Philadelphia merchant and politician.

Traded in partnership with his brother-in- law George Meade. Commanded a militia company in the Revolutionary War; also served on Pennsylvania Council of Safety and Navy Board. Founder and director (1781- 1803) of the Bank of North America. Member of Continental Congress (1782-83) and Pennsylvania Assembly (1785-89). Delegate to Constitutional Convention (1787). Member of U.S. House of Representatives (1789-95). Federalist; served as Alexander Hamilton’s spokesman in Congress. President of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (1801). Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania (1791-1811).

Born in Ireland. Immigrated to Philadelphia (1760). Married Catherine Meade.

First letter in correspondence: September 17, 1787; DAB; John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes, eds., American National Biography (24 vols., New York, 1999).