. 6 ^ 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 314 826 9 Q 
 
Memorials 
 
 OF 
 
 1776. 
 
 BY 
 
 IFJ^^itTIK: Is/L. ETTIitTO-. 
 
 SIilCONO EDl'irON. 
 
 Is^ 
 
 PHILADELPUIA : 
 
 W. 'W. Bates, Printer, 710 Sansom Street, 
 1?73. 
 
 4 
 
 
I la.ss 
 
 I'KKSKNTICD liY '^'f / ^ 
 
MEMOEIAL8 
 
 iFi^^itTK: is/r. sTTiisra-. 
 
 ShlCOXD EDITION. 
 
 PIJILADELI'IIIA: 
 
 \y. Vi . BATtS, Pkinier, 710 Sa\som Street. 
 
 1S73. 
 

 o^itt- 
 
 M 
 
 FE3 12 191C 
 
Tl\e ]^citioi\cil J^u^eurq. 
 
 INDEPENDENCE CHAMBER. 
 
 WRITTEN ORIGINALLY FOR THE PENN MONTHLY. 
 
 IT has been well said of individuals, that there exists no stronger 
 incentive to merit than the recollection of a long line of distin- 
 guished ancestry, revived, it may be, by a gallery of family portraits, 
 or the preservation of family relics. The Chinese are believed always 
 to devote a room to the perpetuation of all kinds of ancestral associ- 
 ations, while the English, thanks to their feudal system, still consoli- 
 date and transmit their family mementos and heirlooms. 
 
 There always have been those who scoff at that species of pride 
 derived from fair lineage; but such raillery, in the main, is but an 
 effort to decry a too conscious deficiency, or used as a cloak to " ape 
 humility" — a cloak that no more conceals the true sentiments than 
 did the assumption of his rags by the great cynic, whose real pride 
 was plainly seen to peep through the very rents in his garments. As 
 with individual families, so it is with nations. 
 
 Wc shall be told that the "genius of our institutions" is adverse 
 to fostering the former; but surely no such objection can be raised 
 against the latter. The most austere Soi-poUoiist will concede that 
 the greater the pride in the past history of our country, the surer the 
 guarantee of patriotism in the future. To this end no means more 
 effective can be deviseil than the establishment of a permanent 
 Naiioiial Museum. Such a practical mode of object instruction will 
 c;)ntinue to teach to all coming generations of Amsricans the lesson 
 learned in 1776, and about to be rehearsed in 1876 — that in national 
 unity lies our strength, of which State "pride and locrfl impulses are 
 
4 
 
 leo-itimate constitueut elements. There can be no segregation into a 
 civic of that which essentially forms a federal bond — the community 
 of the past. 
 
 Assuredlv, that past should not be permitted to bury its dead, 
 or only be revivified by spasmodic celebrations of anniversaries of 
 one hundred years. Let it rather be made an ever-present reality by 
 the closest personal and historical associations. Let it be an ever- 
 livinor witness, in whose voice the accents of departed patriotism may 
 continually utter, "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."' 
 
 The mail that is not moved by what he reads, 
 That takes not fire at their lieroic deeds — 
 Unworthy of the blessings of the free — 
 Is base in kind and born a slave to be. 
 
 Unquestionably, the greatest national memorial in the historj^ of 
 the United States is Independence Hall— the birth chamber of the 
 Republic. Let us briefly glance at the events of the nativity. 
 
 Delegates from each colony (appointed, in some cases, by the 
 existing legislative bodies, in others by committees of safety) had 
 first met together in Carpenter's Ilall for a defined purpose — to devise 
 measures for uniform action in approaching their recognized sovereiiin 
 by petition, and in order to obtain redress of grievances. Failing in 
 these efforts, they returned to Philadelphia in the spring of 1775, with 
 the anticipation of a prolonged session, when the hall used by " the 
 representatives of the freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania" (hence 
 the "State House,") was assigned to them for their sittings. Thus it 
 was that in that very Hall, in June, 1775, on motion of Thomas 
 Johnson, of Maryland, George Washington was unanimously elected 
 commander-in-chief of the armies raised and to be raised for the de- 
 fense of America. 
 
 But above all, it was here, in the Eastern, and now known as 
 Independence, Chamber that, on the 7th of June, . 1776, John 
 Hancock occupying the President's chair, the memorable act was ini- 
 tiated that sanctifies the whole building. We see Richard Henry Lee, 
 of Virginia, rise in his place. He holds in his hand instructions from 
 the convention assembled at Williamsburg, which had been brought 
 to him but a few days before by Thomas Nelson, Jr., himself then 
 present as a member. Mr. Lee reads a resolution, still extant, in hi.s 
 own hand-writincT ; 
 
^if* 
 
6 
 
 Around that room are sitting men who for weeks and months 
 have been toiling to bring their countrymen up to this point. John 
 Adams, Samuel Adams, Gerry, Bartlett, Chase, McKean and ^V"hipple 
 and Wythe, — and Ilewes, who was bearing the whole weight of his 
 colony — most probably a full representation of those in favor of the 
 resolution; while Dickinson, too, was there, the conscientious man and 
 pure patriot, who, like his colleagues, Robert Morris, Wilson, Willing 
 and Humphreys, restrained by their instructions, also believed that the 
 adoption of the resolution at that time would produce divided action 
 throughout the country, and were hence opposed to it, A meagre house 
 induces a postponement until the next day, and after a reference to the 
 committee of the whole, the 1st of July is fixed as the day for further 
 consideration, but "least any time should be lost in case the Congress 
 agree to tliis resolution" a committe is appointed to prepare a declara- 
 tion in consonance therewith. It is not the place here to enter into a 
 detailed review of the occurrences of this period — the full history of 
 which has bjen promised, and shall, in due time, appear. Suffice it 
 for our present purposes to recall the fact, that on the 1st of July, Benj, 
 Harrison, the chairman, reported Mr, Lee's resolution, and had then 
 and there referred to his committee that declaration which Jefferson. 
 Adams, Franklin, Sijermau and Robert R, Livingston had unanimously 
 agrt^ed upon. On the 2il day of July, the resolution adopted, the United 
 States became a nation. Its Sponsors were not yet quite satisfied with 
 the baptismal address, which was to announce the event to the wi>rld, 
 but finally, on the 4th of July, after anxious debate thereon, paragraph 
 by paragraph, that, too, received the approval of all present, and was 
 ordered to be engrossed — though the latter was not accomplished until 
 some weeks afterwards. Thus there are two distinct groups of eminent 
 men who have associated their names indelibly with the Declaration 
 of Independence — first the "Actors," who debated it, and second tlie 
 "Signers," who ratified it. 
 
 The councils of Philadelphia honored tliemselves in Api-il 1872, 
 by passing an ordinance for the restoration of the building where these 
 events occurred, and for setting it apart forever in commemoi-ation of 
 Independence. 
 
 Prompted by the right spirit, the City Fathers had already sought, 
 in 1854, to purchase the whole of the Peale collection of paintings, then 
 offered at public auction. Failing in this, they bought a great number 
 
of the historical portraits, ( among which there were a dozen of the 
 Signers, ) and from lime to time have continued to add to the collection. 
 
 Occasionally a public spirited citizen would present to the city a 
 portrait, a bible, a casting, or a relic — real or imaginary — and it was 
 at once stored in this room. The latter became a general receptacle 
 for framed resolutions of councils, the abortive contribution to the 
 Washington monument* — in fact, it served as a living, ever-ready 
 response to the often embarrassing question in councils — "what shall 
 we do with it?''f It was feared by some that the vehicle, yclept 
 Washington's coach, might even find its way into this chamber, for 
 here already his horse had been placed, prancing over the door, in such 
 form and manner as might have justified the interference of the Society 
 for the prevention of cruelty to animals, whose agent — had he ever seen 
 it — not recognizing the rider, would have unquestionably exclaimed, 
 iis is his wont, "come down my gay Peruvian, come down." 
 
 Here, also, we had Brandt, the savage above all others literally 
 damned to eternal — infamy; Eed Jacket, too, forsooth — a lot of men 
 of whom the catalogue could say, "of liberal education and excellent 
 moral character;" the vilest daub and caricature of General Jackson ; 
 the likeness of an obscure political agitator doing duty for Charles Lee, 
 of Revolutionary notoriety; lithographs of volunteer refreshment 
 saloons, etc.. etc. 
 
 The first point to be attained was the removal of all portraits, 
 relics, and other deposits not associated with the historical memories 
 of the Hall. These, in many instances, absolutely defaced the walls, 
 and in others destroyed the architectural beauties of the chamber. 
 
 The janitor having carefully stowed away all the relics and a 
 great deal of trash, the portraits not required for illustration and 
 adornment were removed to the Fidelity Safe Deposit and Trust 
 Company, whose President had cordially oft'ered to take charo-e of 
 
 *Since forwarded to Washington City and at a juncture, when it is hoped its 
 receipt will give renewed impetus to the completion of the undertaking. 
 
 jThe very cellar was not long since used for impounding and slaughtering vagrant 
 <logs captured in the summer season. lion. Wra. M. Meredith, ever facile to turn to 
 account what to others would be an intenniption, had his voice drowned, on one 
 occasion, in the midst of a ceremonial reception, by these yelping, whereupon he 
 declared the Hall haunted by spirits of 1776, and identified the voices of .Tefferson, 
 Lee, Hancock, etc. 
 
them. Thev have been admiriibly <lisplaycd for public inspection on 
 tlie walls of the directors' room. 
 
 The room with its antic^ue wainscoting, pillars, cornices, etc., 
 jiresents to-day the same general appearance as it did during those 
 times that did indeed try men's souls. The original chandelier still 
 hangs there: the columns supporting the ceiling have been restored, 
 the chair which was occupied by the President has been restored to 
 its place on the dais; in front stands the table at which Hancock 
 wrote, and on which the Declaration itself reposed after it was engrossed, 
 and where one after another of the members of pongress came forward 
 and appended his signature. Near by are two chairs Avith their 
 original covering, well worn in the use of individual members of the 
 Congress. Two more of these chairs, though unfortunately newly cov- 
 ered for the convenience of the sergennts-at-arms of tlie State Senate, 
 have been rescued and placed on the floor. Mrs. Wm. Biddle, Mrs. 
 E. A. Foggo, Mr. John Jay Smith and ^[r. (,\ C. Dunn have each pre- 
 sented an original cliair duly authenticated by long family ownersliip. 
 On eitlier side of tlie dais are ranged ])ortraits of the following : 
 
 .roUX J I ANCOCK, the President, (". W. Tkale- 
 
 lUCIIAKD IIEXKY LEE. of Vir^iniii. the Mover ..1" tlie lU-sohilion 
 
 tor Inclepeiidcnee, C W. Peai-e. 
 
 lJENJA:\rrX IIARPvISOX. oC Vu., the Chiiirinaii of tlie ("oniinittee of 
 
 the "Whole who reported the same, Lamisdin after Tkvmhui.l. 
 
 T1{()^[AS JEFFERSOX, flu- Author of the I)e<larat,ion of 
 
 Independence, (". W. I'kale. 
 
 -lOlIX ADAMS, the Seconder of the l{(^s()lution I'or Independence, and 
 
 the "Colossus of the Dehate." ('. W. Peai,e. 
 
 SA:MrEE ADAMS, of Massachusetts, the '• Pallnurus of the 
 
 I?epid)lic." OiTiiANK after Copi-ey. 
 
 Prcsenti'd hy (ico. A. Simmons, Esi;., of llostou. on hehalf of his wife and 
 other descendants of the Patriot: 
 ROHERT R. LIVIXGSTOX. of Xew York, of the Connuittee to 
 
 draft the Declaration. Pkatt after Stiakt. 
 
 Presented l)y C'lermrmt. ivobt. E. Livingston and others, the grand children: 
 ROGER SHERMAX. o'" Connec^ticut, another of the Conunittec S:c., 
 
 [Xot yet supplied.] 
 BENJAMIX FRANKLIX. cc.pied from the celehiated })ictiire hy ]\[aktix. 
 
 ROBERT, MORRIS, the Financier of the Revolution. 
 
 JOIIX DK'KIXSOX, Author of "the Fanner's Letters," C. W. Pealk. 
 THOMAS HEYWARD. Jr., of South Carolina, Fhazeu after 
 
 Presented by Mus. Dhayton. 
 KLURIDGE GERTiV. of Massa.hiiselts. 
 
THOMAS McKEAN, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 C. W. Peale. 
 
 WM. WHITE, — Bi.sliop, — principal Chaplain of the Continental 
 
 Congress, C. W. Peale. 
 
 CHARLES THOMSON, the pennanent Secretary of Congress, C. W. Peale. 
 
 JOSIAH BARTLETT, of New Ilampsliire, presented by his descendants. 
 
 ON THE OPPOSITE PANELS ARE TO BE FOUND: 
 
 .TAMES WILSON, of Pennsylvania, 
 WILLIAM ELLERY, of Rhode Island, 
 ABRAHAM CLARK, of New Jersey, 
 WILLIAM AVILLIAMS, of Connecticut, 
 SAMUEL CHASE, of Maryland, 
 GEORGE READ, of Delaware, 
 GE0RC4E ROSS, of Pennsylvania, 
 RICHARD STOCKTON, of New Jersey, 
 GEORGE WALTON, of Georgia, 
 OLIVER WOLCOTT, of Connecticut, 
 JOHN WITHERSPOON, of New Jersey, 
 CHARLES CARROLL, of carrollton, of Mar 
 FRANCIS HOPKINSON, of New Jersey, 
 SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, of Connecticut, 
 PHILIP LIVINGSTON, of New York, 
 BENJAMIN RUSH, of Pennsylvania, 
 ARTHUR MIDDLETON, of South Carolina, 
 
 Presented by the Artist. 
 GEORGE CLYMER, of Pennsylvania, 
 
 Presented by his descendants. 
 WILLIA:\1 HOOPER, of North Carolina, 
 STEPHEN HOPKINS, 
 
 WitARTON fi'oni a miniature. 
 Lambdin after Trumbull. 
 Lambdin after Trumbull. 
 Sawyer after Trumbull. 
 C. W. Peale. 
 Sully after Stuart. 
 AVharton after West. 
 
 CoNARROE after 
 
 Lambdin after Trumbull. 
 
 C. W. Peale. 
 yland, C. W. Peale. 
 C. AY. Peale. 
 C. W. Peale. 
 C, W. Peale. 
 C. W. Peale. 
 Wharton, after West. 
 
 Marchant, after 
 
 Lambdin, after Trumbull. 
 Geo. C. Lambdin, after 
 
 THE FOLLOWING ARE YET TO BE PROCURED : 
 
 Wni. Whipple, of New Hampshire; Robert Treat Paine, of Mass. ; Wm. Floyd, 
 Francis Lewis and Lewis Morris, of New York ; Wm. Paca and Thomas Stone, of 
 Maryland ; George Wythe, Thomas Nelson, Jr., and Francis Lightfoot Lee, of 
 Virginia ; Joseph Hewes and John Penn, of North Carolina ; Thomas Lynch, Jr., 
 of South Carolina ; Lyman Hall, of Georgia. 
 
 Si)aces are also left for .John Rogers, Thos. Johnson, .John Jay, Henry Wisner, 
 George Clinton, Thomas Willing, Charles Humphreys and a few others, "Actors." 
 
 The names of John Morton, C<Esar Rodney, Carter Braxton, John Hart, George 
 Taylor, James Smith, Matthew Thornton and siKih others of the above, whose por- 
 traits were never taken from life, will be appropriately presented in some perma- 
 nent shape. 
 
 Over tlie doorvv^ay tlirougli wliicli Washington passed when he 
 left Congress to assume those duties which earned for him his endur- 
 ing title of " First in War, First in Peace, and First in the hearts of 
 
10 
 
 his Countrymen,'' has been hung an original portrait of the Pater 
 Pairiae.^ 
 
 Along the surbase on each side of the President's Chair, subordinated 
 to the general design, are the Presidents of Congress from 1774, not 
 included in th(i above category, and in similar positions on the sides, 
 portraits of the Kevolutionary officers. These are arranged according 
 to dates of commission, as follow : 
 
 ARTE^IAS WARD, IMajor-General, June 17, 1775. 
 
 KICIIARD ^rOXTGOMERY. Major-Geueral, December 9, 1775. 
 
 HORATIO GATES, Major-CJeneral, May IG, 1776. 
 
 KATHANAEL GREENE, :\raioi-General, August 9, 1776. 
 
 WILLI A.AI ALEXANDER, LORD STIRLING, Major-General, Feb'y 19, 1777. 
 
 BEX.TA:\IIX LINC(JLX, ^lajor-General, February 19, 1777. 
 
 I3AR0X 1)E KALB, ^lajor-General, September 15, 1777. 
 
 BARON DE STEUBEX, Major-General, May 5, 1778. 
 
 WILLIA:\I SMALLWOOD, :Niajor-General, September 15, 1780. 
 
 L. LeBEQUE DUPORTAIL, ilajor-General, Xovember 16, 1781. 
 
 HEXRY KXOX, ]\Iajor-Genera], March 24, 1782. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN, Brigadier-General, September IG, 1776. 
 
 LACHLAX McIXTOSIL Brigadier-General, September 16, 1776. 
 
 JAMES MITCHELL YARXUM, Brigadier-General, February 21, 1777. 
 
 JOSEPH REED, Brigadier-General, May 12, 1777. 
 
 JA:\IES WILKIXSOX, Brigadier-General, November 6, 1777. 
 
 DAXIEL MORGAX, Brigadier-General, October i:j, 1780. 
 
 OTIIO HOLLAXD WILLIAMS, Brigadier-General, ]\Iay 9, 1782. 
 
 JOSEPH WARREX, Provincial Major-General. 
 THOMAS SUMTER, Provincial Brigadier-General. 
 
 WILLIAM AUGUSTIXE WASHINGTOX, Colonel, the "Hero of Eutaw." 
 JOHN EAGER HOWARD, Lieutenant-Colonel, the '-Hero of Cowpens " 
 SAjSIUEL smith. Colonel, the '' Hero of Mud Island " 
 HEXRY LEE, Colonel, " Light Horse Harry." 
 
 COMTE DE ROCHAMBEAU. 
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE, Captain of United States Xavy. 
 JOHX PAUL JOXES, Captain of United States Xavy, 
 JOSHUA BARNEY, Captain of United States Xavy. 
 
 *Thc noble idea, so nobly carried out, the preservation intact of Wasliington's 
 Home on the Potomac, is due to the women of America under the auspices of Miss 
 Ann P. Cunningliam of South Carolina as Regent, assisted by a Vice Regent in each 
 State — in Pennsylvania by (the then) Miss Lily Macalcster. Tlie latter has recently 
 and deservedly been made Regent. 
 
11 
 
 And the following Presidents of the Congress of the Confederation 
 
 PEYTON RANDOLPH, 1774-5. 
 HENRY LAURENS, 1777. 
 JOHN HANSON, 1781. 
 ELIAS BOUDINOT, 1782. 
 THOMAS MIFFLIN, 1783. 
 ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, 178 
 
 i Major-Gene i-als February 19, 1771 
 
 The draft of the Declaration in Jefferson's handwriting is in this 
 ■city, in the possession of the Philosophical Society, most admirably 
 framed and adapted for exhibition. It is hoped the society will be 
 induced to deposit this valuable relic upon the table in the Hall. 
 In the vestibule, upon its original frame- work, has been placed the 
 •celebrated bell, which on the 8th of July, 1776, fulfilled the injunction 
 prophetically inscribed thereon a quarter of a century before : 
 
 " Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the 
 inhabitants thereof."^ 
 
 It seemed that no opportunity could be more favorable towards 
 perfecting tliis great memorial of the men and times of 1776 than the 
 approach of the centennial anniversary — no worthier coadjutor than 
 John L. Shoemaker. True to the public-spirited instinct of his name- 
 sake, who in 1765 affixed his signature to what we Philadelphians are 
 fond of calling the " first Declaration of Independence," Mr, Shoemaker 
 was sedulously laboring for the success of the centennial celebration; 
 recognizing at once the propriety of the suggestion, he grasped the 
 scheme, and has been unremitting in sustaining every effort to its 
 accomplishment. 
 
 His Honor, Mayor Stokley, as well as Mr, J. H, Pugh, the efficient 
 popular commissioner of city property, have cordially co-operated ; 
 while the presiding officers of both branches of councils, Messrs. 
 King, Shermer, and Martin, Hall, Caven and other members of councils, 
 have evinced much interest in the work, and contributed towards its 
 success. Several noble- hearted citizens have already presented valuable 
 portraits, and others have been promised. Every means will be used 
 to make the very atmosphere of this chamber breathe forth the com- 
 mand so appropriately applied by a distinguished physician of Phila- 
 
 *See appendix. 
 
12 
 
 delpliia, on there greeting liis professionul Iriends: " Put ofl' thy shoes 
 from oft" thy feet ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." 
 
 Arrangements are being made to accommodate the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, its present chamber will then be fitted up as an auxiliary to 
 the Hall of Independence. In itself it is an historical room, used as the 
 colonial Supreme Court Room for nearly half a century before Pennsyl- 
 vania became a State. The second story of this building contained the 
 public banqueting hall of former days; and in one of the rooms met the 
 Conventionof 1787to frame the present Constitution of theUnited States. 
 Subsequently Peale's Museum occupied this floor. The whole build- 
 ing would form an admirable receptacle for the National Museum thus 
 commenced. Here the different epochs of our national history can be 
 appropriately illustrated by portraits and relics. A plan for this pur- 
 pose has already been initiated by the Committee in charge of the 
 Restoration of the Hall, which can easily be matured and accomplished; 
 and the centennial anniversary might then indeed behold the actual 
 realization of the picture so gloriously and prophetically foreshadowed 
 by the Founders of the Republic themselves, in their address to the 
 Irish, in 1775 : " The golden period, when liberty, with all the gentle 
 arts of peace and humanity, shall establish her mild dominion in tliis 
 western world, and erect eternal monuments to the memory of those 
 virtuous patriots and martyrs who sliall have fought and bled and 
 suffered in her cause." 
 
 Fellow-citizens of the United States, let us make the one hun- 
 dredth birthday of the nation its Golden Anniversary ! 
 
 Frank M. Etting. 
 
THE OLD LIBERTY BELL. 
 
 BY FRANK M. ETTING. 
 From the American Historical Record for January, 1873. 
 
 01. ]i i,ii;Ein V mi, I, 
 
 So great is the power of association, that 
 its magnetic rays may render famous, Avhen 
 brought to bear upon it, any object be it 
 never so trivial in itself. Even our great 
 Town Bell is thus polarised by the Re\o- 
 lutionary events with which it is intimately 
 connected. 
 
 In one of the most beautiful of his 
 experiments, Prof. Tyndall exhibited the 
 refraction of light through water by puffing 
 a few whiffs from a segar into the adjacent 
 atmosphere — an exemplification of his 
 
 ability ex fumo dare lucem. It seems 
 possible to avail ourselves of the murky 
 medium of the past (even that of a Bell) 
 to evolve reflections worthy of analysis 
 by deeper thinkers than Antiquaries or 
 even Patriots. 
 
 In 1 75 1, the State House at Philadelphia 
 was approaching completion ; the lower 
 floor had already been occupied for some 
 sixteen years, one chamber by the Su- 
 ])reme Court, and the other by the 
 Representatives of the Freemen of the 
 
a.mi;kua.n msroRicAT, rkcord. 
 
 Province of Pennsylvania, then consisting 
 of one body — By order of the latter, a 
 Committee (jf which Mr. Speaker Norris 
 was the Cliairman, was emi)owered to 
 obtain a new Bell for the Building. 
 
 The desire for procuring bells and 
 building steeples just at this time seems to 
 iiave shown itself in religious, as well us 
 political corporations. In this same year 
 the vestry men of Christ church opened a 
 subscription for this purpose, a member 
 declaring at the Board " that there is a 
 hearty inclination to the thing in the in- 
 habitants of this city not only of our own 
 church but in sundry persons of other 
 religious Societies."' 
 
 It must not hastily be concluded how- 
 ever that Bells were then to be introduced 
 for the first time. As early as 171 2, two 
 bells -'the little bell" and "the great 
 i)ell," were certainly used by the Christ 
 Church congregation, whether suspended 
 in a belfry or "hung in the crotch of 
 a tree close by "seems to be undetermined ; 
 unquestionably the latter mode wasadoi)t- 
 ed for the government bell, an accompa- 
 nimept to official proclamations in the 
 province at least as early as 1685. It is 
 not improbable that this latter was brought 
 over by William Penn himself. The ear- 
 liest mention of its use is in language so 
 quaint as to justify its "counterfeit" pre- 
 sentation. [See the following page.] 
 
 and which reads as follows. 
 
 Pennsilvania 
 
 By the President and Council 
 
 These arc to give General Notice, That our PresentSoveraign 
 King James the Second, will be Published, in the Front 
 Street upon Delaware River, over against the Governours 
 Gate to Morrow .Morning at the Ninth hour upon the 
 Wringing of the Bell. 
 
 Philadelphia the Signed by Order 
 
 nth, 5d Month 1685 Richard Ingelo CI. Concillii 
 
 Pursuant to this order the follow- 
 ing proclamation was read, here given 
 verbatim from the original manuscript 
 used by the Sheriff. — 
 
 PkNNSII.VANI.'V 
 
 Philadelphia the 12'" of ths 3^ Mo 1685. 
 
 We the president & the provincial 
 Counsell accom])anied with the represen- 
 
 tatives of the freemen in Assembly & 
 divers magistrates officers iSc other jiersohs 
 of note do in duty iv: in concurrance with 
 our neighbouring i)rovinces sollemnly jfub- 
 lish iS: deiiare that James Duke of York 
 (S: Albany by the decease of our late sov- 
 eraigne Charles the 2^ is now become our 
 lawfull liege lord & king James the 2'' of 
 England Scotland France & Ireland & 
 amongst other of his dominions in America 
 of this Province of Pennsilvania & its 
 Territorys king, to whom we acknowledge 
 fliithfuU & constant obedience hartilv 
 wishing him a happy raigne in healtli 
 peace li: prosperity — 
 
 And so God Save the King 
 
 Tho Lloyd President 
 
 Tho Holme Jon Roades 
 
 Christo Taylor W. Greene 
 
 Phinehas Pemberton Jon Simpcock 
 Willm Frampton Jon Cann 
 
 W'" Southbe 
 Peter Aldricks 
 W"' Darvall 
 Luke Watson 
 
 Willm Wood 
 Tho Janney 
 Jon Barnes 
 Ric" Ingelo 
 Clark Counsell 
 
 ' Rev. Dr. Don's, History of Clui>t Church. 
 
 This Province Bell was most likely 
 transferred to the cupola of the Court 
 House or " Towne Hall" on its erection 
 in 1705-6 at Second on High Street. It 
 is its successor whose history is attemj)ted. 
 
 The original letter books of Isaac 
 Norris cannot now be found but fortu- 
 nately his descendant Joseph Parker Norris, 
 had procured copies, and it appears from 
 these that Robert Charles, then in London, 
 was commissioned November ist, 1751, 
 to procure a good bell of about two thou- 
 sand pounds weight, at a cost of about 
 ^ 100 sterling; it was to be cast by the 
 best workmen, to be examined carefully 
 before it was shipped and to contain "in 
 well-shaped letters round it," By order 
 of the Assembly of the Province of Penn- 
 sylvania, for the State House in the city 
 of Philadelphia 1752, and underneath 
 Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land to 
 all the inhabitants thereof . Levt. xxv. 10. 
 
 The Bell duly arrived at the end of 
 August, 1752, in apparent good order. 
 
AMERICAN HISTORICAL RECORD. 
 
 ^.f? -f^ 
 
 
AMl'iRK'AN IIIsroRICAI. Ki:(()UI). 
 
 Hit a few days afterwards, notwithstanding 
 
 ill the cautionary instriutions given, " the 
 .ouperintc-ndents had the mortification to 
 
 lear that it was cracked by a stroke of the 
 I hij)i)er without any other violence as it 
 was hung up to try the sound." An effort 
 was then made to send it back by Capt. 
 P.udden,' who had brought it over in the 
 
 •Matilda," but he could not take it on 
 hoard — "upon which" Mr. Norris writes 
 ' • two ingenious workmen undertook to cast 
 it here, and lam just now (March lo, 1753. ) 
 informed they have this day opened the 
 mould anil have got a good bell, which I 
 confess pleases me very much that we 
 should first venture upon and succeed in 
 the greatest bell cast, for aught I know, in 
 English America." 
 
 This American bell was hung u[) in its 
 l)lace early in 1753, as will appear by 
 the following bill: 
 
 PHILAOELPIIIA, Al'RIL IJ, I753. 
 
 T/ie Province, 
 
 To Edmund VVoolkv, Dr. 
 Forsundrys advanced for raising the Bell 
 
 Frame and putting up the Bell. 
 
 A peck Potatoes, 2S. gd : 14 lbs. Beef at 
 — 4S. 8d ; 4 Gammons, 36 lb. at 6d. — 
 i8s. - - - - ^i 
 
 Mustard, Pepper, Salt, Butter, o 
 
 A Cheese, 13 lb. at 6d. — 6s. 6d ; 
 Beef 30 lb. at 4d. — los ; a peck 
 Potatoes, 2s. 7(1. -0 
 
 300 Limes, 14s. 3 gallons Rum, of 
 John Jones, 14s, - - i 
 
 36 Loaves of Bread, of Lacey, ye 
 
 Baker, - - - -090 
 
 ('looking and Wood, 8s. Earthen- 
 ware and Candles, of Duchee, 
 13s. 4d. - - - o 1 1 4 
 
 A barrel of Beer, of Anthony 
 
 .Morris, - - - - o 18 o 
 
 £':> ■-> ro 
 Errors excepted, Ed.Wooi.kv. 
 "The mould was finished in a very 
 o'asterly manner and the letters I am told 
 
 ' This same niaiiner also brought over gratu- 
 itously, the hells for Christ church, which in con- 
 sequence were always made upon his arrival lo 
 chime forth their greetings and tlianks. 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 arc better than in tlie old one. When 
 we broke up the metal oiw judges here 
 generally agreed it was too high and 
 brittle, and cast several little bells out of 
 it, to try the sound and strength. We 
 fi.\ed upon a mixture of an ounce and one 
 lialf of copper to one pound of the old bell 
 and in this proportion we now have it." 
 
 It was soon found however that the com- 
 position of this bell was defective, toonwxcW 
 copper having been added ; * ' so many witti- 
 cismswere madethereon by the towns people 
 that Pass, (a native of the Isle of Malta) 
 and a son of Charles Stow who were the 
 persons who originally inidertook to re- 
 cast the Bell, and who had made the 
 mould in a masterly manner and run 
 the metal well," insisted upon making 
 another essay, and in June, 1753, their 
 second Bell was placed in position in the 
 State House steeple. This event was 
 duly chronicled in the papers of the day.' 
 
 There seems to have existed a contrariety 
 of opinion as to the acceptability of this 
 second attempt, but as far as can be ascer- 
 tained the Bell continued to be used 
 without nny further effort to amend its 
 sound. Thus it was that on Monday the 
 8th day of July, 1776, [not on 4th)'- at 
 
 ' The following is from the Maryland tiazetie 
 of Thursday, July 5, 1753. 
 
 Philadelphia, June 7th 1753. Last week wa> 
 raised and fixed in the Slate House steeple, the new 
 great Bell, cast here by Pass and Stow, weighing 
 2080 lbs. with this motto, " Proclaim Liberty 
 throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants 
 thereof — Lev. xxv. 10. 
 
 Extract from the " Centenary Memorial^ 
 '^ " Congress did not authorise the official proniul 
 gation of Independence till the next day, (5th) — 
 It sat usually with closed doors, its members pledged 
 to secrecy — so important a step as a severance of 
 the ties which connected the Colonies with the 
 mother country could not have been agitated and 
 acted upon without admitting the general public 
 into a knowledge of the fact, apart from which 
 it was wished and indeed designed, as has already 
 been shown, to ]>redicate the action of the federal 
 Congress, upon the expressed wishes of the indi- 
 vidual Colonies. In the correspondence of the day 
 accordingly on this subject, we do not find the usual 
 reticence; delegates did not hesitate in their 
 familiar letters both to prognosticate the event in 
 lune, but also immediately after the action oi 
 July 2nd ^tlie really important flay, — to announce 
 
AMERICAN HISTORICAL RECORD. 
 
 12 o'clock at noon, this very Bell rang out 
 to the citizens of Philadelphia, the glad 
 tidings, that a new nation had a feAv days 
 before sprung into existence, proclaiming, 
 in language understood by every ear, all 
 
 MEN ARE BORN FREE AND EQUAL. 
 
 This fulfdment of that portion of the 
 text inscribed upon its surface has been 
 celebrated in prose and in verse. Whether 
 the result of a "coincidence" only or 
 whether an inspiration induced Mr. Speaker 
 
 the fact as the most memorable epoch in the history 
 of America, a day to be celebrated throughout all 
 time. Still it was not till the 5th that it was " Re- 
 solved that copies of the Declaration be sent to the 
 several Assemlslies, Conventions and Councils of 
 .Safety and to the several commanding officers of 
 the Continental troops, that it be proclaimed in each 
 of the United States and at the head of the army." 
 
 These " copies" were printed broadsides signed 
 by John Hancock, as President, and attested by 
 Charles Thomson, as Secretar)'. 
 
 In Philadelphia, pursuant to this resolution duly 
 laid before the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania 
 on Saturday 6th July, it was ordered by that body 
 — besides communicating with other counties of the 
 State. — 
 
 " That the Sheriff of Phila. read or cause to be 
 read and proclaimed at the State House, in the city 
 of Philadelphia, on Monday the 8th day of July, 
 instant at 12 o'clock at noon of this same day, the 
 Declaration of the Representatives of the United 
 .States of America, and that he canse all his officers 
 and the constables of the said city to attend the 
 reading thereof. 
 
 Resolved that every member of this Committee 
 in or near the city be ordered to meet at the commit- 
 tee chamber before 12 o'clock Monday, to proceed to 
 the State House, where the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence is to be proclaimed." 
 
 The Committee of Inspection of the city, and 
 Liberties were rerjuested to attend. 
 
 We have ample evidence that this programme 
 was literally carried out. That the Declaration was 
 read and proclaimed from the stage, the popular 
 rostrum of the day, which had been erected m the 
 State House yard by the Philosophical Society near 
 its Plall, to observe the transit of Venus. That it was 
 read by John Nixon, a relative of Robt. Morris, 
 and a prominent member of the Committee of Safety, 
 that a vast concourse of people greeted it by loud 
 cheers. That the constituted authorities were 
 present, including a number of the Delegates to 
 Congress, and " the bells rang all day and almost 
 all night even the chimes (Christ church) chimed 
 away." 
 
 The royal insignia of authority were at the same 
 time removed from the Court Room in the State 
 House and duly burnt. 
 
 Norris, thus to baptise his State House Bel! 
 would seem a mere choice of words deter- 
 minable by one's stand point, but certain it 
 is that the Divine command to which 
 reference is thus made is about now to be 
 obeyed to the letter. 
 
 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth 
 year and proclaum liberty throughout 
 all the land unto all the inhabitants 
 thereof: it shall be a jubilee uni o 
 
 YOU. — Lev. XXV. 10. 
 
 Such in full are the words of Holy W rit, 
 such the Handwriting on the Wall. 
 
 We consult the oldest inhabitant, we 
 scan the records of the day in vain for 
 any especial notice of the first fiftieth birth 
 day of the Nation, but the second its 
 golden anniversary is about to be a 
 "Jubilee" unto us and unto all men. 
 
 Honor be to that man who made the 
 first move whether he be familiar with the 
 scriptural injunction, or the unconscious 
 instrument in the hands of His Maker. 
 
 For full fifty years as nearly as can be 
 ascertained, our Liberty Bell continued tt> 
 celebrate every national anniversary, and 
 then — it cracked, it had performed iis 
 mission and was mute forever. 
 
 Its vicissitudes had however been many ; 
 when the American forces in 1777, were 
 about to leave Philadephia, the Bell (and 
 those of Christ church, its coadjutors in an- 
 nouncing Independence, shared its for- 
 tunes) was taken down by the Commissary 
 and transported to Allen town to prevent 
 its falling into the hands of the British, 
 who were then about to occupy the city. 
 
 Though brought back to town after the 
 evacuation it does not seem to have been 
 restored to its original place in the old 
 steeple. The latter made of wcod had 
 been for some time in a state of decay, 
 and being at last' considered by the 
 Assembly in a dangerous condition was 
 ordered in April, 1781, to be taken down. 
 
 ' ' The heavy Fraim whereon the Bell used 
 to hang," was lowered into the brick tower 
 where it still remains. The tower Avas 
 plainly though sufficiently and effectually 
 covered for the preservation of the build- 
 ing and surmounted by a slender spire or 
 point. 
 
14 
 
 AMERICAN IIISTORICAT. RECORD. 
 
 Immediately in front of the si)ire on 
 the main roof, the Bell itself was sus- 
 pended with aslight covering or shed built 
 over it as is seen in Birch's familiar views 
 of the State House. The Bill for this 
 work is also extant and may interest the 
 curious: 
 
 "J//-. Thomas Ni'vcli;' 
 for ihe State IJoicsc. 1 7 S i , 
 
 To John Coburn, Dr. 
 July 16 — To sundry hands getting 
 down the Old Steeple, and 
 getting u]) the new one, get- 
 ting up the Bell, and fixing 
 of it, - - - ^12 00 00 
 
 To the two falls and blocks 
 and Crab getting the Old 
 Steeple down and the new 
 up, and the Bell, - 8 00 00 
 
 jQzQ 00 00 
 
 Note — This is the Rigger's bill against 
 Nevell the Carpenter." 
 
 The 4th July, 1S28, was celebrated by 
 the completion of a new steeple, made to 
 resemble the original as nearly as cir- 
 cumstances would admit; these circum- 
 stances were the placing therein a clock 
 with four faces made by Lukens, and a 
 new bell without a clapper, upon which 
 the clock was to strike the hours by means 
 of a hammer — another hammer to be 
 worked by machinery for fire alarm? 
 
 I may add that the present bell which 
 
 was cast by J. Wilbank, of Philadelphia, 
 was completed and placed in position on 
 nth September, 1828. It is stated that 
 ''the dimensions of this bell were scienti- 
 fically calculated previously to being cast, 
 and .so accurately that the weight was in 
 excess only 75 lbs. its total weight being 
 4275 lbs. and cost $1,923 75." 
 
 This vaunt however is not sustained by 
 the estimate submitted in advance to 
 Councils, as its weight was to be 4,000 lbs. 
 still as the incre;ised, over the intended, 
 weight of the original bell was but eighty 
 pounds, it would not ai)pear that our more 
 modern bell founder could plume himself 
 on any progression in "scientific calcu- 
 lation" in the intervening seventy-five 
 years. 
 
 The old Bell hereupon transferred to the 
 tower was long permitted to remain in 
 dignified retirement, and after a futile 
 effort to restore its sound' by enlarging the 
 causes of its dissonance, it was stored in 
 Independence Chamber elevated upon a 
 carved pedestal, its tongue uprooted and 
 surmounted by a stuffed eagle 
 
 It is now about to be placed in the 
 vestibule of the Hall pro{)erly installed 
 upon its original framework, and full in 
 view of the spot it has contributed to 
 consecrate. 
 
 Thus embalmed may it always be per- 
 mitted to remain a living witness to the 
 fulfilment of its own prophecy, as well as 
 a perpetual monument to its own deeds. 
 
 CHASE & TOWN, 142 SOUTH FOURTH ST. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 


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