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77-523: The Albany Congress discussed the plan. After a committee reviewed different plans offered by delegates, its members chose Franklin's plan with some small modifications. Benjamin Chew , then a young lawyer from Dover, Pennsylvania , served as secretary, and Richard Peters and Isaac Norris , both from Philadelphia, were among the members of this committee and the Pennsylvania delegation. It went beyond

154-508: A family-owned property on Walnut Street. In 1828, they sold the house on South Third Street, and in 1830, the building was razed. To protect his family from the diseases that plagued Philadelphia, Chew chose Mennonite master builder, Jacob Knor, to build a summer retreat in Germantown, which he called Cliveden ; the house later came to be known as the Chew house. Knor went on to construct several other buildings in Germantown, including

231-602: A parole...although he insisted that there was no charge against him except that he had held office under the Proprietor." After the state and national governments had been formed, in 1791, Chew was appointed by Thomas Mifflin , Pennsylvania's first Governor and the former President of the Continental Congress, to preside as the President over Pennsylvania's first High Court of Errors and Appeals . He held

308-648: A path to influence outside the Quaker elite. Mentored by Andrew Hamilton from an early age, Chew was highly effective in defending civil liberties and settling boundary disputes; he represented William Penn 's descendants and their proprietorships as the largest landholders in the Province of Pennsylvania , for over 60 years. In 1757, Chew entered private practice. He derived most of his income from that, managing his second wife's considerable estate, and collecting quit-rents from his various properties. Chew continued

385-508: A plan that would grab as much land as they could get and hired the three fastest runners in the colony to run out the purchase on a trail that had been cleared by other members of the colony beforehand. The pace was so intense that only one runner completed the "walk," covering an astonishing 70 miles (110 km). This netted the Penns 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km ) of land in what is now northeastern Pennsylvania , an area roughly equivalent to

462-767: A separate colony within the Pennsylvania Province, broke away during the American Revolution and was established as the Delaware State and also became one of the original thirteen states. The colony attracted English Quakers , Germans , and Scot-Irish frontiersmen. The Lenape Indian tribe promoted peace with the Quakers. However, after William Penn and Tamanend , who both supported peaceful coexistence, died, wars eventually broke out. The Quakers demonized Lenape mythology even though

539-667: A tax on the colonies to pay for the defenses in North America. Galloway's Plan of Union , proposed at the First Continental Congress , bore striking resemblance to the Albany Plan. It was submitted by conservative Loyalists and quickly rejected in favor of more radical proposals. The Second Continental Congress produced the Articles of Confederation , the first American constitution , in 1777, in

616-585: The American Revolutionary War , Philadelphia served as the nation's capital until 1800, when a new capital city in Washington, D.C. was constructed. The Province of Pennsylvania's colonial government was established in 1683, by William Penn 's Frame of Government . Penn was appointed governor and a 72-member Provincial Council and larger General Assembly were responsible for governing the province. The General Assembly, also known as

693-591: The British Parliament . Having been born and reared as a Quaker, he did not support active revolution. He maintained that position although he had left the Quakers and joined the Anglican Church in 1758. Early in the conflict, both the British and colonial sides claimed his allegiance since Chew had such a visible position in the colony and played so many important roles. Chew was undecided about

770-534: The French and Indian War concluded, an additional treaty was made in 1768, that abided by the limits of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 . This proclamation line was not intended to be a permanent boundary between the colonists and Native American lands, but rather a temporary boundary that could be extended further west in an orderly manner but only by the royal government and not private individuals such as

847-532: The Lenape Indian tribe through a number of treaties. Under Penn's direction, Philadelphia was planned and developed and served as the largest city and national capital until 1800 when it was surpassed in population by New York City and a new national capital was constructed in Washington, D.C. Despite having the land grant from King Charles II , Penn embarked on an effort to purchase the lands from Native Americans . The Lenape Indian tribe held much of

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924-739: The Master of the Rolls role in England and Wales); and Provincial Councillor of Pennsylvania (1755). In 1757,, he also was elected a trustee of the Academy and College of Philadelphia , which later became the University of Pennsylvania , and continued as such until 1791. He also taught numerous law students. Foremost among Benjamin Chew's law students were Brigade Major Edward Tilghman and Judge William Tilghman . "These Tilghmans were so successful in

1001-695: The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly , was the largest and most representative branch of government but had limited powers. Succeeding frames of government were produced in 1683, 1696, and 1701. The fourth frame, also known as the Charter of Privileges , remained in effect until the American Revolution . At the time, the Provincial Assembly was deemed too moderate by American revolutionaries, who rejected

1078-559: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 banned colonization beyond the Appalachian Mountains to prevent settlers settling lands that Indians tribes were using. This proclamation impacted Pennsylvanians and Virginians the most, since they both had been racing towards the lands surrounding Fort Pitt in modern-day Pittsburgh . The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania , consisting of the Chief Justice and at least one other judge,

1155-533: The Shackamaxon Treaty was "the only treaty between Indians and Christians that was never sworn to and that was never broken." The Quakers also refused to provide any assistance to New England 's Indian wars . In 1737, the Colony exchanged a great deal of its political goodwill with the native Lenape for more land. The colonial administrators claimed that they had a deed dating to the 1680s in which

1232-516: The Stamp Act , Attorney General Benjamin Chew described the mood in America: "…it is impossible to say to what length their irritated and turbulent Spirits may carry them." The Stamp Act was repealed two months later. In 1768, Chew was elected to the revived American Philosophical Society . "Chew's political views were at all times close to those of his predecessor, William Allen. He supported

1309-619: The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights . Chew was born the son of Samuel Chew , a physician and first Chief Justice of Delaware Colony , and Mary Galloway Chew. He was born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland , at his father's plantation, Maidstone . Benjamin Chew's great-great-grandfather, John Chew (1587–1668), a successful merchant, arrived in Jamestown in 1622 on the ship Charitie ; he

1386-687: The civil liberties that are guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment , especially the right to free speech . After Hamilton's death in August 1741, Chew sailed to London to study law at the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple , one of four Inns of Court . He began attending London theatre and read what friends recommended; his journal during these years shows his process of adopting aspects of English refinement expected of gentlemen, which he continued after his return to

1463-445: The first principle of justice by prejudging him unheard. This, as he later recorded in notes concerning his arrest, 'struck at the liberties of everyone in the community and [he believed] it was his duty to oppose it and check it, if possible, in its infancy.'" The Executive Council of the Continental Congress decided at the last minute against allowing Chew to remain at Cliveden. For his own safety, they decided to allow both Chew and

1540-605: The 18th century, additional treaties with the Native Americans were concluded. The colony's proprietors made treaties in 1718, 1732, 1737, 1749, 1754, and 1754 pushing the boundaries of the colony, which were still within the original royal grant, north and west. By the time the French and Indian War began in 1754, the Assembly had established the additional counties of Lancaster (1729), York (1749), Cumberland (1750), Berks (1752) and Northampton (1752). After

1617-649: The American colonies. Following his father's death, Chew returned to Pennsylvania in 1744, and began practicing law in Dover, Delaware , while supporting his siblings and stepmother. Chew was raised in a Quaker family, but he broke with Quaker tradition in 1741, when he agreed with his father, who had instructed a grand jury in New Castle, Delaware on the lawfulness of resistance to an armed force. In 1747, at age 25, Chew also went against Quaker tradition when he took

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1694-666: The American government); the Marquis de Chastellux (principal liaison officer between the French Commander-in-Chief and George Washington); and to George and Martha Washington, from November 1781 to March 1782, during the Second Continental Congress . By 1783, the Chews concluded that the political situation was safe enough for their family to return to Philadelphia. They lived full-time in

1771-557: The British army were nearing Philadelphia, the Executive Council of the new government "issued a warrant for (Chew's) arrest on grounds of protecting the public safety. When the warrant was served two days later at his home in Philadelphia, Chew demanded to know 'by what authority and for what cause' he was charged." "As a lawyer, [Chew] believed that the warrant infringed on his rights as a free man; moreover, it violated

1848-622: The British forces left the Philadelphia region. After the Revolutionary War, Chew resumed a position of influence in the new society and, eventually, its government. He was appointed a judge and president of the Pennsylvania High Court of Errors and Appeals (1791–1808), the court of last resort in the Commonwealth. By the time he was 29 years old, Chew held a number of offices, both elected and appointed, in

1925-515: The College of Philadelphia, botanist John Bartram , Edward Shippen III , Edward Shippen IV , and Peggy Shippen , Thomas Mifflin , later to become Governor of Pennsylvania, and Brigadier General Henry Bouquet , hero of the French and Indian War . Abigail Adams referred to Chews' daughters as part of a "constellation of beauties" in Philadelphia. Margaret Chew (1760–1824) married Maryland Governor John Eager Howard in 1787. Sophia (1769–1841)

2002-588: The Delaware and Pennsylvanian colonial governments. Appointed as Secretary of the Boundary Commission in 1750, Chew successfully represented the Penn family for the following eighteen years in their boundary dispute with first Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore and then Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore of Maryland. The dispute was finally resolved in 1768, when the Boundary Commission oversaw

2079-723: The General Assembly's authority and held the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia , which produced the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 for the newly established commonwealth and created the new Pennsylvania General Assembly . Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, Quaker , founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, and an advocate of democracy and religious freedom known for fostering peaceful and positive relations with

2156-736: The Governor John Penn to be paroled at his wife Elizabeth Chew's house, "Solitude," at the Union Forge Ironworks in High Bridge, New Jersey . Six months later, after the British forces left the region, both men returned to Philadelphia on May 15, 1778. After the Revolution, Benjamin Chew's broad social circles continued to include representatives of many faiths, as well as friends and politicians with many disparate points of view. Chew continued to participate in

2233-660: The Lenape-Delaware had promised to sell a portion of land beginning between the junction of the Delaware River and Lehigh River in present-day Easton, Pennsylvania "as far west as a man could walk in a day and a half." The purchase became known as the Walking Purchase . Although the document was most likely a forgery, the Lenape did not realize that. Provincial Secretary James Logan set in motion

2310-581: The Oath of Attorney in Pennsylvania. In 1754, Chew moved to Philadelphia , where he continued his legal responsibilities in both Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvania for the rest of his life. After early appointments in the Quaker-dominated government following his second marriage, he entered private practice in 1757; the following year joined the Anglican Church , and began

2387-834: The Pennsylvania State House ordered a new bell which would become known as the Liberty Bell for the new bell tower being built in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. William Penn had mandated fair dealings with Native Americans in the United States . This led to significantly better relations with the local tribes, mainly the Lenape and Susquehanna , than most other colonies had. The Quakers had previously treated Indians with respect, bought land from them voluntarily, and had even representation of Indians and whites on juries. According to Voltaire ,

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2464-570: The Plan provided, whereas British officials felt it gave the colonies too much. Benjamin Franklin wrote of the rejections: "The colonial assemblies and most of the people were narrowly provincial in outlook, mutually jealous, and suspicious of any central taxing authority." Many in the British government, already wary of some of the strong-willed colonial assemblies, disliked the idea of consolidating additional power into their hands. They preferred that

2541-528: The Proprietary interests, opposed the Stamp Act and other English abuses, but opposed independence." "The Chew court...was without a question the most professional and formally trained high court to date." "Chew's pro-American views and actions were not enough to save him, but he was not persecuted in the way that some pacifists were, as his record of speaking out against British abuses was well known. It

2618-604: The Proprietors. This effectively altered the original royal land grant to Penn. The next acquisitions by Pennsylvania were to take place as an independent commonwealth or state and no longer as a colony. The Assembly established additional counties from the land before the War for American Independence . These counties were Bedford (1771), Northumberland (1772) and Westmoreland (1773). William Penn and his fellow Quakers heavily imprinted their religious beliefs and values on

2695-463: The Quakers were strong proponents of religious freedom . Philadelphia , the capital of the Province of Pennsylvania, emerged as a major port and commercial city and central location for the thinking, writings, and planning that ultimately inspired the American Revolution . In the 18th century, Philadelphia emerged as the second-largest city in the British Empire , after London . Following

2772-499: The United States. After an extended illness, Chew died at Cliveden on January 13 or 20, 1810. He is buried at St. Peter's Churchyard in Philadelphia. 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

2849-723: The boy's early genius, Chew sold Allen, then eight years old, and all members of his immediate family to Stokley Sturgis, a known abolitionist and owner of a neighboring property in Delaware . Richard Allen later became a preacher in the Methodist Church in Philadelphia, co-founder of the Free African Society , and the founder and first bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church , the first African American denomination in

2926-476: The city embarked on a lavish program of public and private entertainment patterned on English and French models." Mrs. Adams reports being pleasantly surprised by "an agreeable society and friendliness kept up with all the principal families, who appear to live in great harmony, and we are met at all the parties [with] nearly the same company." After the death of their parents, Henrietta, Maria, and Catherine Chew vacated their house on South Third Street, and moved to

3003-473: The colonies concentrate on their part in the forthcoming military campaign. The Board of Trade never sought official approval for the plan from the Crown. They proposed that colonial governors , along with some members of their respective councils , order the raising of troops and building of forts, to be funded by the treasury of Great Britain . This amount would later have to be repaid, and Parliament imposed

3080-478: The colony grew, colonists and British military forces came into confrontation with natives in the state's Western half. Britain fought for control of the neighboring Ohio Country with France during the French and Indian War . Following the British victory, the territory was formally ceded to them in 1763, and became part of the British Empire . With the French and Indian War over and Pontiac's War just beginning,

3157-463: The correct course to take. "I have stated that an opposition of force of arms to the lawful authority of the king or his ministries…is high treason , but in the moment when the king or his ministries shall exceed the constitutional authority vested in them … submission to their mandates becomes treason ." -Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, in an address to the last provincial grand jury, April 10, 1776 On August 4, 1777, when General Howe and

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3234-683: The development and completion of the Mason–Dixon line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. On June 19, 1754, the Albany Congress was held in Albany, New York . Twenty-one representatives of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire attended the Congress. Secretaries of each colony represented also attended, including Benjamin Chew of the Pennsylvania delegation. These secretaries helped formulate

3311-479: The early Pennsylvanian government. The Charter of Privileges extended religious freedom to all monotheists, and the government was initially open to all Christians. Until the French and Indian War , Pennsylvania had no military, few taxes, and no public debt. It also encouraged the rapid growth of Philadelphia into America's most important city and of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country hinterlands, where German (or "Deutsch") religions and political refugees prospered on

3388-407: The family practice of investing in land in the Thirteen Colonies until the end of his life, expanding their holdings in the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania, Province of Maryland , Delaware Colony, and Province of New Jersey . In his early career, Chew often met with other ambitious young Philadelphia men at the London Coffee House . In 1766, they organized the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club,

3465-596: The fertile soil and spirit of cultural creativeness. Among the first groups were the Mennonites , who founded Germantown in 1683; and the Amish , who established the Northkill Amish Settlement in 1740. 1751 was an auspicious year for the colony. Pennsylvania Hospital , the first hospital in the British American colonies, and The Academy and College of Philadelphia , the predecessor to the private University of Pennsylvania , both opened. Benjamin Franklin founded both of these institutions and Philadelphia's Union Fire Company fifteen years earlier in 1736. Likewise in 1751,

3542-417: The first in the United States. This adoption of an English sport was part of their becoming gentlemen; they committed to hunting together in the country a couple of times a week. Chew was Speaker of the Lower House for the Delaware counties (1753–1758); Attorney General and member of the Council of Pennsylvania (1754–1769); Recorder of Philadelphia City (1755–1774); Master of Rolls (1755–1774; analogous to

3619-458: The house on South Third Street during the formation of the United States: the Constitutional Convention ; the Congress of the Confederation ; and in 1792, the official adoption of the Bill of Rights by the First United States Congress . In 1797, Chew bought back Cliveden. It remained under family ownership for another five generations. Cannonballs from the Battle of Germantown were embedded in its walls until 1972, when Chew's descendants donated

3696-459: The house to the National Trust for Historic Preservation . During restoration, most of the cannonballs were removed. Chew wed Mary Galloway, his first cousin, on June 13, 1747, at West River, Maryland . They had five daughters before Mary died. From 1754 to 1771, Chew and his family lived on Front Street in Philadelphia . He married again on September 12, 1757, to Elizabeth Oswald (1732–1819), daughter of James and Mary (Turner) Oswald. Elizabeth

3773-456: The land near present-day Philadelphia , and they expected payment in exchange for a quitclaim to vacate the territory. Penn and his representatives ( Proprietors ) negotiated a series of treaties with the Delaware and other tribes that had an interest in the land in his royal grant. The initial treaties were conducted between 1682 and 1684, for tracts between New Jersey and the former Delaware Colony in present-day Delaware . The province

3850-508: The larger group of delegates discussed their issues and objections, they resolved most of them and adopted the Plan. They sent copies of letters to each of the colonial assemblies and to the British Board of Trade in London, which had originally suggested the Congress. The colonial assemblies and the British representatives rejected the Albany Plan. This rejection was largely spurred by both sides not getting fully what they wanted. Individual colonial assemblies wanted to have more independence than

3927-442: The law that they were both offered the post of State Chief Justice in 1805." He was selected as a Philadelphia commissioner (1761); appointed as Register-General of Wills (1765–1777); and as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1774–1777). During the American Revolutionary War , the Executive Council governing the new state removed him from office in 1777 and kept him in preventive detention in New Jersey until after

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4004-406: The meetings of the Tammany Society, to honor Tamanend , the Lenni-Lenape chief who first negotiated peace agreements with William Penn. "Although Benjamin Chew was not a participant in the Constitutional Convention of 1787...he and his family were part of the city's new social circle that included the Washingtons, the John Adams, the William Binghams, and the Robert Morrises...In large measure this

4081-402: The midst of the American Revolution . Ratified in 1781, it laid the foundation for the current U.S. Constitution . Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew (November 19, 1722 – January 20, 1810) was an American lawyer and judge who served as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of Pennsylvania and later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . Born into a Quaker family, Chew

4158-450: The nearby Johnson House in 1768. On August 4, 1777, when the Executive Committee of the Continental Congress decided to place Chew in preventive detention in New Jersey, his wife and children vacated Cliveden and returned to their Third Street home. With Cliveden vacant, General Howe , the British Commander-in-Chief, quickly seized the house. Protected by its strong walls, he won the Battle of Germantown on October 4. After Chew

4235-508: The original scope of the Congress, which was to develop a plan of defense related to near-term threats by France. The northern colonies were most concerned, as they shared a border with New France, but the mid-Atlantic colonies were also affected by differing loyalties of various Native American nations, usually related to their trading with France or Great Britain. The New England and northern tier colonies had long been subject to raiding from French colonies during times of conflict. The Albany Plan

4312-445: The plan to unite the colonies as a unified force at the time of threat from France during the Seven Years' War , known in North America as the French and Indian War , which began that year. The Albany Plan of Union was one of the first attempts to unite the British colonies. Benjamin Franklin proposed the plan but, as it greatly exceeded the scope of the congress, it was strongly debated by attendees. Six months later, Chew, aged 32,

4389-402: The plan, delegates from the colonies would be chosen roughly proportionate to colony size – from a minimum of two to a maximum of seven for Virginia and Massachusetts Bay – but each colony would have only one vote and decision making was by unanimous consensus. Proposed powers included treaty-making, and raising army and naval forces; and, most significantly, included the right of taxation. After

4466-406: The position until he retired in 1808. Pennsylvania at first made no provision for any appeal from its Supreme Court, but in February 1780 legislation established the Pennsylvania High Court of Errors and Appeals . It was empowered to hear appeals from the Supreme Court and also from the Court of Admiralty and the Register's Courts. Chew received the highest compliment Pennsylvania could pay him: he

4543-437: The precedent of truth as an absolute defense against charges of libel . Chew was strongly influenced by Hamilton's ideas about a free press, and also the reading materials that Hamilton provided him, especially Sir Francis Bacon 's Lawtracts. His understanding of English legal history , and especially the Charter of Liberties , enhanced by his later studies at London's Middle Temple , fostered Chew's enduring commitment to

4620-417: The proceedings in his "Journal of a Journey to Easton." The conference concluded on October 26, and in November, Governor Denny announced to the Pennsylvania Assembly that "a general peace was secured at Easton." "From 1755 to 1769 Chew served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania and as the Recorder of Philadelphia, earning a reputation that was second to none." In a letter warning the Crown against enacting

4697-432: The size of the state of Rhode Island in the purchase. The area of the purchase covers all or part of what are now Pike , Monroe , Carbon , Schuylkill , Northampton , Lehigh , and Bucks counties. The Lenape tribe fought for the next 19 years to have the treaty annulled but to no avail. The Lenape-Delaware were forced into the Shamokin and Wyoming Valleys , which were overcrowded with other displaced tribes. As

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4774-420: The social, civic, and cultural life of the nation's first capital. Three of the daughters retained ownership of the house until 1828. The Chews entertained many visiting dignitaries, such as John Penn , Tench Francis Jr. , Robert , Thomas , and Samuel Wharton , Thomas Willing , John Cadwalader , Chief Justice William Allen and his wife Margaret, daughter of Andrew Hamilton, Dr. William Smith , Provost of

4851-447: The transfer of letters between Mr. and Mrs. Chew, during months when they were forced to live apart. The Chew family's house on Third Street was situated between Spruce and Walnut Streets, next to the house of Samuel Powel , mayor of Philadelphia, and his wife, Elizabeth Willing Powel, who was one of George Washington's closest confidantes. "Led by Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Morris, and 'the dazzling Mrs. Bingham,' as Abigail Adams called her,

4928-407: Was appointed as Attorney General of the colony of Pennsylvania. In October 1758, The Easton Conference was held in Easton, Pennsylvania, to resolve conflicts created by The Walking Purchase of 1737, which had lasting effects on the relationships between Native Americans and the colonists. As Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Chew attended the negotiations for the Treaty of Easton and documented

5005-405: Was appointed by Governor Thomas Mifflin as President of the High Court, despite the fact that he was by then close to seventy. Prior to the American Revolution , Chew was friends with both George Washington and John Adams , and was a strong advocate for the colonies. As a lifelong pacifist, however, Chew believed that protest and reform were necessary to resolve the ongoing American conflicts with

5082-564: Was because Chew's legal perspicacity offered expertise needed by the new government." In 1771, Chew purchased the former house of his client, Governor John Penn , on South Third Street in Philadelphia ; Penn returned to England to settle his father Richard Penn Sr.'s estate. For almost five decades, the household on Third Street was filled by Benjamin and Elizabeth Chew, their son Benjamin, and their daughters Anna Marie, Elizabeth, Sarah, Margaret (Peggy), Juliana, Henrietta, Sophia, Maria, Harriet, and Catherine, all of whom were actively engaged in

5159-432: Was derived from "Penn's Woods", referring to William Penn's father Admiral Sir William Penn . The Province of Pennsylvania was one of the two major Restoration colonies . The proprietary colony's charter remained in the Penn family until they were later ousted following the American Revolution and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was established as one of the original thirteen states . The lower counties on Delaware ,

5236-522: Was granted 1,600 acres (6.5 km ) of land in York County, Virginia . The young Chew took an interest in the field of law at an early age. In 1736, when he was 15 years old, he began to read law in the Philadelphia offices of the former Attorney General of Pennsylvania Andrew Hamilton, who was then the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives . The year before, Hamilton won a landmark case in American jurisprudence by his eloquent pro bono defense of publisher Peter Zenger . It established

5313-403: Was invited to attend Martha Washington 's first public event in Philadelphia. Harriet (1775–1861) was asked to entertain George Washington while his portrait was being painted. In 1800, she married the only son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton , signer of the Declaration of Independence , who built Homewood for them as a wedding gift. Throughout the Revolutionary War, George Washington aided

5390-479: Was known for precision and brevity in his legal arguments and his excellent memory, judgment, and knowledge of statutory law . His primary allegiance was to the supremacy of law and the constitution. Trained in law at an early age by Andrew Hamilton , Chew inherited his mentor's clients, the descendants of William Penn , including Thomas Penn and his brother Richard Penn Sr. , and their sons, Governor John Penn , Richard Penn Jr. , and John Penn . The Penn family

5467-410: Was not until the following year that his liberty was restricted" by the Executive Council of When he was finally paroled and sent to New Jersey for preventive detention as a suspected Loyalist , "Chew refused to take the action of the Council seriously at first, and thoroughly intimidated the young soldiers from the City Troop who were sent to pick him up. Eventually realizing his predicament he signed

5544-534: Was part of a process of Anglicization that had begun when he was studying law at the Middle Temple in London. Chew greatly increased both his wealth and property holdings when he married Elizabeth Oswald. They held numerous slaves to care for the properties and cultivate their commodity crops. In 1760, on the Chew's property "Whitehall" in Delaware, Richard Allen , was born into slavery. In 1768, recognizing

5621-585: Was released from parole in May 1778, he decided to move his family to Whitehall, their estate in Delaware, to buffer them from the political turbulence of Philadelphia. Chew sold Cliveden to Blair McClenahan because he was unable to afford the extensive repairs necessary after the Battle of Germantown. While in Delaware, the Chews rented their house on Third Street to Don Juan de Miralles (the Spanish representative to

5698-583: Was the basis of his private practice, and he represented them for six decades. He was also a slave owner. Chew had a lifelong personal friendship with George Washington , who is said to have treated Chew's children "as if they were his own." Chew lived and practiced law in Center City Philadelphia , four blocks from the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall , and provided pro bono legal counsel on substantive law to America's Founding Fathers during their creation of

5775-413: Was the first proposed unification of the colonies for the purposes of defense. Benjamin Franklin made a political cartoon to popularize his plan, titled Join, or Die . The plan called for a general government to be administered by a President-General, to be appointed and supported by the Crown , and a Grand Council to consist of delegates nominated by the lower houses of the colonial assemblies . Under

5852-613: Was the niece and heir to the estate of Captain Joseph Turner . Benjamin and Elizabeth had seven more daughters, including Margaret "Peggy" , and two sons. In 1758, Chew left the Quakers permanently and joined the Church of England ; he and his wife had their son Benjamin baptized that year at Christ Church . They worshipped there with their growing family, and later at St. Peter's Church when they moved out to Germantown . This

5929-532: Was thus divided first into three counties, plus the three Lower counties on Delaware Bay . The easternmost, Bucks County , Philadelphia County and Chester County , the westernmost. The lower counties on Delaware, a separate colony within the province, constituted the same three counties that constitute the present State of Delaware : New Castle , the northernmost, Sussex , the southernmost, and Kent , which fell between New Castle and Sussex County. Their borders remain unchanged to this day. Several decades into

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