George Clymer (March 16, 1739January 23, 1813) was an
American politician, abolitionist and
Founding Father of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...
, one of only six founders who signed both the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
and
U.S. Constitution.
[
] Clymer was among the earliest
patriots to advocate for complete independence from
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. He attended 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 served in political office until the end of his life. He was a
Framer of the Constitution where he attempted unsuccessfully to regulate the importation of slaves. Clymer was himself a minor slave owner, at least briefly when seven years old through inheritance.
Early life and family
Clymer was born 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 ...
in the
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...
on March 16, 1739. Orphaned when only a year old, he was apprenticed to his maternal aunt and uncle, Hannah and
William Coleman, to prepare to become a merchant. He married Elizabeth Meredith on March 22, 1765. In a letter written by Clymer to the rector of Christ Church, the Reverend Richard Peters, Clymer states that he had previously fathered a child; neither the child's nor mother's name is mentioned. Clymer and his wife had nine children, four of whom died in infancy. His oldest surviving son, Henry (born 1767), married the Philadelphia socialite
Mary Willing in 1794. John Meredith, Margaret, George, and Ann also survived to adulthood, though John Meredith was killed in the
Whiskey Rebellion in 1787 at age 18.
Career
Clymer was a patriot and leader in the demonstrations in Philadelphia resulting from the
Tea Act and the
Stamp Act. Clymer accepted the command as a leader of a volunteer corps belonging to
General John Cadwalader's brigade.
In 1759, he was inducted as a member of the original
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 ...
. He became a member of the Philadelphia
Committee of Safety in 1773 and was elected to the Continental Congress 1776–1780. Clymer shared the responsibility of being treasurer of the Continental Congress with
Michael Hillegas. He served on several committees during his first congressional term and was sent with
Sampson Mathews to inspect the northern army at
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...
on behalf of Congress in the fall of 1776.
[Pieper, Thomas, and Gidney, James (1980)]
''Fort Laurens, 1778–1779: The Revolutionary War in Ohio''
'. Kent State University Press, p 13. Retrieved March 2, 2013.'' When Congress fled Philadelphia in the face of
Sir Henry Clinton's threatened occupation, Clymer stayed behind with
George Walton and
Robert Morris. Clymer's business ventures during and after war served to increase his wealth. In 1779 and 1780, Clymer and his son Meredith engaged in a lucrative trade with
Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands.
The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...
. Although not partial to the merchant business, Clymer continued in business with his father-in-law and brother-in-law until 1782.
He resigned from Congress in 1777 and in 1780 was elected to a seat in the Pennsylvania Legislature. In 1782, he was sent on a tour of the southern states in a vain attempt to get the legislatures to pay up on subscriptions due to the central government. He was re-elected to the Pennsylvania legislature in 1784 and represented his state at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He was elected to the first
U.S. Congress in 1789.
He was the first president of
The Philadelphia Bank and the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and vice-president of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society. When Congress passed a bill imposing a duty on spirits distilled in the United States in 1791, Clymer was placed as head of the excise department in the state of Pennsylvania. He was also one of the commissioners to negotiate a treaty with the
Creek Indian confederacy at
Colerain, Georgia on June 29, 1796. He is considered the benefactor of
Indiana Borough, as it was he who donated the property for a county seat in
Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
Clymer died on January 23, 1813. He was buried at the
Friends Burying Ground in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
.
Slavery
Clymer is known to have been a slave owner; to what degree is uncertain, although it is known his father, grandfather and brother were minor slave owners.
When his father Christopher died, George, then seven years old, inherited "a negro man named Ned", who died soon after. Ned was probably the only remains of an inheritance given to Christoper from his father, Richard, George's grandfather, who owned four slaves.
Clymer, as a member of the Pennsylvania delegation during the
framing of the Constitution, unsuccessfully opposed the slave trade. The question of the slave trade, i.e. the import of new slaves into the United States, was one of the most contentious issues for the framers. Clymer was on the committee to draft a
Slave Trade Compromise to postpone the slave trade decision until 1808. Clymer supported an "export tax" (tariff), which was a way to indirectly tax slavery, and which like the slave trade question was opposed by southern states. Nevertheless, the tariff was included as part of the compromise.
Legacy
USS ''George Clymer'' (APA-27) was named in his honor.
Clymer, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, was named in his honor as was
Clymer, New York.
There is a George Clymer Elementary School in the School District of Philadelphia. Clymer's home in
Morrisville, Pennsylvania, known as
Summerseat, still stands, as does a house he owned in Philadelphia's
Fairmount Park known as
Ridgeland Mansion. One of the streets running alongside Summerseat in Morrisville is Clymer Avenue.
In
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...
, Clymer Street is named in his honor. In the Leedom Estates section of Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, Clymer Lane is named after him.
Clymer Avenue in
Indiana, Pennsylvania, is named after George Clymer.
See also
*
Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence is a memorial depicting the signatures of the 56 signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence. It is located in the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in ...
References
External links
Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
George Clymer BioBiography and portraitat the
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 ...
*
George Clymer biography from the website o
The Society of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence from the website of th
Pennsylvania Center for the Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clymer, George
1739 births
1813 deaths
Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania
19th-century American Episcopalians
18th-century American Episcopalians
Indiana County, Pennsylvania
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Politicians from Philadelphia
Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence
Signers of the United States Constitution
Founding Fathers of the United States
Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves
18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
Members of the American Philosophical Society