Charles Biddle (December 24, 1745 – April 4, 1821) was a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

statesman and a member of the prominent Biddle family of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Early life

Biddle was born to a wealthy old

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

family on December 24, 1745, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in what was then the British

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to ...

. He was the son of William Biddle, 3rd (1698–1756) and Mary (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Scull) Biddle (1709–1789). His siblings included: Lydia Biddle, who married William Macfunn; John ”Jacky” Biddle, who married Sophia Boone;

Edward Biddle Edward Biddle (1738–1779) was an American soldier, lawyer, and statesman from Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775 and a signatory to the Continental Association, which was drafted and adopted by that C ...

, a lawyer, soldier, delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

, who married Elizabeth Ross, sister of George Ross; Charles Biddle, and Nicholas Biddle, Revolutionary War Navy captain. As a youth, Biddle was a schoolmate and close friend of Mathias Aspden and

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educato ...

Career

During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

, Biddle was a captain in the merchant service and participated in the work around of the British fleet's blockade of American ports. He volunteered in the Quaker Light Infantry and, in 1778, he served under his brother, Commodore Nicholas Biddle, aboard the USS ''Randolph''.

Political career

Biddle served as Vice-President of Pennsylvania from October 10, 1785, until October 31, 1787 (also known as the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania). He served under

John Dickinson John Dickinson (November 13 /nowiki>Julian calendar November 2">Julian_calendar.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Julian calendar">/nowiki>Julian calendar November 2 1732Various sources indicate a birth date of November 8, 12 or 13, but his most recent b ...

and

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...

and hosted George Washington. During his term, he was an ''ex officio'' trustee of the University of the State of Pennsylvania (now the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

). He was a member of the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered eve ...

from 1810 to 1814. He also was an associate of Aaron Burr, having introduced Burr to his wife Theodosia shortly after the death of her first husband, Jacques Marcus Prevost. Although Biddle vacated his seat at Council on October 13, 1787, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania records that his Vice-Presidential term extended to October 31, the date of the next Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections. Biddle was elected Secretary of the Council on October 23.

Personal life

Thomas Sully - Portrait of Major John Biddle

On November 24, 1778, he was married to Hannah Shepard (d. 1825), the daughter of merchant Jacob Shepard and Sara (née Lewis) Shepard, in

Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina (after Bath, New Bern and Edenton). On February ...

. The Biddle family had a summer home outside of Philadelphia that was furnished sumptuously with English furniture and paintings. Together, they were the parents of ten children, including: * Mary Biddle (d. 1854), who married John Gideon Biddle (1793–1826), the fourth son of Clement Biddle, in 1820. * Nicholas Biddle (b. 1779), who died in infancy. * William Shephard Biddle (1781–1835), who married Circe Deroneray. After her death, he married Elizabeth Bordeon Hopkinson, daughter of

Joseph Hopkinson Joseph Hopkinson (November 12, 1770January 15, 1842) was a United States representative from Pennsylvania and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Bor ...

. *

James Biddle James Biddle (February 18, 1783 – October 1, 1848), of the Biddle family, brother of financier Nicholas Biddle and nephew of Capt. Nicholas Biddle, was an American commodore. His flagship was . Education and early career Biddle was born in ...

(1783–1848), a commodore with the U.S. Navy who died unmarried. * Edward Biddle (1784–1800), a midshipman with the U.S. Navy who died at sea. * Nicholas Biddle (1786–1844), president of the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...

who married Jane Craig. * Charles Biddle Jr. (1787–1836), who married Anna H. Stokes in 1808. * Ann Biddle (1788-1789)Gay, Paul ''The Biddle Family A Genealogy of the Descendants of William III and John Biddle of Phila., Pa.'' Entries No. 19, 51, 55; Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Antiquarean Books, Inc. 1934.
/ref> * Thomas Biddle (1790–1831), a

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

hero who died after a duel with a Missouri Congressman over a perceived insult to his brother Nicholas. He married M. Ann Mulllanphy. * John Biddle (1792–1859), Michigan politician who married Eliza Falconer Bradish. * Richard Biddle (1796–1847), a U.S. Representative who married Ann Anderson.
Ann Biddle
(1800-1863), who marrie

(1796-1870) in 1829. Biddle died on April 4, 1821, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His widow died almost four years later on January 4, 1825.

References

External links

Biography at the University of PennsylvaniaFuller Collection of Aaron Burr (1756-1836), 1771-1851 (bulk 1778-1834): Finding Aid''Memoirs of Aaron Burr'', Complete by Matthew L. Davis, Part 14 out of 17
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Charles

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...