Richard Peters (1704 – July 10, 1776), born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

became an attorney, Anglican minister, and civil servant. In 1735 he emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he served in numerous posts for the Penn family, including on the Governor's Council from 1749 to 1775, and eventually became rector of Christ Church in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Early life and education

Richard Peters was born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where his father, Ralph Peters, was an attorney and the Town Clerk. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and continued at the Dutch University of Leyden for additional studies. He read law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

and became ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

.Penn Biographies: "Rev. Richard Peters" (1704-1776)
University of Pennsylvania, Archives and Records Center, 1995-2012, accessed 8 November 2012 He later undertook further studies at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

Marriage and family

Peters married a servant girl of Westminster. They later separated. In 1734, believing that his first wife was dead, Peters remarried. A

bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...

scandal arose when his first wife reappeared. The following year, he emigrated from Liverpool to exile in the colonies, settling in

. His brother William Peters also immigrated to Philadelphia.

Emigration and years in Philadelphia

Peters became an assistant at Christ Church in

, the major city of the Pennsylvania colony, and served there for two years. He directly worked for the Penn proprietary family as Secretary of the Land Office, Secretary of the Province and Clerk of the council. He held these positions for a quarter of a century, and in 1749 was also appointed to the Governor's Council, serving until the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. In 1754, Peters was among several men appointed to the Pennsylvania delegation for the

Albany Congress The Albany Congress (June 19 – July 11, 1754), also known as the Albany Convention of 1754, was a meeting of representatives sent by the legislatures of seven of the British colonies in British America: Connecticut Colony, Connecticut, Prov ...

, a meeting in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

of more than 20 colonial representatives to discuss plans for defense in the face of French threat in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, which front in North America was known as the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. He recommended adoption of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

's Albany Plan, an early proposal to create a unified colonial government. It was rejected by colonial assemblies and the British

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

alike. In 1762 Peters retired from the proprietary offices to his "Belmont" estate, as he made a sufficient fortune. He was called as rector of Christ Church, and served until his health forced him to resign in September 1775. Throughout these years, he was active in many religious, civic, and educational affairs. He was the first person

spoke with (in 1743) about establishing a public academy. Six years later Franklin enlisted Peters to be part of initial founding board of trustees for the College of Philadelphia (which in 1791 became known as

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

) where Peters was (a) one of the founding Trustees in 1749, (b) served as President of the school's Board of Trustees from 1756 to 1764, and (c) also served for two years as its Treasurer. Peters also served as a director of the Library Company of Philadelphia (1750-1764), a manager of Pennsylvania Hospital (1751–1752), and a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(1769–1776). Peters died in Philadelphia in 1776. His brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

had also emigrated to Pennsylvania. He named his son Richard after his brother; the boy was later known as Richard Peters Jr. to distinguish him from his uncle. Richard Peters Jr. (1744-1828) would represent Pennsylvania in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

and later was appointed as a U.S. District Court judge in Philadelphia.

References

*Cummings, Hubertis Maurice. ''Richard Peters, Provincial Secretary and Cleric, 1704-1776'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 1944.

External links

*
Penn Biographies: "Rev. Richard Peters" (1704-1776)

Archives and Records Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Richard 1704 births 1776 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Clergy in the American Revolution Clergy from Liverpool Members of the American Philosophical Society People from colonial Pennsylvania