Edward Biddle (1738 – 5 September 1779) was an American soldier, lawyer, and statesman from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He was a delegate to 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 ...

in 1774 and 1775 and a signatory to the

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the Thirteen Colonies, American colonies, adopted by the First Continental Congress, which met inside Carpenters' Hall in Phi ...

, which was drafted and adopted by that Congress. On June 6, 1761, Edward married Elizabeth Ross, the sister of George Ross. After the war, he

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

in the offices of her brother. By 1767, he had been admitted to the bar, and the couple moved to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

where he began his practice. Although the couple had no children, they both came from large families. Betsy Ross who gained fame as the seamstress of the first American flag was the wife of her nephew. He was the uncle of Congressman Richard Biddle and financier Nicholas Biddle.

Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly

In 1767, Biddle began his career in the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly as a representative for Berks County. He served there until the colonial assembly went out of business during 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 ...

. While a representative, in 1768, he was elected to 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 ...

.Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, 2:280–283. He was also a member of the rebel provincial congress and later the state

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

until 1778. He was a leader within that body of the Whig or radical group in the struggle to set Pennsylvania's course in the revolution. In 1774, Pennsylvania was divided about the looming revolution. The loyalists and the supporters of the Penn family in the Assembly were joined by the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

who opposed any war. As a result, in July, the Assembly sent a split delegation to the Continental Congress: Joseph Galloway, Charles Humphreys, and Samuel Rhoads were all moderates, while Biddle,

Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin (January 10, 1744January 20, 1800) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Pennsylvania, who is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States for his roles during and after the American Revolution. Mifflin sig ...

, John Morton, and George Ross were radicals. That

first Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

produced a statement or Declaration of Rights, as well as a plan of union and pleas to King George to resolve the issues that separated the colonies from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. They also produced a renewal of the

, the non-importation agreement adopted in the wake of the Stamp Act protests. Biddle was a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Rights and later oversaw the printing of the resolutions the Congress had passed. Early in 1775, Governor John Penn called the Assembly into session, intent on having Pennsylvania send its own declarations to the crown. These would be based on the Galloway Plan that had been rejected by the Continental Congress, and would try to reconcile Pennsylvania with the British government. But the legislature mirrored the growing split within the colonies. The Whigs, led by Biddle, Ross and

John Dickinson John Dickinson (November 13, O.S. November 2">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. November 21732Various sources indicate a birth date of November 8, 12 or 13, but his most recent biographer ...

won the day. Biddle was elected speaker, replacing Galloway who had held the post the previous year. The actions of the Continental Congress were approved, and a more radical delegation was named to the next Congress. Biddle died in Chatsworth,

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent cit ...

on September 5, 1779. He is buried in St. Pauls Churchyard in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

References

*
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Edward 1738 births 1779 deaths People from Philadelphia People from Reading, Pennsylvania Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers People of Pennsylvania in the French and Indian War

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

People from colonial Pennsylvania American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Signers of the Continental Association Speakers of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Members of the American Philosophical Society