He was 
 an active member of the Committee of Merchants, 
 of Philadelphia, prior to the establishment of the 
 Federal Constitution, in preparing the measures, 
 (which were afterwards carried into effect,) for the 
 regulation of commerce. He enjoyed the friendship 
 and confidence of all the public men of the day. He 
 subscribed ^5,000 to supply the army in 1780, and 
 was an original member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 John Donnaldson, the son of Hugh Donnaldson, a 
 native of Dunganncn, who emigrated to America 
 early, and married in Philadelphia. John Donnald- 
 son was an enterprising man, and useful citizen, a 
 member of the First City Troop. He was, for many 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 years, Register and Controller of the State, through 
 many administrations, and died in the year 1831. He 
 left a large family, many of them still living, and 
 well known in Philadelphia. He subscribed ^62,000 
 for supplying the American army with provisions in 
 1780. 
 
 John Dunlap was born in Strabane, County of 
 Tyrone, Ireland, in 1746. He emigrated at an early 
 age to America, settling in Philadelphia, where, like 
 Franklin, he became a printer, and by his industry 
 and enterprise, one of the most extensive in the 
 country. In Nov., 1771, he issued in Philadelphia the 
 first number of the Pennsylvania Packet, or General 
 Advertiser. From Sept., 1777, to July, 1778, whilst 
 the British were in possession of Philadelphia, this 
 newspaper was printed in Lancaster. From 1784, 
 it was published daily, being the first daily paper 
 printed in the United States. It was afterwards 
 transferred to Mr. Poulson, and continued to be pub- 
 lished until a few years ago. Mr. Dunlap was printer 
 to the Convention which met in Philadelphia before 
 the Revolution, and also to Congress, and was the 
 first person who printed and published to the world 
 " The Declaration of Independence.'' Thus an Irish- 
 man, Charles Thompson, Secretary of Congress, first 
 prepared this immortal document for publication, 
 from the rough draft of Jefierson: the son of an Irish- 
 man, Colonel Nixon, as already mentioned, had the 
 honour of first publicly announcing and reading it 
 from the State House; a third Irishman, Mr. Dunlap, 
 first printed and published it to the world, whilst 
 hosts of Irishmen contributed their property and 
 
( 69 ) 
 
 their lives to sustain and establish it. Mr. Dunlap 
 was one of the original members of the First Troop 
 of Philadelphia Cavalry, and served as Cornet in it 
 with distinction during the war. 
 
 He afterwards became Captain of the Troop, and 
 commanded the right wing of the army against 
 the insurgents, in Western Pennsylvania, with the 
 rank of Major, under the United States, which has 
 been already referred to in alluding to the First 
 Troop. By his talents and industry, he amassed a 
 large fortune. He purchased from the State of Vir- 
 ginia 98,000 acres of land, in Meade, and the adjoin- 
 ing counties of Kentucky, much of which is still in 
 the possession of his descendants. He also owned 
 the lands on w^hich Utica, Indiana, is now built. 
 The square of ground between Chestnut and Market, 
 and Eleventh and Twelfth Streets, now part of the 
 estate of the late Stephen Girard, belonged to Mr. 
 Dunlap, as did the greater part of the ground on 
 Chestnut Street, between Twelfth and Thirteenth 
 Streets. He died on the 27th Nov., 1812, in the 
 66th year of his age, and was buried with all the 
 honours of war. He left several children. One of 
 his daughters married the late Dr. Bleight, whose 
 son, John D. Bleight, Esq., is a member of the bar of 
 Philadelphia, — another is Dr. Samuel Bleight, and 
 their sister, Mrs. Hazlehurst, now resides in Ken- 
 tucky. Mr. Dunlap subscribed ^64,000 in 1780, to 
 supply provisions for the American army. 
 
 T/ios. Fitzsbnmons, an original member — See ante. 
 
 Tench Francis, do do do 
 
 Turbult Francis, do do do 
 
 7* 
 
( 70 ) 
 
 Benjamin Fuller, an original member — See ante. 
 
 George Fidlerlon, do do do 
 
 Archibald Gamble was Professor of Oratory and 
 Classics, in the University of Pennsylvania, and 
 greatly beloved by the students. He was from 
 Chester County, Pennsylvania, or the adjoining Dis- 
 trict of Maryland. He was a self-made man, — one of 
 the early political writers, and generally supposed 
 to have been the author of some of the most able 
 political tracts published in Pennsylvania, between 
 the years 17S0-S5. He was father of the late Thos. 
 Gamble, Esq., formerly American Consul at St. 
 Thomas, and Aid-de-camp to Von Sholten, the Da- 
 nish Governor of the Island. 
 
 Robert Gray was the son of George Gray, a native 
 of Ireland. His father was owner of Gray's Ferry, 
 and for many years Speaker of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives of Pennsylvania. Though of a Quaker 
 family, Mr. Robert Gray was a bon vivant. 
 
 Captain John Green was the commander of a mer- 
 chant ship. He had the honour of commanding the 
 ship Empress, burden 360 tons, on her voyage from 
 New York to Canton, in 1784, in the first voyage 
 made to China by any vessel from the United States. 
 He sailed Feb. 22, 1784, and returned May 11th, 
 1785. An account of the friendly reception of this 
 vessel by the Chinese merchants, and the several 
 commodores of the European nations, then at Can- 
 ton, may be found in Hazard's Register of Pennsyl- 
 vania, vol. I. p. 284. 
 
 General Edward Hand, one of the most distin- 
 guished officers of the American Army of the Revo- 
 
( 71 ) 
 
 lution, so high in the confidence of General Wash- 
 ington, as to be called one of his right-hand men. 
 He studied medicine under Dr. Rush, and resided at 
 Lancaster, Pa. He distinguished himself in many of 
 the battles of the Revolution, and was intrusted with 
 the management of some of the most difficult and im- 
 portant enterprises. He was one of the original 
 members of the Cincinnati. It is to be regretted 
 that no adequate biography of this most eminent 
 man has yet been published, but it is understood his 
 memoirs are now preparing for publication by a gen- 
 tleman of Philadelphia. 
 
 James Hawthorn, a native of Ireland, was a re- 
 spectable dry goods merchant of Philadelphia. 
 
 Charles Heatly was a gentleman of fortune and 
 barrister, in Ireland. He was compelled to leave his 
 native country and his estate, on account of some pa- 
 triotic effort, whereby his zeal had exposed him to ihe 
 malignity of the government. He practised law for 
 many years in Philadelphia, and was highly esteemed 
 for his integrity, conviviality, and many amiable 
 qualities. His name occurs occasionally in Dallas' 
 Reports. He was one of the founders of the Hiber- 
 nian Societ3^ His vvit,likea sharp and highly polished 
 sword, whilst it pierced without effort, left behind 
 no clumsy gashes or incurable wounds. As a speci- 
 men, not so much of Mr. Heatly's wit, as of the 
 manner in which the Philadelphia lawyers of the 
 last century hit each other, the following anecdote 
 may be related. A certain caustic veteran of the 
 bar was remarkable for his skill in spinning the 
 thinnest legal cobwebs, and for possessing the thinnest 
 
( 72 ) 
 
 pair of legs, of any man in the community, legs, 
 which Mr. Heatly frequently referred to under the 
 appellation of "spindle shanks." In a certain en- 
 counter at the bar, Mr. H. ridiculed with a good deal 
 of effect, the tenuity of his learned friend's distinc- 
 tions, who retorted sharply, saying, " that the inabi- 
 lity of his adversary to comprehend his distinctions 
 was not owing to the thinness of the argument, but 
 the thickness of his (Mr. H's.) skull." Heatly me- 
 ditated revenge, and next morning having procured 
 the longest and thinnest pair of eels to be found in 
 the fish market, had the skins scientifically stitched 
 together and carefully enveloped in a sheet of letter 
 paper, which on opening in court the old lawyer 
 discovered to the great amusement of their surround- 
 ing friends, what Mr. Heatly, in his complimentary 
 note, begged to present to him as a ^'pattern for a pair 
 of breeches.^' 
 
 George Henry vvas a native of Ireland, and ship- 
 ping merchant in Philadelphia. 
 
 Hugh Holmes, a native of Ireland, a merchant and 
 partner of Robert Rainey, in the firm of Holmes and 
 Rainey. He was amiable, sociable, good-tempered, 
 and a bon vivant. He was one of the founders, and 
 afterwards for many years the President of the Hi- 
 bernian Society. 
 
 George Hughes, a native of Ireland, was a dry goods 
 merchant of Philadelphia, a member of the 1st Troop, 
 and the first cashier of the Bank of Pennsylvania, 
 which office he held until his death. Mr. Hughes 
 was a bon vivant, very amiable, and a great favourite 
 with all who knew him. He was one of the origi- 
 nal members of the Hibernian Society. 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 Colonel Francis Johnston was born at New London 
 Cross Roads in Chester county, Pa. He was a gal- 
 lant officer during the war,through the whole of which 
 he served with great distinction. He was the face- 
 tious secretary of the fishing club before the war, a 
 member of the city troop, and after the war a mem- 
 ber of the Cincinnati. He also served as sheriff of 
 the City and County of Philadelphia, and was ap- 
 pointed by the general government a commissioner 
 to treat with the Indians in 1784, when the treaty of 
 Fort Stan wix was executed. His son, Alexander John- 
 ston, still resides in Philadelphia, and his grandson,W. 
 P. Johnston. — Col. Johnston was one of the founders 
 of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 William Irvine, a Brigadier General in the Re- 
 volutionary army, was born in Ireland, educated for 
 the profession of medicine, and served for some 
 time as surgeon on board a British ship of war, after- 
 wards removed to America, and settled as a physi- 
 cian at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In January, 1776, he 
 was authorized to raise and command a regiment of 
 the Pennsylvania line, which in a few months after- 
 wards he fully equipped. He fought in company 
 with General Wayne, under General Thompson 
 (both also members of this Society) in Canada, 
 was taken prisoner and detained nearly two years. 
 After his release he was promoted and intrusted with 
 the defence of the north-western frontier, which was 
 threatened by the British and Indians; a charge not 
 only requiring courage and firmness, but great pru- 
 dence and judgment, and which was executed in a 
 manner which fully justified the choice of General 
 Washington. He was a member of Congress under 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 the confederation, and a member of the convention 
 which framed the constitution of Pennsylvania. Af- 
 ter the war he removed, with his family, from Car- 
 lisle to Philadelphia, where he became intendant of 
 military stores, and president of tiie Pennsylvania 
 society of Cincinnati. He continued to reside in 
 Philadelphia, universally respected for his public and 
 private virtues, until the summer of 1804, when he 
 died in the 63d year of his age. His son, the late 
 Callender Irvine, Esq., succeeded him in the office 
 of Commissary General, which he held till the time 
 of his death. He inherited all the virtues of his fa- 
 ther, and was for many years vice president of the 
 Hibernian Society. 
 
 Major General H. Y. Knox was born in Boston, of 
 Irish parents, though of Scotch descent, in 1750. 
 He was actively engaged, and greatly distinguished 
 throughout the whole Revolutionary contest, and was 
 Secretary at war and of the navy, under General 
 Washington, until 1794, when, after serving his coun- 
 try for nearly twenty years, he retired from public 
 life, and was declared by Washington to have "de- 
 served well of his country." General Knox was 
 celebrated for his amiable manners and convivial qua- 
 lities. He died in 1806, aged fifty-six. 
 
 George Latimer was a native of Delaware, born of 
 Irish parents. He was a commission merchant — and 
 for some years Speaker of the assembly in Pennsyl- 
 vania. He was afterwards appointed Collector of the 
 Port of Philadelphia. He was a man of high re- 
 spectability, very benevolent and charitable. Mr, L. 
 was one of the founders of the Hibernian Society. 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 Thomas Lea was a native of Dublin, Ireland. 
 He was a shipping merchant of Philadelphia, count- 
 ing house in Front near Arch Street. He married 
 a daughter of Chief Justice Shippen; was an origi- 
 nal member of the Hibernian Society, — and a high- 
 ly respectable and accomplished gentleman of the 
 old school. 
 
 John Leamy was a native of Ireland, and a Roman 
 Catholic. He came to America after the war, from 
 Spain, where he had been residing for some years. 
 He was long an eminent merchant of Philadelphia, 
 and a gentleman of high respectability. He was one 
 of the original members of the Hibernian Society. 
 Mr. Leamy had much of the true Irishman in him. 
 Prompt, active and energetic in business, he possessed 
 much of that generosity and liberality which it seems 
 unnatural to find wanting in any of his countrymen. 
 He died about eight years ago. He was for many 
 years president of the Marine Insurance Company 
 of Philadelphia. 
 
 James Logan was a native of Philadelphia, son of 
 the celebrated James Logan, a native of Lurgan, in 
 the north of Ireland, the confidential adviser and tried 
 friend of William Penn, and the munificent founder 
 of the Loganian Library. The subject of this no- 
 tice belonged to the Society of Friends, as well as the 
 Society of Friendly Sons. He was a gentleman of great 
 vveath and respectability. He died unmarried. 
 
 Many of the Logan family or blood still reside in 
 or near Philadelphia. Dr. Albanus Logan, who re- 
 sides near Germantown, retains so much of his great 
 ancestor in his person and deportment, that he might 
 
( 76 ) 
 
 be mistaken for a true Irish gentleman, as he is in 
 reality a true American gentleman. 
 
 Ulyssus Lynch, an original member. 
 
 Blair M'Clenachan was a native of Ireland. He 
 was in business in Philadelphia before the Revolu- 
 tion, but, on the breaking out of the war, engaged in 
 privateering, in which he was very successful, accu- 
 mulating much wealth, and living in good style. He 
 was most ardent and devoted to the the cause of liber- 
 ty, and one of the founders of the first troop of Phi- 
 ladelphia city cavalry, in which he served during the 
 war. He co-operated most liberally in all the patri- 
 otic exertions and schemes of Robert Morris, and his 
 compatriots in urging on, sustaining, and establish- 
 ing the cause of American freedom. He subscribed 
 £10,000 in 1780 to supply the starving army, and on 
 various occasions aided Congress by his money, and 
 his credit, and suffered much thereby in a pecuniary 
 way, though repaid by the approbation of the whole 
 country, and the triumph of the cause. After the 
 war he engaged largely in various mercantile opera- 
 tions, and was an extensive ship owner. His specu- 
 lations resulted in his embarrassment, and, like his 
 great friend Robert Morris, in his incarceration. Mr. 
 M^Clenachan had a large family. One of his daugh- 
 ters married General Walter Stewart. Some of his 
 descendants are living in Philadelphia. His grand- 
 daughter married Thomas Penn Gaskill, Esq., of Phi- 
 ladelphia, now a member of the Hibernian Society. 
 Mr. M'Clenachan had much of the quickness, promp- 
 titude, and warmth of temperament which character- 
 sizes Irihmen, and his generosity, patriotism, and 
 
( 77) 
 
 self sacrifices in the cause of his adopted country 
 ought not soon to be forgotten by Americans. After 
 the war he had for his partner in business Patrick 
 Moore, a member of the Society of the Friendly Sons 
 of St. Patrick, and an original member of the Hiber- 
 nian Society. In local politics Mr. M'Clenachan 
 belonged to the party who so much disapproved 
 the provisions of "Jay's Treaty," and so warmly op- 
 posed its ratification. When asked what he would do 
 
 with it, he indignantly replied, "kick it to , sir;" 
 
 whereupon the opposite party immediately issued a 
 laughable caricature, well remembered by many citi- 
 zens of the present day, representing Mr. M'C. in 
 the act of kicking the treaty to the dominions of his 
 Satanic Majesty. 
 
 He died at Philadelphia, and was interred in the 
 grave-yard of St. Paul's Church, in Third Street. 
 
 George Meade, an original member. See ante. 
 
 James Moore was an officer in the American army 
 during the war, and afterwards a druggist in Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 Patrick Moore, partner of Blair M'Clenachan, an 
 extensive merchant and ship owner, and an original 
 member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 James Moylan, brother of General Stephen Moylan 
 and Jasper Moylan. 
 
 Jasper Moylan was a native of the south of Ireland, 
 brother of General Stephen Moylan. He practised 
 law in Philadelphia for many years, and was a gen- 
 tleman of high breeding, great wit, and a hon vivanU 
 Mr. Moylan was a member of the First Troop, and 
 accompanied it in the Northampton expedition of 
 8 
 
( vs ) 
 
 1799. He is represented by those who remember 
 him at the bar as being a lawyer of more soundnesg 
 than brilliancy, and enjoying an extensive practice. 
 His name occurs frequently in the Pennsylvania 
 reports. He died about the year 1811. Several of 
 his grandchildren are still living. Robert Walsh, Esq. 
 (now of Paris, France) married his only child. He 
 was an original member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 John Moylan, brother of the preceding, was a 
 Quarter Master in the American army. He was 
 lost in the Shilelah on her voyage to France after 
 the war. 
 
 Stephen JlJoylan, an original member. See ante. 
 
 John Murray, one of the firm, Bunner, Murray, 
 and Co., dry goods merchants of Philadelphia. His 
 firm subscribed £6,000 for the supply of the army 
 in 1780. 
 
 J. J)L J^esbitt, an original member. See ante. 
 
 Alexander Jfeshitl, a highly respectable dry goods 
 merchant, partner of Generat Walter Stewart. He 
 was a member of the First City Troop. 
 
 Colonel Francis JVichols, an officer in the army of 
 the revolution, appointed by General Washington the 
 first marshall of the district of Pennsylvania. He 
 was a member of the Cincinnatti, and a member of 
 Congress. He died at Norristown some years ago. 
 
 John J^ixon, an original member. See ante. 
 
 Michael Morgan O'Brien, was a native of Ireland, 
 a merchant and bon vivant. He married the widow 
 of Wm. Bingham, Esq., a lady of large fortune. He 
 was for some years consul at Algiers, and died in 
 France, about the year 1804. He was an original 
 member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
( 79 ) 
 
 Colonel John Palton, a native of Ireland, served 
 with great gallantry in the Pennsylvania line during 
 the whole war. He was afterwards an auctioneer in 
 Philadelphia, in partnership with General St. Clair. 
 He was a large, fine-looking man. He moved to 
 Northumberland county, where he died. Colonel 
 Patton subscribed ^2,000 to supply the American 
 army, in 1780. 
 
 John Patterson, an original member of the Hiber- 
 nian Society. 
 
 Oliver Pollock, a native of Ireland, settled in New 
 Orleans before the American revolution, where he 
 amassed a large fortune in mercantile business. New 
 Orleans then belonged to the Spaniards, who, at the 
 commencement of the war, took no part in favour 
 of the colonies. This did not prevent Mr. Pollock 
 from rendering efficient services to the cause of 
 liberty, which he ardently embraced. He had an 
 opportunity of showing his sentiments on the fol- 
 lowing occasion. Colonel Gibson of Pittsburgh, 
 father of Chief Justice Gibson of Pennsylvania, un- 
 dertook a most arduous and perilous journey to New 
 Orleans by order of the Governor of Virginia, to 
 purchase gunpowder for the American army. The 
 Spanish authorities could not openly sanction this 
 transaction, but through the good offices, tact, and 
 influence of Mr. Pollock, the gunpowder was pur- 
 chased, and shipped to Philadelphia. In the journals 
 of Congress* is a notice of a bill of exchange drawn 
 by Oliver Pollock, at New Orleans, on Congress, for 
 six thousand one hundred and forty-six dollars, and 
 duly accepted, which doubtless was to reimburse him 
 * See Journals of Congress, Vol. VI. p. 244. 
 
( so ) 
 
 for this purchase. It is worthy to mention here, 
 as an instance of the hardships, dangers, and sacrifices 
 which the patriots of the revolution cheerfully en- 
 countered, that Colonel Gibson returned from New 
 Orleans to Pittsburgh on foot through regions either 
 altogether uninhabited by man, or inhabited only 
 by Indians, many of them hostile.* Towards the end 
 of the war we find Mr. Pollock attending the meet- 
 ings of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, of which 
 he became a member, June 17, 1783. He after- 
 wards settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was an 
 original member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 Robert Rainey vvas a native of Ireland, and partner 
 with Hugh Holmes, (also a member of this society,) 
 in the house of Holmes and Rainey, largely engaged 
 in the Irish linen trade. He was an amiable and 
 worthy man. He married Miss Kepley of Phila- 
 delphia, and was one of the founders of the Hiber- 
 nian Society. 
 
 Captain Thomas Read was commander of the 
 Alliance frigate, turned into a merchantman after the 
 war, and owned by Robert Morris. He was the 
 fourth Captain who sailed to China after the cessa- 
 tion of hostilities. He made the voyage by a new 
 route; sailed in June, 1787, and returned in 1788. 
 He died at Bordentown, New Jersey. Mrs. Read 
 was the grandmother of Captain Stockton of the 
 United States Navy. 
 
 Thos. Robinson was a native of the north of Ireland, 
 and emigrated to America before the war of the 
 Revolution. He served with distinction during that 
 struggle, and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. 
 
 * See an account of this expedition in Rogers' Am. Biog» 
 Diet. tit. Gibson. — last edition, 8vo. 
 
( SI ) 
 
 A branch of the Robinson family still resides at 
 Naaman's Creek, Delaware County, the residence of 
 General Robinson: and his son, Thomas Robinson, 
 Esq., now lives in Philadelphia. General Robinson 
 was one of the first American officers who visited 
 England after the war of independence, and appear- 
 ing in Drury Lane Theatre in his full uniform, was 
 received by the audience with loud cheers. A few 
 moments afterwards, another officer entered an ad- 
 joining box in British uniform, and was greeted by 
 the audience with hisses and groans. That officer 
 was General Arnold. General Robinson was bro- 
 ther-in-law of General Antony Wayne. 
 
 General John Shee, an original member. See ante. 
 
 Doctor Hugh Shiell, a native of Ireland, and a gra- 
 duate of Edinburgh. He emigrated near the com- 
 mencement of the Revolutionary war, and practised 
 medicine for some time in Philadelphia. Afterwards 
 he removed to Kentucky, and was drowned in cross- 
 ing a river: — a man of education, good humour, and 
 of very handsome manners. Mr. Crittenden of the 
 United States Senate, and Mr. Boswell of Louisville, 
 Kentucky, married in the family of Dr. Shiell. Dr. 
 Shiell subscribed ,£5,000, to supply the American 
 army with provisions in 1780. 
 
 General Walter Stewart, an Irishman, from Lon- 
 donderry. He came to America very young, en- 
 tered the regular army, and, about the age of twenty- 
 one, was appointed a Colonel of Jnfantry, to the 
 great annoyance of many native American officers of 
 greater age and longer standing. He was called 
 " the boy Colonel.'^ His conduct justified the choice, 
 8* 
 
(82 ) 
 
 and he rose to the rank of Brigadier General. Ge- 
 neral Stewart was remarkable for his beauty and ele- 
 gant manners. He married the daughter of Blair 
 M'Clenachan before noticed, and was an original 
 member of the Hibernian Society. 
 
 General William Thompson was a native of the 
 north of Ireland, emigrated to America before the 
 Revolution, and settled in Carlisle. He accompa- 
 nied Montgomery in his expedition against Quebec, 
 was promoted to the rank of General, and commanded 
 the American forces at the battle of Trois Rivieres, 
 in Canada, June, 1776. Wayne and Irvine served 
 under him in that engagement, and Generals Thomp- 
 son and Irvine were taken prisoners. They were 
 afterwards exchanged, and served during the re- 
 mainder of the war. General Thompson died soon 
 after its conclusion. His courage was of the most 
 fiery and chivalrous character, and his patriotism 
 equal to his courage. 
 
 George Washington, Commander in chief of the 
 armies of America, in the war in which her inde- 
 pendence was achieved. First President of the 
 United States, "first in war, first in peace, and first 
 in the hearts of his countrymen " — " the greatest 
 man that ever lived in the tide of times — we ne'er 
 shall look upon his like again." These descriptions 
 of Washington are trite, but true. They are admit- 
 ted even by the enemies of America. Frederick the 
 Great of Prussia, no mean judge of military talents, 
 pronounced him " the greatest general of his age," 
 and Lord Brougham, a high authority in such cases, 
 has declared him " the wisest of statesmen.'' All 
 
(83 ) 
 
 that need be said here is, that during the war of the 
 Revolution, he received the most valuable aid from 
 Irishmen, both as privates and officers, and ever ac- 
 knowledged and appreciated their services. If the 
 Irishmen who fought under him, and with him, 
 during the war, or contributed their fortunes and 
 influence to promote its success, had not espoused the 
 cause of the liberties of America, the country might 
 now, perhaps, be in a very different condition to 
 what it is. Washington made no distinction of na- 
 tions in conferring honours on merit, — and hence his 
 Irish troops adored him, and he loved them in re- 
 turn. Nothing can be said at this time to add lustre 
 to the character of Washington, or more widely dis- 
 seminate his fame. From 1780, until he finally left 
 Philadelphia, — he frequently attended the festivities 
 of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, of which he was 
 an adopted member, very many of the members be- 
 ing his brethren in arms, and among his most inti- 
 mate and confidential friends. 
 
 Major General Antony Wayne was born of Irish 
 parents, in Chester County, Pa., in 1746. His father 
 emigrated from Ireland in 1722. He entered the 
 army at the age of 29, and fought in Canada, in 
 company with General William Irvine, under Ge- 
 neral Thompson, (both also members of this soci- 
 ety,) was actively engaged in the battles of Brandy- 
 wine, Germantown, Monmouth, &c., and led the as- 
 sault in the most desperate attack on Stony Point, at 
 the head of his men at the point of the bayonet. He 
 succeeded St. Clair in command of the forces sent 
 against the Indians, and gained a complete victory 
 
(84) 
 
 over them at the Miamis, August 20th, 1794. He 
 died in 1796, at Presque Isle, aged 57, and was bu- 
 ried on the shore of Lake Erie. General Wayne 
 was sometimes called ^^ mad Antony," on account 
 of his desperate valour. It would seem as if he had 
 bitten many of his associates of the Friendly Sons; 
 for the fighting members appear to have been seri- 
 ously afiected by the same species of hydrophobia. 
 
 John West, brother to Francis West, Jr., mentioned 
 below. 
 
 William West, an original member, see ante. 
 
 Francis West, Jr., son of Wm. West, one of the ori- 
 ginal members, and father of Dr. West, and of Captain 
 West, (in the Liverpool trade) now of Philadelphia. 
 The Hibernian Society obtained the long forgotten 
 Records of this glorious old Society, on the I7t}i 
 June, 1843, and twelve days afterwards Mr. West, 
 the last surviving member of the '' Friendly Sons,*' 
 descended to the grave full of years and honours. 
 
 Had the " Friendly Sons of St. Patrick " desired 
 to select a gentleman of their Society to transmit 
 and illustrate to posterity, in his own character, all 
 that was most amiable and honourable in theirs, they 
 could not have found a more perfect representative 
 than Francis West, Jr. 
 
 No information has been obtained concerning the 
 following members, namely: 
 
 John West, Wm. Erskine, 
 
 Ulysses Lynch, Robert Glen, 
 
 Wm. Bourke, Alexander Holmes, 
 
 Dr. Robert Boyd, John Mitchell, Jr, 
 
 Henry Boyle, Henry Moore, 
 
( 85 ) 
 
 William Broion, John Patterson, 
 
 William Caldwell, Charles Stewart, 
 
 John Connor, William West, Jr. 
 
 John While, Joseph Wilson. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 THE CONNEXION OF THE SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDLY 
 SONS OF ST. PATRICK, WITH THE HIBERNIAN SOCI- 
 ETY, AND THE ORIGIN OF THE LATTER. 
 
 Some time after the conclusion of the revolutionary 
 war, several members of the Society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick, in connexion with other bene- 
 volent persons, formed the design of creating a 
 society whose object should not be solely convivial, 
 but which, whilst it would tend to keep up and che- 
 rish that friendly and social intercourse, which ap- 
 pears more natural to the Irish than to the people of 
 any other nation, would at the same time give exercise 
 to other traits not less prominent in their character, 
 generosity, charity, and protection to the distressed. 
 Of the immense numbers of the surplus population of 
 Ireland, which oppression and constant increase cast 
 every year on the shores of America, many on their 
 arrival, were necessarily in destitute circumstances, 
 A little assistance to them on their landing, and for 
 some time afterwards, might enable them by industry 
 and good conduct, to become prosperous men and 
 useful citizens; — Whereas, if abandoned on their ar- 
 rival, to mendicity or destitution, they might form 
 
(86 ) 
 
 such associations and fall into such habits, as would 
 lead them to ruin and degradation, and to become 
 inhabitantseitherof the jail or alms-house. To carry 
 those objects into effect, and to prevent these evils, 
 was the original design in establishing the Hiber- 
 nian Society, and it has been uniformly adhered to 
 down to the present time. While the Society has 
 ever been ready to afford advice and assistance to 
 the poor and oppressed emigrant from Ireland, its 
 members have not ceased to assemble together, at 
 stated periods, for social enjoyment; and the celebra- 
 tions of their quarterly and anniversary meetings 
 have not been unworthy of the successors of the 
 " Friendly Sons of St. Patrick." 
 
 These members placed at their head the honourable 
 Thomas M'Kean, the Chief Justice, and afterwards 
 Governor of Pennsylvania, who had often enjoyed 
 the hospitality of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. 
 In conjunction with others, they formed themselves 
 into a charitable association, under the name of 'The 
 Hibernian Society, for the relief of emigrants from 
 Ireland,' with a laudable view and intent (to use the 
 words of the charter,) to aid and assist poor and op- 
 pressed persons emigrating from Ireland into Penn- 
 sylvania. The object appears to have met the cor- 
 dial approbation of the authorities, and a charter of 
 incorporation was granted to the Society on the 27th 
 April, 1792, (signed by Governor Mifflin, who afore- 
 time had frequently experienced the hospitality of 
 the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.) The 
 preamble recites that "it is highly proper to promote 
 the designs of the said Society, inasmuch as they ma}- 
 greatly contribute to the strength and prosperity of 
 
( S7 ) 
 
 this State, and of the United States, by encouraging 
 emigration from Ireland." 
 
 The names of seventeen members of the Society 
 of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick are specially enu- 
 merated in the charter, namely, 
 Brig. Gen. W. Stewart, — of whom see ante, p. 81 
 JohnLeamy, " « « 75 
 
 Patrick Moore, " « « 77 
 
 Sharp' Delany, '' « " 67 
 
 James Crawford, " « *« 67 
 
 John Brown, " " « 67 
 
 Michael Morgan O'Brien, " " « 78 
 Oliver Pollock, « " " 79 
 
 Thomas Lea, " " " 75 
 
 John Maxwell Nesbitt, '' " " 75 
 
 George Hughes, " " " 72 
 
 Jasper Moylan, « " " 77 
 
 George Meade, " " " 77 
 
 James Campbell, " " " 65 
 
 , Robert Rainey, " <* " 80 
 
 Hugh Holmes, « « " 72 
 
 Charles Heatly, « " " 71 
 
 And five other members are found on the roll of 
 the new society: namely, 
 
 Richard Bache, — of whom see ante, p. 55 
 James Caldwell, « " " p. 64 
 
 Francis Johnston, " " " p. 73 
 
 George Latimer, " " " p. 74 
 
 John Patterson, " « " p. 79 
 
 Though the glorious old Society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick no longer exists, the Hibernian 
 
(88) 
 
 Society may boast of being its offspring — not alto- 
 gether unworthy of such a parentage. It is true 
 that the twenty-two members of the old society, who 
 undertook the creation of the new, had views very 
 different from the twenty-two who many years before 
 formed the other surviving offspring of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick, namely, the First Troop of Phi- 
 ladelphia Cavalry,* (though several of them were the 
 same men;) yet, perhaps, tlie Hibernian Society, in 
 her long, though silent career of usefulness, might 
 venture to oppose in friendly rivalry, its achieve- 
 ments in the arts of peace, against the more brilliant 
 achievements of her brother, the First City Troop, 
 in deeds of war. Both have long survived their pa- 
 rent, and both are still prepared, like that parent, to 
 perform their duty faithfully whenever called on. 
 The Hibernian Society is at present in the full tide 
 of usefulness. Its funds amount to near $15,000, 
 and are constantly increasing, the interest whereof 
 is annually expended in carrying out the objects of 
 the Society. 
 
 Unlike its distinguished predecessor in one respect, 
 the "Hibernian Society" embraces among its mem- 
 bers, not only Irish, and the descendants of Irish, but 
 those of other nations who desire to enjoy with them 
 the pleasures of its convivial meetings, or extend the 
 hand of kindness and protection to the needy and 
 friendless emigrant from heland. On its roll of mem- 
 bers of the past and present time, may therefore be 
 found some of our most respectable and distinguished 
 citizens, natives of France, Germany, England, and 
 the United States. 
 
 * See ante, p. 17. 
 
RULES, 
 
 AN D 
 
 EXTRACTS FEOM MINUTES 
 
RULES 
 
 TO BE OBSERVED BY THE SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDLY SONS 
 OF ST. PATRICK. 
 
 Firsty That the society shall meet four times in the 
 year, to wit, the 17th of March, the 17th of June, 
 the 17th of September, and 17th of December. 
 
 That public notice shall be given by the secretary, 
 a week before the day of each meeting, and that the 
 annual meeting shall be on the 17th of March. 
 
 Second, That the meeting on the 17th of June shall 
 be always considered a meeting of business. That no 
 strangers can be admitted on that day. That the 
 president and vice-president for the ensuing year be 
 then elected by ballot, and that the president so 
 elected shall, at any time before the next quarterly 
 meeting, call a council, to consist of eight members, 
 including the vice-president, treasurer, and secretary. 
 Third, That each member shall furnish himself 
 with a gold medal, of the value of three guineas, 
 agreeable to the following description: — On the right, 
 Hibernia; on the left, America; in the centre, 
 Liberty joining the hands of Hibernia and Ame- 
 rica, to be represented by the usual figures of a fe- 
 male supported by a harp for Hibernia. An Indian 
 with his quivers on his back, and his bow slung, for 
 America. 
 
( 92 ) 
 
 "Underneath, Unite. 
 
 On the reverse, St. Patrick trampling on a snake, 
 a cross in his hand, dressed in Pontificalibus. 
 
 The motto Hiar. 
 
 J\)mW/i, That any member, (residingin the province,) 
 neglecting to appear with his medal, at the meeting 
 on the 17th of March, shall forfeit the sum of 7s. 6d., 
 and for such neglect at any of the other meetings, 
 the sum of 5s., unless beyond sea, and that such fine, 
 as well as all other fines, shall be paid into the hands 
 of the treasurer. 
 
 Fifth, That a number of honorary members, not 
 exceeding ten, may be admitted. 
 
 Sixth, That the descendants of Irish parents, by 
 either side in the first degree, and the descendants of 
 every member ad infinitum (honorary members ex- 
 cepted,) shall have a natural right of application, to be 
 admitted members of this society. 
 
 Seventh, That the honorary members shall not have 
 a privilege of voting on any occasion, neither shall 
 they be subject to any fines whatsoever. 
 
 Eighth, That any person desirous of becoming a 
 member, shall signify his desire to the secretary, who 
 is to give notice to each member ten days before the 
 next quarterly meeting, mentioning the name of the 
 person proposed, and that the said person so proposed 
 shall be balloted for at the said meeting, and that at 
 such elections three black balls shall exclude any 
 candidate, and that there can be no election unless at 
 a meeting of twelve or more members. 
 
 J^inlhf That all fines shall be disposed of at the 
 meeting of the 17th of June. 
 
( 93 ) 
 
 Tenth, That each member shall have the privilege 
 of asking a stranger at his own expense. That at the 
 annual meeting, the President shall have the privilege 
 of asking any number of strangers he may think pro- 
 per in the name of the Society, at the expense of the 
 members then met, but the strangers introduced by 
 him at any other meeting (the Governor for the 
 time being excepted) shall be at his own expense. 
 
 Eleventh, That any member refusing to pay his 
 fine, on or before the first meeting after such fine 
 shall be imposed, shall be no longer considered a 
 member, unless being again balloted for in the usual 
 form. 
 
 Twelfth, That a book shall be kept by the Secre- 
 tary, containing fair minutes of the proceedings, sub- 
 ject to the inspection of every member. 
 
 Thirteenth, That each member be furnished with 
 a copy of these rules, and that no person shall be 
 considered a member until he has subscribed them. 
 
 To these rules are attached the original signatures 
 of members, both honorary and regular. 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 EXTEACTS 
 
 FROM THE MINUTES OF THE SOCIETY OF THE 
 FRIENDLY SONS OF ST. PATRICK. 
 
 At a meeting at Burns', on Tuesday, the 17th of 
 September, 1771, 
 Present, 
 Stephen Moylan, President. 
 John M. Nesbitt, Vice President. 
 William Mitchell, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 William West, John Nixon, 
 
 Thomas Barclay, Thomas Fitzsimmons, 
 
 John Mease, George Meade, 
 
 Randle Mitchell, George Campbell, 
 
 John Mitchell, Ulysses Lynch, 
 
 Turbutt Francis, George Fallerton. 
 
 Honorary Members. 
 Henry Hill, James Searle. 
 
 Mr. Moylan proposed John Cadwalader, Esq., as 
 an honorary member, to be balloted for next meet- 
 ing, of which the members met were desired to take 
 notice. 
 
 At a meeting held June 17, 1772, Mr. William 
 West, Jr., was balloted for, and elected, nem. con. 
 Mr. Stephen Moylan, President. 
 John M. Nesbitt, Vice President. 
 Elected for the ensuing year. 
 
( 95 ) 
 
 All the stock that may be in the Treasurer's hands, 
 on the 17th March next, to be applied towards that 
 day's expense, 
 
 Mr. Samuel Meredith proposed as an honorary 
 member, by Mr. Moylan. 
 
 Richard Bache proposed as an honorary member, 
 by Mr. Nesbitt. 
 
 Lambert Cadwalader proposed as an honorary 
 member, by Mr. Barclay. 
 
 John Murray, (by Mr. John Mitchell,) applied for 
 admittance. 
 
 Mr. John White having reported to the President 
 and company met, that Mr. James Mease desired 
 him, (in London) to acquaint the Society that he had 
 made inquiry, what a set of dies for striking medals 
 (agreeably to the rules) would cost, and found they 
 could not be got under fifty or sixty pounds, — it is 
 the opinion of the present company, that they ought 
 to be procured, and therefore do order the Secretary 
 to call upon each member of the Society for fifty 
 shillings currency, and to purchase a bill for fifty 
 pounds sterling, which he is immediately to remit 
 to Mr. James Mease, or, in his absence, to Mr. Wm. 
 Mitchell, towards the purchase of a neat and complete 
 set of dies, to be forwarded here by the first opportu- 
 nity. 
 
 Philadelphia, June 20th, 1772. 
 
 Mr. James Mease, (London.) 
 Dear Sir, — 
 
 I am directed to inform you, that the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick came to the following 
 resolve, at their quarterly meeting, on the 17th inst. 
 [T/ien follows the above resolution-l 
 
{ 9e ) 
 
 On consulting with our mutual friend, Mr. Bar- 
 clay, who is of opinion that you may have left Lon- 
 don before this reaches you, have concluded to enclose 
 the bill to Mr. Petrie, also this letter open, that in 
 case you have been so good as to have purchased a 
 set at your own cost, he might apply the bill to your 
 credit. The enclosed note to Mr. Mitchell is only 
 meant, that in case you have left Europe without the 
 dies, he may get the bill and apply it to the design 
 proposed. I take the liberty to give you the follow- 
 ing description of the intended medal. 
 
 [Here foUoiDs a description of the medal, for which see 
 p. 22, 23,-91, 92."] 
 
 If the dies shall cost more than the sum sent, the 
 Society will cheerfully reimburse you with thanks. 
 I am very respectfully, dear sir, 
 
 Your most ob't. and humble servant, 
 
 B. Fuller. 
 
 Under the foregoing. 
 
 Philadelphia, June 20th, 1772. 
 
 Mr. William Mitchell, 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I have the pleasure of acquainting you that the 
 Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick have 
 intended you the honour of executing what is con- 
 tained in the foregoing to Mr. Mease, in case that 
 gentleman has left Europe before this reaches you, 
 and has not done it. Mr. Petrie will have Mr. 
 Barclay's directions to deliver the bill to either. 
 I am, &c. B. Fuller. 
 
 At a meeting of the President and Council, (at 
 Duffy's Tavern,) the 3d December, 1772: 
 
( 9T) 
 
 Present, 
 
 Mr. Stephen Moylan, President. 
 John M. Nesbitt, Vice President. 
 William West, Thomas Barclay, 
 
 James Mease, William Mitchell, 
 
 Benjamin Fuller, Secretary. 
 
 Resolved, That the Society meet at Mr. MuUan's 
 Tavern, on. the 17th inst, and that notice be given 
 accordingly. 
 
 Resolved, That Mr. Mease provide claret for said 
 meeting. 
 
 Mr. William Mitchell, reported to the President 
 and Council, that he had, (while in London,) re- 
 ceived the fifty pounds sterling bill forwarded him, 
 by the Secretary, and that he had bespoke a com- 
 plete set of dies, which could not be got ready under 
 two or three months. That he was informed they 
 might receive injury at sea, and if they were the 
 least rusted, they would be rendered useless; and 
 also that in case they came safe to hand, it was more 
 than probable, that a person could not be found to 
 make proper use of them; for the least error in exe- 
 cuting would totally spoil them; and that machinery 
 to fix them for striking med^ds, would cost a consi- 
 derable sum. On these considerations he had or- 
 dered them to be lodged with Mr. William Moore, 
 Goldsmith, in Pater Noster Row, No. 4, until the 
 sentiments of the Society were taken. 
 
 The President and Council having taken the above 
 report into consideration, do submit their opinion 
 thereon, to the quarterly meeting, on the 17th inst, 
 which is, — That the dies do remain in London with 
 
{ 98 ) 
 
 Mr. William Moore. That every new member, oii 
 their admittance, do pay unto the Secretary, for the 
 time being, the sum of thirty shillings, towards re- 
 imbursing the present members (who have advanced 
 for the payment of the dies,) the sum they have sub- 
 scribed more than thirty shillings; and that after the 
 advance is fully paid up, the said sum of thirty 
 shillings shall be still collected from new members, 
 and become part of the Society's stock, to be disposed 
 of at every June meeting, as the fines are. 
 
 That each subscribing member may write to Mr. 
 William Moore for his medal, or lodge money with 
 Mr. William Mitchell, who has kindly offered to 
 take the trouble of writing for any number that may 
 be ordered. 
 
 At the anniversary meeting, (at Smith's Tavern,) 
 the 17th March, 1774: 
 
 Present, 22 ordinary members — 7 honorary mem- 
 bers; namely, — 
 
 The honourable Richard Penn, John Cadwalader, 
 Robert Morris, Richard Bache, Lambert Cadwalader, 
 Samuel Meredith and William Hamilton. 
 
 Guests, His Honour the Governor, (John Penn,) 
 &c. &c. 
 
 At a meeting of Council, .... 7th December, 
 1774: 
 
 Present, Mr. William West, President. 
 Samuel Caldwell, John M. Nesbitt, 
 
 Thomas Barclay, George Campbell, 
 
 William Mitchell, Benjamin Fuller. 
 
( 99 ) 
 
 Ordered, That the Society meet at the City Ta- 
 vern, on Saturday, the 17th inst. 
 
 That an invitation be given to the Governor. 
 
 That Mr. John M. Nesbitt and Mr. James Mease 
 order a good plain dinner for twenty, and choose the 
 liquors. 
 
 Dr. Robert Boyd (per Thomas Barclay,) and Mr. 
 Antony Wayne (per Sharp Delany,) have applied to 
 be admitted members. 
 
 The Secretary to give notice thereof to each mem- 
 ber. 
 
 At a quarterly meeting of the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, held at the City Ta- 
 vern, on Monday, the 18th December, 1775: 
 
 A motion being made and seconded, that Thomas 
 Batt, a member of this Society, should be expelled 
 for taking an active part against the liberties of 
 America, the determination was postponed till the 
 next meeting, in order for a more deliberate conside- 
 ration. 
 
 At a meeting of the Council, held at J. M. Nes- 
 bitt's, the 11th March, 1776: 
 
 Present, William West, President. 
 Thomas Barclay, James Mease, 
 
 John M. Nesbitt, George Campbell, 
 
 Samuel Caldwell. 
 
 Ordered, That Mr. Nesbitt and Mr. Mease, speak 
 for dinner at Mr. Smith's Tavern, for thirty gentle- 
 
( 100 ) 
 
 men, to be on table at four o'clock, on Monday, the 
 ISth inst., and that they shall choose the wines and 
 other liquors for the occasion. 
 
 At an annual meeting at Smith's Tavern, the 18th 
 March, 1776: 
 
 The question being put upon the motion made at 
 last meeting, whether Captain Thomas Batt be ex- 
 pelled from the Society, it was unanimously carried 
 in the affirmative. 
 
 JVofe. The State of Pennsylvania having been 
 invaded, and the city of Philadelphia taken by the 
 British army, under the command of General Sir 
 William Howe, in September, 1777, the Society had 
 no meeting till September, 1778, the minutes of the 
 meetings in September and December, 1776, and in 
 March and June, 1777, are unfortunately lost. 
 
 At a quarterly meeting of the Society, at the City 
 Tavern, the 17th September, 1778: 
 
 Present, Present^ 
 
 Benjamin Fuller, President, John Mease, 
 Sharp Delany, Blair M'Clenachan, 
 
 James Mease, John Mitchell, 
 
 John Boyle, Samuel Caldwell, 
 
 Henry Hill, H. M. 
 
 Honorary members abse7it, 
 John Dickinson, Richard Bache, 
 
 Robert Morris, James Searle, 
 
 Richard Penn, Lambert Cadwalader, 
 
 John Cadwalader, Samuel Meredith, 
 
 William Hamilton,. 
 
( 101 ) 
 
 Absent, Absent, 
 
 Thos. Fitzsimmons,j/?ne<i55. Thos. Barclay, Ji7ied 5s. 
 
 J. M. Nesbitt, " 5^. George Davis, '* 5*. 
 
 John Shee, " 5^. John Nixon, " 5^» 
 
 Andrew Caldwell, " 5s. Tench Francis, " 5^. 
 
 John Murray, " 5s. Stephen Moylan, 
 
 George Henry, " 6s. Antony Wayne, 
 
 George Campbell, " 6*. Randle Mitchell, 
 
 William West, Jr,, " 5^. Matthew Mease, ) beyond 
 
 George Meade, " 5s. D. H. Conyngham, J sea. 
 
 William West, " 5s. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Nesbitt, Mr. John Donnaldson, 
 Mr. James Caldwell, and Gen. William Thompson, 
 have applied by Mr. John Mitchell, to become mem- 
 bers of this Society, of which the secretary is to give 
 notice. 
 
 At a quarterly meeting at George Evans', the 17th 
 June, 1779, 
 
 Thomas Barclay, Esq., was elected President, and 
 
 George Campbell, Esq., Vice-President for the en- 
 suing year. 
 
 Agreed, that such members of this Society who are 
 officers in the army, shall not be subject to fines for 
 absence while in service in the field. 
 
 Colonel Francis Johnston is proposed as a candi- 
 date by General Wayne, to be balloted for at next 
 meeting, of which the Secretary is to give notice. 
 
 At a quarterly meeting at George Evans', Monday, 
 December 18, 1781, 
 
 Present, Present, 
 
 George Campbell, Esq., Pre- Matthew Mease, 
 sident, Sharp Delany, 
 
 10 
 
( 102 ) 
 
 John Mitchell, 
 John Dunlap, 
 George Hughes, 
 Hugh Shiell, 
 Jasper Moylan, 
 John Cochran, 
 B. M'Clenachan, 
 Ephraim Blaine, 
 Walter Stewart, 
 
 Guests. 
 General Howe, 
 
 Absent, 
 Antony Wayne, 
 Richard Butler, 
 William Irvine, 
 R. Mitchell, J^^^^^j^^g^^^^ 
 G. Davis, S 
 John Boyle, sick, 
 Jos. Wilson, out of the State. 
 John Mease, fined 5s. 
 
 William Barclay, 
 Alexander Nesbitt, 
 Charles Stewart, 
 Stephen Moylan, 
 James Mease, 
 J. M. Nesbitt, 
 D. H. Conyngham, 
 William Constable, 
 Samuel Caldwell, 
 
 Guests. 
 Major M'Pherson, 
 Mr. John Lardner. 
 
 Absent, 
 George Henry, 
 John Donnaldson, 
 John Barclay, 
 John Patton, 
 John Brown, 
 John Moylan, 
 M. M. O'Brien, 
 Francis Johnston, 
 Thomas Barclay, 
 William West, Jr., 
 John Patterson, 
 James Moylan, 
 John Barry, 
 James Crawford, 
 John Mitchell, Jr. 
 Isaac All, 
 
 John Cochran, at camp. 
 N. B. All the honorary members were absent. 
 Mr. William Constable having been duly proposed, 
 was unanimously elected a member of the Society. 
 
 ne 
 
 ^5*. 
 
 (( 
 
 ds. 
 
 (( 
 
 bs. 
 
 (( 
 
 5s. 
 
 <( 
 
 5s. 
 
 (( 
 
 5s. 
 
 <( 
 
 5s. 
 
 (( 
 
 5s. 
 
 Thomas Fitsimmons 
 
 
 55. 
 
 John Shoe, 
 
 
 5s. 
 
 John Nixon, 
 
 
 5s. 
 
 Benjamin Fuller, 
 
 
 5s. 
 
 Andrew Caldwell, 
 
 
 5s. 
 
 James Caldwell, 
 
 
 5s. 
 
 Tench Francis, 
 
 
 5s. 
 
 John Murray, 
 
 
 5s, 
 
 George Mease, 
 
 
 5s. 
 
 beyond 
 
 At the anniversary meeting of the Society of the 
 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, held at George Evans', 
 on Monday, 18th March, 1782, 
 
( 103 ) 
 
 Present, 
 
 
 Preseni, 
 
 
 
 George Campbell, Esq. 
 
 ,Pr'd't. 
 
 Walter Stewart, 
 
 
 
 Thomas Fitzsimmons, 
 
 V. P. 
 
 Stephen Moylan, 
 
 
 
 General Washington, 
 
 
 John Dunlap, 
 
 
 
 Andrew Caldwell, 
 
 
 Benjamin Fuller, 
 
 
 
 J. M. Nesbitt, 
 
 
 Charles Stewart, 
 
 
 
 Alexander Nesbitt, 
 
 
 Ephraim Blaine, 
 
 
 
 John Barclay, 
 
 
 James Mease, 
 
 
 
 James Caldwell, 
 
 
 Matthew Mease, 
 
 
 
 George Hughes, 
 
 
 John Moylan, 
 
 
 
 George Henry, 
 
 
 John Mease, 
 
 
 
 M. M. O'Brien, 
 
 
 William Constable 
 
 ) 
 
 
 James Crawford, 
 
 
 General Hand, 
 
 
 
 Sharp Delany, 
 
 
 Samuel Caldwell, 
 
 
 
 D. H. Conyngham, 
 
 
 John Shee, 
 
 
 
 Hugh Shiell, 
 
 
 George Meade, 
 
 
 
 John Mitchell, 
 
 
 Jasper Moylan, 
 
 
 
 Honorary members present. 
 
 
 
 Governor Dickinson, 
 
 
 Richard Bache, 
 
 
 
 Robert Morris, 
 
 
 Samuel Meredith, 
 
 
 
 
 Henry Hill. 
 
 
 
 Absent, 
 
 
 Absent^ 
 
 
 
 John Cadwalader, 
 
 
 J. Boyle, sick. 
 
 
 
 Lambert Cadwalader, 
 
 
 Antony Wayne, 
 
 
 
 James Searle, 
 
 
 Richard Butler, 
 
 - at camp. 
 
 Richard Penn, 
 
 
 J. Cochran, 
 
 
 
 William Hamilton, 
 
 
 W. Irvine, 
 
 
 
 R. Mitchell, ^ 
 
 
 John Nixon, Jine 
 
 d 7s. 
 
 Gd. 
 
 G. Davis, \ out,of the State. 
 
 Tench Francis, '* 
 
 7s. 
 
 6d. 
 
 J. Wilson, ) 
 
 
 John Murray, « 
 
 7s. 
 
 6d. 
 
 Thomas Barclay,' 
 
 
 
 B. M'Clenachan, " 
 
 7s. 
 
 6d. 
 
 Wm. West, Jr., 
 
 
 
 John Donnaldson, 
 
 7s. 
 
 Qd, 
 
 J. Patterson, 
 
 
 
 John Patton, " 
 
 7s. 
 
 6d. 
 
 J. Moylan, 
 
 > beyond sea. 
 
 John Brown, *' 
 
 7s. 
 
 6d. 
 
 J. Barry, 
 
 
 
 Francis Johnston, 
 
 7s. 
 
 6d. 
 
 J. Mitchell, Jr., 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 L All, ) 
 
 £S 
 
 
( 104 ) 
 
 Guests, 
 President Mooro, 
 President Hanson, 
 General Lincoln, 
 General Dickenson, 
 General Moultrie, 
 General Steuben, 
 Mr. Muhlenberg, 
 Colonel Tilghraan, 
 Colonel Humphreys, 
 
 Guests, 
 Major Thomas L. Moore ,> 
 Major Walker, 
 Major M'Pherson,. 
 Captain Colefax, 
 Captain Truxton, 
 Mr. Carroll, 
 Mr. Collins, 
 Mr. Daniel Clark, 
 Mr. David Hoops. 
 Doctar Hagen. 
 
 Mr. Archibald Gamble, General Edward Hand, 
 General Knox, and Captain Thomas Read, were se- 
 verally balloted for, and unanimously elected mem- 
 bers of the society. 
 
 At an annual meetingof the Society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick, held at the City Tavern, on Mon- 
 day, the 17th March, 1783, 
 
 Present, thirty-two ortlinary members, and these 
 honorary, namely. 
 
 Lambert Cadwalader, 
 Samuel Meredith, 
 Richard Bache, 
 
 Guests, 
 Colonel Moore, 
 Doctor Draper, 
 Oliver Pollock, Esq., 
 Mr. William Hunter, 
 General M'Dougall, 
 General Baron Steuben, 
 Yice President Ewing^ 
 
 Henry Hill, 
 Robert Morris, 
 John Cadwalader, 
 
 Guests. 
 Hon. E. Boudenot, Presi 
 
 dent of Congress, 
 Honourable T, M'Kean, 
 
 Chief Justice, 
 General Lincoln, 
 M. Marbois, 
 M^ Livingston^, 
 
( 105 ) 
 
 Absent, Absent, 
 
 ^Stephen Moylan, ^ Randle Mitchell, J out of 
 
 Antony Wayne, 
 .Richard Butler, 
 Walter Stewart, 
 John Cochran, 
 Gen. Washington, 
 Edward Hand, 
 
 ■\ 
 
 Thomas Barclay, > the 
 
 George Davis, J State. 
 y at camp. William West, Jr.,"] 
 
 John Patterson, I beyond 
 
 James Moylan, { sea. 
 
 John Barry, J 
 John Boyle, sick. 
 
 At a meeting of the Society of the Friendly Sons 
 of St. Patrick, held at the City Tavern on Tuesday, 
 the 17th June, 1783, 
 
 John Maxwell Nesbitt was elected President. 
 Andrew Caldwell Vice-President; and Samuel Cald- 
 well Treasurer and Secretary for the ensuing year. 
 
 Mr. Oliver Pollock, Captain John Green, and Mr. 
 James Collins, were balloted for, and unanimously 
 chosen members of this Society. 
 
 Whereas, the war hath interrupted the intercourse 
 with Great Britain, and thereby put it out of the 
 power of the members who have been elected since 
 its commencement, of providing themselves with 
 medals, agreeably to the original rules of the Society: 
 Therefore, 
 
 Ordered, That the Secretary shall write to Mr. 
 William West, for as many as may be wanted, by 
 the members, who are requested to signify their de- 
 sire of being supplied, and to pay into his hands 
 three guineas and a half, besides thirty shillings en- 
 trance, in order to be remitted to Mr. West, to enable 
 him to comply with the order. 
 10* 
 
( 106 ) 
 
 And, as Mr. James Mease supplied the Society 
 with his own medal to present to General Washing- 
 ton upon his admission, which they are bound to re- 
 place, the Secretary is directed to order one for that 
 
 purpose. 
 
 Philadelphia, 29th Sept., 1783. 
 
 Captain Isaac All. 
 
 Sir: — Enclosed you have John Green's bill of ex- 
 change, at thirty days' sight, on Joshua Johnson of 
 London, for four hundred and thirty-nine livres Tour- 
 nois, which I request you will negotiate in the most 
 advantageous way, and with the money be pleased to 
 get as many medals for the St. Patrick's Society as 
 will amount to this remittance, and bring them along 
 with you. 
 
 The dies were left in the care of Mr. William 
 Moore, goldsmith, in Pater-Noster row, No. 4, to 
 whom you will please to apply, a reasonable time be- 
 fore your departure from London, that he may have 
 time to prepare them. 
 
 Your attention to this small matter will very much 
 oblige the members of the Society of the Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick, as well as. 
 Sir, 
 
 Your very humble servant, 
 Samuel Caldwell. 
 
 At a quarterly meeting of the Society, on Thurs- 
 day, 17th June, 1784, at the City Tavern, 
 
 The officers elected for the ensuing year, were 
 John Maxwell Nesbitt, President. 
 Andrew Caldwell, Vice-President, 
 Samuel Caldwell, Secretary. 
 
( 107 ) 
 
 Mr. James Campbell is proposed as a candidate by 
 John Moylan. 
 
 At a meeting of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, 
 held at the house of Samuel Richardet on the 17th 
 March, 1796, 
 
 The following members were present: — 
 General Stephen Moylan, John Dunlap, 
 
 Thomas Fitzsimrnons, John Barclay, 
 
 Jasper Moylan, Patrick Moore, 
 
 James Crawford, William Bingham, 
 
 John Leamy, Oliver Pollock, 
 
 John Barry, John Bleakley, 
 
 Francis West, John Moylan, 
 
 George Hughes, Robert Rainey, 
 
 John Caldwell, Thomas Robinson, 
 
 Thomas L. Moore, John Brown. 
 
 The place of President and Vice-President being 
 vacant by the resignation of Mr. John Maxwell 
 Nesbitt, and Mr. Jasper Moylan. The members 
 proceeded to the election of a President and Vice- 
 President, when 
 
 General Stephen Moylan was unanimously elected 
 President, and Thomas Fitzsimmons,Esq., was elected 
 Vice-President. 
 
 8th March, 1797, present S. Moylan, J. M. Nes- 
 bitt, &c. 
 
 It was agreed that no strangers should be intro- 
 duced on the 7th inst, in order to give the members 
 an opportunity of revising the rules, &c. 
 
 1798. No strangers except Mr. Murphy of St. 
 Thomas, a&ked. 
 
ALPHABETICAL 
 
 LIST OF THE MEMBERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDLY SONS OF ST. PATRICK. 
 
 [The pages refer to the biographical sketches.} 
 
 All, Isaap, elected June 18, 1781, - page 59 
 
 Barclay, John, elected June 17, 1779, - - 59 
 
 Barclay, Thomas, (original member,) - 33 
 
 Barclay, William, elected March 17, 1781, - 60 
 
 Barry, John, elected June 17, 1779, - - 60 
 
 Bait, Thomas, elected Sept. 17, 1773, - - 61 
 
 Blaine, Ephraim, elected June 17, 1780, - 61 
 
 Bleakly, John, elected March 17, 1794, - 61 
 Bourke, William, elected September 17, 1783, 
 Boyd, Robert, elected December 17, 1774, 
 Boyle, Hugh, elected December 17, 1787, 
 
 Boyle, John, (original member,) - - - 62 
 
 Brown, John, elected December 17, 1779, - 62 
 Brown, William, elected December 17, 1787, 
 
 Butler, Richard, elected March 17, 1781, - 63 
 
( 109 ) 
 
 Caldwell, Andrew, (original member, - - 38 
 
 Caldwell, David, elected March 17, 1794, - 63 
 
 Caldwell, James, elected December 17, 1778, 64 
 
 Caldwell, John, elected December 17, 1787, 65 
 
 Caldwell, Samuel, (original member,) - - 35 
 Caldwell, William, elected March 17, 1786, 
 
 Campbell, George, (original member,) - - 27 
 
 Campbell, James, elected September 17, 1784, 65 
 
 Carson, Samuel, (time of election unknown,) 65 
 
 Clark, Daniel, elected December 17, 1784, - 65 
 
 Cochran, John, elected September 17, 1781, - 65 
 
 Collins, James, elected June 17, 1783, - 66 
 Connor, John, elected March 17, 1783, 
 
 Constable, William, elected December 18, 1781, 66 
 
 Conyngham, D. H., elected March 17, 1775, - 66 
 
 Crawford, James, elected June 17, 1779, - 67 
 
 Davis, George, (original member,) - - 35 
 
 Delany, Sharp, elected December 17, 1772, 67 
 
 Donnaldson, John, elected December 17, 1778, 67 
 
 Dunlap, John, elected June 17, 1779, - 6S 
 
 Erskine, William, elected June 17, 1780, 
 
 Fitzsimmons, Thomas, (original member,) - 30 
 
 Francis, Tench, (original member,) - . - S7 
 
 Francis, Turbutt, (original member,) - 38 
 
 Fuller, Benjamin, (original member,) - - 36 
 
 Fullerton, George, (original member,) - 35 
 
 Gamble, Archibald, elected March 18, 1782, - 70 
 Glen, Robert, elected December 17, 1772, 
 
 Gray, Robert, elected March 17, 1781, - 72 
 
 Greene, John, elected June 1783, - - 78 
 
( no ) 
 
 Hand, Edward, elected March 18, 1782, - 70 
 
 Hawthorn, James, (time of election unknown,) 71 
 
 Heatly, Charles, elected March 17, 1783, - 71 
 
 Henry, George, elected September 18, 1775, 72 
 Holmes, Alexander, elected December 18, 1780, 
 
 Holmes, Hugh, elected March 17, 1791, - 72 
 
 Hughes, George, elected March 17, 1781, - 72 
 
 Irvine, William, elected March 17, 1781, - 73 
 
 Johnston, Francis, elected September 17, 1779, 73 
 
 Knox, Henry, elected March 18, 1782, - 74 
 
 Latimer, George, elected September 17, 1792, 74 
 
 Lea, Thomas, elected December 17, 1785, 75 
 
 Leamy, John, (time of election unknown,) - 75 
 
 Logan, James, elected March 17, 1775, - 75 
 Lynch, Ulysses, (original member,) 
 
 M'Clenachan, Blair, (time of election unknown,) 76 
 
 Meade, George, (original member,) - - 26 
 
 Mease, James, (original member,) - - 28 
 
 Mease, John, (original member,) - - 29 
 
 Mease, Matthew, (original member.) - - 28 
 
 Mitchell, John, (original member,) - - 31 
 Mitchell, John, Jr., elected March 17, 1781, 
 
 Mitchell, Randle, (original member,) - 31 
 
 Mitchell, William, (original member,) - - 31 
 Moore, Hugh, elected March 17, 1783, 
 
 Moore, James, elected December 17, 1785, - 77 
 
 Moore, Patrick, elected March 17, 1786, - 77 
 
 Moylan, James, elected December 17, 1772, - 77 
 
 Moylan, Jasper, elected June IS, 1781, - 77 
 
 Moylan, John, " " u . . 78 
 
( 111 ) 
 
 Moylan, Stephen, (original member,) - 25 
 
 Murray, John, elected September 17, 1772, - 78 
 
 Nesbitt, John M., (original member,) - 3^1 
 
 Nesbitt, Alexander, elected December 17, 1778, 78 
 
 Nichols, Francis, elected December 17, 1784, 78 
 
 Nixon, John, (original member,) - - - 34 
 
 O'Brien, Michael Morgan, elected June 18, 1781, 78 
 
 Patton, John, elected June 17, 1779, - - 79 
 
 Patterson, John, elected December 17, 1772, 79 
 
 Pollock, Oliver, elected June 17, 1783, - 79 
 
 Rainy, Robert, elected March 17, 1791, - 80 
 
 Read, Thomas, elected September 17, 1782, 80 
 
 Shee, John, (original member,) - - - 33 
 
 Shiell, Hugh, elected March 17, 1780, - 81 
 Stewart, Charles, elected June 18, 1781, 
 
 Stewart, Walter, elected June 17, 1779, - 81 
 
 Thompson, William, elected December 18, 1778, 82 
 
 Washington, George, adopted December 16, 1781, 82 
 
 Wayne, Antony, elected December 17, 1774, 83 
 
 West, Jr., Francis, elected March 17, 1783, 84 
 
 West, John, elected March 17, 1786, - - 84 
 
 West, William, (original member,) - - 27 
 West, Jr., William, elected June 17, 1772. 
 White, John, (time of election unknown,) 
 Wilson, Joseph, elected March 17, 1781. 
 
J' 
 
 ( 113 ) 
 HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 tie-ie 
 
 Original. Henry Hill, - - - page 52 
 
 " John Dickinson, - - - 52 
 
 " Robert Morris, - - 53 
 
 « William Hicks, - - - 54 
 
 <» Richard Penn, - - 53 
 
 <' William Hamilton, - -56 
 
 " James Searle, - - 54 
 
 John Cadwalader, elected December 17, 1771, 54 
 
 Samuel Meredith, elected September 17, 1772, 56 
 
 Richard Bache, " " " 55 
 
 Lambert Cadwalader, " " « 56 
 
 John Lardner, elected December 17, 1782, 57 
 
 Richard Peters, ^' " " 1787, 58 
 
 William Bingham, (time of election unknown,) 58 
 
 Thomas L. Moore, " " " 59 
 
 THE END. 
 
 W 98 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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