CHAPTER XVI. THE WELSH OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
The Welsh have claims for recognition and patriotic gratitude by the American people, because of the prominent part taken by some of their descendants in founding the American Republic. The Welsh mind and heart have contributed no small share, in common with the good, the noble, and the enlightened of other lands, to mould its institutions and to make possible a country where the highest conditions of a Christian civilization may be enjoyed.
That little vessel of one hundred and eighty tons' burden, the Mayflower, embryo of a free republic, was commanded by a Welshman, Captain Jones. Among those who came as passengers were several of Welsh origin,—Thomas Rogers, Stephen Hopkins, John Alden, and John Howland. The last one named was attached to Governor Carver's household. So the Welsh have a share in the celebration of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. What must have been the thoughts of that band of forty-one men (one hundred and one souls in all) as they stood on Plymouth Rock and looked into the vast forests before them, so soon by their sturdy energy and that of their descendants to be transformed into fruitful farms and splendid cities and towns!
Roger Williams was born in Wales in 1599. He was a relative of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell. Banished from Massachusetts in 1635, he penetrated the forests in mid-winter till he came to the country of the Narragansets,—where the chief sachem, Canonicus, gave him a grant of land, which, in token of "God's merciful providence to him in his distress," he called Providence. Here he established a pure democracy, all equally sharing the dignity and privileges of the government. He was so kind in his treatment of the surrounding Indians that he was much beloved by them, and it was by his great power over them that he saved his white persecutors from destruction. Yet his enemies did not revoke his sentence of banishment. The city government of Providence is honoring his memory by the erection of a bronze statue.
Of that immortal band of men who composed the Continental Congress, and were signers of the Declaration of Independence, eighteen were Welshmen:
Notwithstanding abler pens have sketched them all, it may not be uninteresting to touch upon a few facts in the biography of the above list. Commencing with New England, where so many of Welsh blood came after the Restoration, having been the followers of Cromwell, it will be in order to notice John and Samuel Adams.
John Adams was born at Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1735. His services were distinguished in the American Revolution; he was a member of the committee which made the draft of the Declaration, and a signer of the document. He was President and Vice-President of the United States. He died at the age of ninety-one, in 1826, just half a century after the Declaration.
Samuel Adams was born in Boston, in 1722. He was a fearless patriot and a stirring orator. He was educated for the ministry at Harvard College, but became so engrossed in politics that he relinquished that profession. He was in the Continental Congress, was Governor of Massachusetts, and left the impress of his power on the Constitution of his State, which he helped to frame. He died at the age of eighty-one, in 1803.
Stephen Hopkins was born in Providence, and was a self-taught man. He wrote and acted against the oppression of the colonies by the home-government long prior to the Revolution. He filled important offices in his State, became a member of the Continental Congress, and signed the Declaration. He died in July, 1785.
From Connecticut came William Williams. He graduated at Harvard College, at the age of twenty, in 1751. He became a lawyer, but afterwards chose the profession of arms, and was aide to his brother who fell at Fort George in 1755. He died at the age of eighty-one, in 1811.
New York furnished three Welshmen out of her four delegates,—the fourth, Mr. Livingston, being of Scotch origin, though the family came from Holland. William Floyd was born in the year 1734, on Long Island. He was possessed of large means. He was in the first Continental Congress in 1774, and signed the Declaration in 1776. His losses of property by the English were large. He died at the age of eighty-seven, in 1821.
Francis Lewis was born in South Wales, in 1713. His education was partly acquired in Scotland and in Westminster, London. He was in business in that city, came to New York, and conducted business for English merchants. He was taken prisoner in the French War and carried to France; after his return to New York he was sent to Congress, and signed the Declaration in 1776. His property on Long Island was destroyed by the English. He died at the age of ninety, in 1803.
Lewis Morris, the fourth and last from New York, was born of a Welsh family, in 1726. He was a graduate of Yale, and afterwards settled on his father's farm, now known as Morrisania, Westchester County. Lewis's father was the son of an officer in Cromwell's army, and first royal governor of New Jersey, in 1738. Lewis was sent to the Continental Congress in 1775, and served till 1777. His losses by the Revolution were immense. He died at the age of seventy-two, in 1798.
Francis Hopkinson, a delegate from New Jersey, was from a Welsh family. He was born in Philadelphia, in 1737. He was noted as a lawyer, wit, and poet. He wrote several political pamphlets, and was the author of many poetical jeux-d'esprit, one of the best-known of which is "The Battle of the Kegs," which begins,—
"Gallants, attend, and hear a friend
Trill forth harmonious ditty;
Strange things I'll tell, which late befell
In Philadelphia City."
Mr. Hopkinson signed the Declaration, afterwards was eminent as a judge, and died at the age of fifty-three, in 1791. His son, Joseph Hopkinson, was the author of the national song "Hail Columbia," the origin of which was as follows. It was in 1798. The country was excited in anticipation of war with France. Mr. Fox, a theatrical singer and actor, called upon Mr. Hopkinson and remarked, "To-morrow evening is appointed for my benefit at the theatre. Not a single box has been taken, and I fear there will be a thin house. If you will write some patriotic verse to the tune of the 'President's March,' I feel sure of a full house." Mr. Hopkinson went to his study, wrote the first verse and chorus, then submitted them to Mr. Fox, who sang them to a harpsichord accompaniment. The song was completed, the next morning the placards announcing that Mr. Fox would sing a new patriotic song. The theatre was crowded, the song was sung, and the audience thrilled with patriotic delight.
The name of George Clymer indicates his Welsh origin. Thomas Jefferson boarded in the house of Mrs. Clymer, on the southwest corner of Seventh and High Streets, Philadelphia, where he drew the original draft of the Declaration.
John Morton, although a resident of Pennsylvania, was born in Delaware, and was descended from a Welsh family on his mother's side. His father was of Swedish descent. He was on the committee which reported the Articles of Confederation.
John Penn, of a Welsh family, was born in Virginia. He studied law with Mr. Pendleton, and subsequently settled in North Carolina. From there he was sent as delegate, and signed the Declaration.
Arthur Middleton, from South Carolina, was a Welshman. He was a graduate of Cambridge University, England, and arrived in America in 1773. He was taken prisoner when Charleston surrendered to the British. He lost most of his fortune by the Revolution. He died in January, 1789, aged forty-four.
Button Gwinnett was a native of Wales. He was born in 1732, was well educated, entered mercantile life, went to Georgia and purchased a large tract of land. He signed the Declaration, aided in framing the State Constitution, was Governor, and fell in a duel which he fought with General McIntosh, aged forty-six.
Thomas Jefferson's ancestors came from the foot of Mount Snowdon, Wales, to the colony of Virginia. He boasted of his Welsh blood. He stands in the front as a defender of civil and religious liberty, and had engraved upon his seal, "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."
As the author of the Declaration, of the abolition of the connection between Church and State, the laws of primogeniture, the restrictions upon the Federal Constitution respecting the States, so as forever to prevent a centralized and an aristocratic government, he must be recognized as one of the most valuable men this country has ever had. By a strange coincidence—shall it be called that?—at the age of eighty-four, he breathed his last on the same day that John Adams did, July 4, 1826. They were life-long personal friends, with a brief interruption, but political opponents. On a plain marble slab at Monticello is the following inscription:
Here Lies Thomas Jefferson:
Author of the Declaration of Independence;
of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom;
and Father of the University of Virginia.
Benjamin Harrison, chairman of the Committee that reported the Declaration, was descended from the Welsh. He was related to General Thomas Harrison, one of the regicides, the Commonwealth men of Cromwell, and who was executed at Newgate. When he was approaching the scaffold, one of the king's scoffers stood by and tauntingly asked, "Where is your good old cause now?" The brave Harrison, with a cheerful smile, replied, clapping his hand on his breast, "Here it is, and I am going to seal it with my blood." Some of that grand stuff was afterwards found in his descendants. Benjamin Harrison filled various positions, and was Governor of the State from 1782 to 1784. He died on his farm in 1790. His son, William Henry Harrison, served in the War of 1812, and was elected President of the United States in 1840, but died on the 4th of April, 1841, precisely one month after his inauguration.
Richard Henry Lee was from a Welsh family, as, in fact, were all the Lees of that period. He was born in 1732, educated in England, and after his return to America in 1757 was elected a member of the House of Burgesses.
He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774, and in July, 1776, he had the honor to offer the resolution declaring the colonies free and independent. The day before the appointment of the committee to draft the Declaration, Mr. Lee was called away to the bedside of a sick wife, or he would doubtless have been appointed chairman. In 1773 he, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry had a serious consultation in the old Raleigh Tavern, at Williamsburg, Virginia, in respect to submitting a resolution to the Virginia House, recommending the appointment of a Committee of Vigilance and Correspondence, and expressing the hope that the other colonies would do the same. It was passed; and from that time the Revolution began to assume organic form, and prepared the way for 1776. Mr. Lee was United States Senator under the Constitution, which office he held with signal ability. He died June 14, 1794, in his sixty-second year.
Francis Henry Lightfoot Lee was of Welsh origin, and a signer. He was born in Virginia on the 10th of September, 1734. He was educated at home, and from 1765 to 1775 served his State as a member of the House of Burgesses. He died in April, 1797, in his sixty-third year.
Many of the facts given above concerning these signers are not found in their usual biographies, and therefore they are inserted here.
Robert Morris, who came to this country when a child, served an apprenticeship with a merchant, became a successful business man by his energy and integrity, and during the Revolution his fortune and unlimited commercial credit were superior to Congress itself. In the darkest days, when the army was unfed and unclothed, Washington could turn to his dear friend Robert Morris for help. He gave his immense means to his country, and died, in comparative poverty, in 1806, aged seventy-three years.
Gouverneur Morris, who wrote the first connected draft of the American Constitution, was a Welshman.
Among those who fought in the Revolution may be found a long list of Welsh by nativity or descent:
Generals.
Charles Lee,
Isaac Shelby,
Anthony Wayne,
Morgan Lewis,
William R. Davie,
Edward Stevens,
Richard Winn,
Daniel Morgan,
John Cadwallader,
Andrew Lewis,
Otho H. Williams,
John Thomas,
Joseph Williams,
James Reese.
Colonels.
David Humphreys,
Lambert Cadwallader,
Richard Howell,
Ethan Allen,
Henry Lee,
Thomas Marshall,
James Williams (killed at Bennington).
Captains.
John Marshall (afterwards Chief Justice),
Isaac Davis,
Anthony Morris,
Captain Rogers.
Besides these, there was a host of subordinate officers who could claim descent from the Welsh.
In the navy were Commodore Hopkins and others; and at a later period Commodores Rogers, Perry, Jacob Jones, and Ap Catesby Jones.
Dr. John Morgan was Surgeon-in-Chief of the American army, and one of the founders of the Philadelphia Medical School, the first of the kind established in America, and the beginning of the great University. He came from a Welsh family.
Among the divines were Revs. David Jones, Samuel Davie, David Williams, Morgan Edwards, and others. Perhaps the most distinguished of these was Mr. Jones. His ancestors came from Wales, and settled on the "Welsh Tract" in Delaware county, Pa. He was on a mission among the Shawanese and Delaware Indians in 1772-73. In 1776 he was appointed chaplain to Colonel St. Clair's regiment, and was on duty at Ticonderoga when the enemy was momentarily expected from Crown Point. He delivered a characteristic discourse, which produced a powerful impression upon the troops. When with General Wayne, he saw an English dragoon alight and enter a house for refreshments. The chaplain went to the dragoon's horse, took the pistols from the holsters, went into the house, made him a prisoner, and marched him into camp: Wayne complimented him for his bravery. He was also with General Gates; also at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth; with the army at Valley Forge, and in all subsequent campaigns to the surrender of Yorktown by Cornwallis. At the age of seventy-six he served as chaplain in the War of 1812. He died in February, 1820, aged eighty-four.
Rev. Samuel Davies became President of Princeton College. When Washington was colonel, and after Braddock's defeat, Mr. Davies, who was addressing the volunteer company, used this language in allusion to Washington: "I cannot but hope that Providence has hitherto preserved him in so signal a manner for some important service to his country."
General Washington's family associations were with the descendants of the Welsh. His wife, Martha, whom he called, familiarly "Patsy," was the grand-daughter of Rev. Orlando Jones, who came to Virginia from Wales. Colonel Fielding Lewis, of Welsh descent, married Washington's sister; and his son, George Washington Lewis, was commander of the general's life-guard.
Elihu Yale, the founder of Yale College, Jonathan Edwards, Daniel Webster, Charles Davies the mathematician, and a long array of brilliant men and women who have adorned every station in American society, were of Welsh origin or descent. Mr. Webster, however, was descended only from his mother's side.
Seven Presidents of the United States have descended from the Welsh race,—John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and William Henry Harrison.
Chief-Justice John Marshall, the first to expound the Constitution, was the grandson of a native of Wales; and, as if the office should continue in such a lineage, Chief-Justice Roger B. Taney was sprung from a family descended from the northern part of Wales.
William Penn, founder of the great State of Pennsylvania, Thomas Floyd, the first Governor of the colony, and Anthony Morris, the first mayor of the refined city of Philadelphia, were Welsh.
Oliver Evans, so famous for his inventions in high-pressure engines, by means of which all turbid streams could be successfully navigated, was born of a Welsh family near that city. It was found that the sediment of the water choked up or wore off the sliding-valves of the low-pressure engines. He was the third person who received a patent from the United States—Samuel Hopkins being the first—for his inventions, and concerning which President Jefferson remarked that they were "too valuable to be covered by a patent, for they were such things that the people could not do without, once they were known."
Mrs. De Witt Clinton was the daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones, the son of a Welsh physician whose father settled at Jamaica, Long Island, and who was widely known as Dr. John Jones. He was attached to the Revolutionary army as a surgeon, and a personal friend of Washington and Franklin. He was one of the founders of the New York Hospital, and a professor in the medical faculty in Columbia College at its institution. He was the first successful lithotomist in the country. Mrs. Clinton was his grand-daughter, having Dr. Thomas Jones for her father, and a daughter of Philip Livingston, signer of the Declaration, for her mother. Maturin Livingston, a son of Philip, married a daughter of General Morgan Lewis. Of Mrs. Clinton it has been said that "she was in every sense a remarkable woman,—not less for her strength of mind than for her noble good breeding, purity, and polish of manners. She was liberal and frank, and fully appreciated the great mind of her noble husband; and the harder the storms of personal and political strife blew upon him, the closer her affections twined around him, while she nobly and devoutly cherished his memory to the last."
Their services, in connection with those of almost every other land, have helped to lay the foundations, deep and broad, of the great American republic, whose majestic proportions are rising higher and still higher, commanding the wonder and admiration of all; but, while the later builders are at work, they will not forget to offer some souvenir in behalf of those who worked so wisely and so well.
The memory of ALL "smells sweet, and blossoms in the dust."