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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania
in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court
Streets,
1894
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EDWARD BIDDLE
was born in 1732. He was the fourth son of William
Biddle, a native of New Jersey, whose grandfather was
one of the original proprietors of that State, having left
England with his father in 1681. His mother was
Mary Scull, the daughter of Nicholas Scull, who
was Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania from 1748 to 1761.
James, Nicholas and Charles Biddle were three
of his brothers.
On Feb. 3, 1758, he was commissioned an ensign in the
Provincial Army of Pennsylvania and was present at the
taking of Fort Niagara in the French and Indian War.
In 1759 he was promoted to lieutenant, and in 1760 he was
commissioned as a captain, after which he resigned from the
army and received 5000 acres of land for his services.
He then selected the law as his profession, and after the
usual course of study at Philadelphia, most likely in the
office of his elder brother, James, he located at
Reading, and soon established himself as a lawyer.
In 1767, he was elected to represent Berks County in
the Provincial Assembly, and he was annually re-elected
until 1775, and again in 1778. In 1774 and 1775, he
officiated as Speaker, but he was obliged to resign this
responsible position on Mar. 15, 1775, on account of
illness. He had previously been placed upon the most
important committees, and had taken an active part in all
the current business.
When the citizens of Reading held in public meeting on
July 2, 1774, to take initiatory steps in behalf of the
Revolution, they selected Edward Biddle to preside
over their deliberations, and the expressive resolutions
then adopted by them were doubtless drafted by him.
His patriotic utterances on that occasion won their
admiration, and they unanimously gave him a vote of thanks
in appreciation of his efforts in the cause of the rights
and liberties of America.
On the same day, while he was presiding at this
meeting, the Assembly of Pennsylvania was in session and
elected eight delegates as representatives to the "First
Continental Congress," and among them was Edward Biddle,
of Reading. When this Congress assembled at
Philadelphia on Sept. 5, 1774, the subject which principally
occupied its attention was referred to a committee of two
delegates from each Colony, and Biddle was selected
as one of them. They were directed "to state the
rights of the colonies in general, the instances in which
those rights were violated, and the means most proper to be
pursued for obtaining a restitution of them." The able
declaration, which the committee reported, was earnestly
supported by Biddle, though opposed by his colleague.
The report of the Pennsylvania delegates to the Assembly was
approved by it and this action gave Pennsylvania the credit
of being the first constitutional House of Representatives
that ratified the Acts of Congress.
Biddle was again selected as one of the
delegates to the new Congress, which was to be held on May
10, 1775. On his way from Reading to Philadelphia by
boat, to attend the second convention, he accidentally fell
overboard into the Schuylkill, and circumstances compelling
him to sleep in his wet clothing, he took a cold, which
resulted in a violent attack of illness. Besides
leaving him a confirmed invalid for the rest of his life, he
was deprived of the sight of one of his eyes. He was
one of the twenty-two members of Congress who did not sign
the "Declaration of Independence." His illness may
account for his non-attendance and non-subscription of that
great document for our political freedom. He was
elected three times as a delegate to Congress. The
first two terms extended from Sept. 5, 1774, to Dec. 12,
1776, and the last from 1778 to 1779. I could not find
any information of his public actions, from 1776 to 1779,
excepting his attendance of the meetings of the Committee of
Safety at Philadelphia in the beginning of January, 1776.
The public records in the county offices, especially in
the Prothonotary's office, disclose a large and lucrative
practice as an attorney-at-law, and this extended from 1760
to the time of his decease in 1779. It seems to have
been as much, if not more than that of all the other
attorneys taken together.
He died Sept. 5, 1779, at Baltimore, Md., whither he
had gone for medical treatment. He was married to
Elizabeth Ross, a daughter of Rev. George Ross,
of New Castle, Delaware, by whom he had two daughters,
Catherine (married to George Lux, Esq., of
Baltimore), and Abigail (married to Capt. Peter
Scull.) His connection with this distinguished
family gave him great social and political prominence.
After his decease, notices appeared in various publications
highly complimentary of his character.
Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court
Streets,
1894 - Page 209 |
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MARK BIRD was
the son of William Bird, one of the most prominent
iron men of Berks County from 1740 to 1762, whose works were
situated near the mouth of Hay Creek, in Union township.
He was born at that place in January, 1739, and learned to
carry on the iron business. After his father's death,
he took charge of the estate, and, by partition proceedings
in the Orphans' Court, came to own the properties consisting
of 3000 acres of land, three forges, a grist mill and saw
mill. About that time he laid out a town there and
named it Birdsboro. By the time the Revolution broke
out, he had enlarged his possessions very much and had come
to be one of the richest and most prominent and enterprising
men in this section of the State. The Recorder's
office shows that he also owned a different times various
properties at Reading.
In the popular demonstrations at Reading for the
Revolution, he took an active part. At the public
meeting on Dec. 5, 1774, he was selected as one of the
Committee on Observation recommended by Congress, and on
Jan. 2, 1775, he was chosen one of the Delegates to the
Provincial Conference, and also placed on the Committee of
Correspondence. He was also prominently identified
with the military movements, and at the meeting at Lancaster
on July 4, 1776, for the election of two Brigadier-Generals,
he received seven votes. During the years 1775 and
1776, he officiated as one of the Judges of the County
Courts.
In 1775 and 1776, Mark Bird was the
Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Battalion of the County
Militia, which was formed out of companies in the vicinity
of which was formed out of companies in the vicinity of
Birdsboro; and in August, 1776, as a colonel, he fitted out
300 men of his battalion with uniforms, tents and provisions
at his own expense. I could ot ascertain that he led
them into any engagement. They were in service at or
near South Amboy in the Fall of 1776, and may have
constituted a part of the "Flying Camp."
In 1785, his landed possessions in Berks County
included 8000 acres, upon which were the extensive iron
works at Birdsboro, and also the Hopewell Furnace on Six
Penny Creek, which he had erected about 1765. And it
is said that he owned large property interests in New Jersey
and Maryland. The wide distribution of his investments
led him to remark boastfully upon one occasion that he could
not be overcome by fire, wind or water. By a strange
coincidence, he actually became embarrassed by losses
through fire, wind and water in the several localities where
his possessions were situated, and in 1786 he was compelled
to make an assignment of his estate for the benefit of
creditors. About 1788, he removed to North Carolina,
where he died some years afterward, the exact place and time
I have not been able to ascertain.
He was married in 1763, to Mary Ross, a daughter
of Rev. George Ross, by whom he had children, but the
number and names could not be ascertained. He was a
brother-in-law of Edward Biddle; also of George
Ross, of Lancaster, a signer of the Declaration of
Independence.
Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court
Streets,
1894 - Page 212 |
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JACOB BOWER
was born in 1757 and entered the Revolution as first
Lieutenant in the company of Capt. Benjamin Weiser,
which was raised in Heidelberg township, in the vicinity of
Womelsdorf. At that time he was still a young man
under age. Subsequently he was promoted to captain,
and as such served until peace was declared in 1783.
At the close of the war, he settled at Reading and became a
prominent county official. He first filled the office
of sheriff for one term, from 1788 to 1790; then county
commissioner, from 1790 to 1793; recorder, register and
clerk of the Orphan's Court, from 1792 to 1798; and county
auditor for the years 1799 and 1800. Some time after
1800, he removed to Womelsdorf and became an invalid, where
he died Aug. 3, 1818.
The following obituary notice appeared in the Berks
and Schuylkill Journal, Aug. 8, 1818, at the time of his
decease: "Died at
Womelsdorf, in this county, on Monday last, after a tedious
and severe illness, aged 61 years, Gen'l. Jacob Bower.
The deceased was a faithful and active officer during the
whole of the Revolutionary war. He sacrificed at the
shrine of Liberty a large patrimony, but, like many other
veterans of the Revolution, was doomed to feel the strings
of adversity in his old age."
He was a son of Conrad Bower,
innkeeper, of Reading, who died in 1765, and whose widow
became the second wife of Michael Bright.
Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court
Streets,
1894 - Page 214 |
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MICHAEL BRIGHT
was born Nov. 24, 1732, in Heidelberg township, Lancaster
(now Lebanon) County, near Sheridan. His father,
Michael Brecht, emigrated from Schriessheim, in the
Palatinate, to Pennsylvania, in 1726, and 20 years old.
He learned the trade of saddler and located at Reading about
1755. He carried on this occupation successfully until
1762, when he became an innkeeper and owner of the Farmer's
Inn, on the north-west corner of Fifth and Washington
streets, which is still standing, though enlarged and owned
by his grandson, Francis Bright. In 1774 he was
elected as a county commissioner and served three years.
This position at that time was one of large responsibility.
In December of that year, he was appointed one of the
"Committee of Observation" of the county, whose duties were
to collect funds for the relief of Boston, to watch the
disaffected citizens and require them to give up their arms,
and in general to provide for the common defense. This
committee was also known as the "Standing Committee."
He was a man of considerable character and acquired a large
amount of property. He died at Reading in August,
1814. He was married twice, first to Sarah Stoner,
by whom he had two sons, Michael and Jacob; and next
to Catharine Bower (widow of Conrad Bower), by
whom he had three sons, David, Peter and John,
and a daughter Sarah, married to Leonard Rupert.
Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court
Streets,
1894 - Page 215 |
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DANIEL BRODHEAD
was born at Albany, N. Y., in 1725. In 1738, his
father migrated to Pennsylvania, and settled in Monroe
County, now East Stroudsburg, where he grew up in a frontier
life. Their house was attacked by Indians in 1755.
In 1771, he removed to Heidelberg township, Berks County,
where he purchased and carried on a grist mill. Soon
afterward, he was appointed deputy-surveyor under John
Lukens, Surveyor-General. In July, 1775, he was
appointed a delegate from Berks County to the Provincial
Convention at Philadelphia. In March, 1776, he was
appointed lieutenant-colonel of Miles' rifle
regiment; and in October following, he was transferred to
the 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion, known as Shee's. On
Mar. 12, 1777, he was promoted to colonel of the 8th
Pennsylvania Continental Line, to rank from Sept. 29, 1776.
Upon the capture of Colonel Miles at the battle of
Long Island, in August, 1776, the command of the remainder
of the battalion devolved upon him; and he was, in fact,
after the battle, in command of the whole Pennsylvania
contingent, being then the senior officer remaining in the
army. Shortly afterward, he went home on sick-leave,
and when he rejoined the army it was as colonel of the 8th
Regiment.
He was stationed at Fort Pitt, in the western part of
Pennsylvania, in 1779 and 1780. His correspondence
from April, 1779, to October, 1780, while there, is
published the the Appendix to the Pennsylvania Archives,
and covers 173 pages. In January, 1781, he was
transferred to the 1st Pennsylvania Line, and he was still
colonel of the regiment in September, 1783. He made
some important treaties with the Indians, and for this he
expected to be ordered to move into the Indian country, but
he was disappointed, the command having been given to
Colonel Clark, a Virginia officers. The war having
then been virtually ended, he was not assigned to any
command. It is believed that he received the
appointment of brigadier-general before the close of the
war.
In 1789, he represented Berks County in the General
Assembly and participated in the important discussion
relating to the alteration and amendment of the Constitution
of 1776. He voted in the affirmative.
Subsequently, in the same year, when the Assembly
reconvened, he voted for the calling of a convention to
amend the Constitution. In 1789, he received the
appointment of Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania, which he
held for eleven years. About that time he removed to
Milford, Pike County, Pa., where he died Nov. 15, 1809.
In 1778, he married the widow of Samuel Mifflin,
of Philadelphia, who was the brother of Gen'l. Thomas
Mifflin afterward Governor of Pennsylvania. They
then lived at Reading, and at her death in 1788, they were
residents of the same place.
Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court
Streets,
1894 - Page 216 |
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EDWARD BURD
was a practicing attorney at Reading, having been admitted
to practice in the courts of Berks County in 1772. He
removed to Reading from Lancaster. When the company of
Capt. George Nagel marched to Cambridge, in
Massachusetts, during July and August, in 1775, Burd
was one of a number of devoted and patriotic sons who went
along at their own expense; and when the "Flying Camp" was
raised, he was chosen major of Haller's Regiment.
In the Battle of Long Island, in August, 1776, he was taken
prisoner, and while imprisoned addressed a letter to Hon.
Jasper Yeates, at Lancaster. On Aug. 12, 1778, he
was appointed prothonotary of the Supreme Court, and he
continued to officiate in this position by reappointment
until Jan. 2, 1800.
Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court
Streets,
1894 - Page 218 |
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