George Clymer
| George Clymer | |
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Portrait by Charles Willson Peale
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| Born |
March 16, 1739 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | January 23, 1813 (aged 73) Morrisville, Pennsylvania |
| Known for | Founding Father of the United States |
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George Clymer (March 16, 1739 – January 23, 1813) was an American politician and founding father. He was one of the first Patriots to advocate complete independence from Britain. As a Pennsylvania representative, Clymer was, along with five others, a signatory of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. He attended the Continental Congress, and served in political office until the end of his life.
Clymer was born in Philadelphia on 16 March 1739. Orphaned when only a year old, he was apprenticed to his maternal aunt and uncle, Hannah and William Coleman, to prepare to become a merchant. It is now a matter of public record that before he married Elizabeth Meredith on March 22, 1765, he had at least one other child that has gone unnoticed by previous historians. In Mr.Jerry Grunfest’s doctoral dissertation for Columbia University, which was later published as "George Clymer, Philadelphia Revolutionary 1739 to 1813;" published in 1973; Located on page 32 and 33, Mr.Grundfest recites a letter written by George Clymer to the rector of Christ Church, the Reverend Richard Peter’s stating the existence of this child. It does not state the child nor mother's name but nonetheless there is at least one other child of George Clymer and the possibility of more. George Clymer and Elizabeth Meredith had nine children, four of whom died in infancy. His oldest surviving son, Henry (born 1767), married the Philadelphia socialite Mary Willing Clymer in 1794. John Meredith, Margaret, George, and Ann also survived to adulthood, though John Meredith was killed in the Whiskey Rebellion in 1787 at the age of 18.
Clymer was a patriot and leader in the demonstrations in Philadelphia resulting from the Tea Act and the Stamp Act. He became a member of the Philadelphia Committee of Safety in 1773, and was elected to the Continental Congress 1776–1780. Clymer shared the responsibility of being treasurer of the Continental Congress with Michael Hillegas, later the first Treasurer of the United States. He served ably on several committees during his first congressional term and was sent with Sampson Mathews to inspect the northern army on behalf of Congress in the fall of 1776. When Congress fled Philadelphia in the face of Sir Henry Clinton's threatened occupation, Clymer stayed behind with George Walton and Robert Morris. Clymer’s business ventures during and after war served to increase his wealth. In 1779 and 1780, Clymer and his son Meredith engaged in a lucrative trade with St. Eustatius.
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