John Hannum III
| John Hannum III | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1744 Concord Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | February 7, 1799 (aged 55) West Chester, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | politician, colonial militia officer, businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Parke |
| Children | 9 |
John Hannum III (1744 – February 2, 1799), also known as Col. John Hannum was a politician, businessman and colonial militiaman in Chester County, Pennsylvania influential in the establishment of West Chester, Pennsylvania as the county seat. His grandfather was an early settler in Pennsylvania, perhaps immigrating as early as 1682.
While a colonel in 1st Battalion of Chester County Militia, John Hannum and his friend and brother-in-law Thomas Cheyney achieved a certain fame in identifying and notifying George Washington of the movement of British troops under the command of General William Howe across the Brandywine River at Trimble's Ford in their march past Jefferis Ford toward the Battle of the Brandywine.
Later he was taken captive by the British and held prisoner in Philadelphia until his escape (see his letter to George Washington describing this ordeal).
He was a delegate from Chester County in the State convention for ratifying the Constitution of the United States.
In 1784 Hannum, among others, was selected to build a new Court House and Prison for the County of Chester in a location within one and a half miles from the Turk's Head Tavern. This came to be the Borough of West Chester. The residents of the town of Chester (the previous site of the county seat) were opposed to this change and potential altercation was narrowly avoided through the influence of John Hannum as described in the "History of Chester County, Pennsylvania: with genealogical and biographical sketches":
A burlesque ditty written to ridicule the inhabitants of Chester over this event and titled "Lament Over Chester’s Mother" ends with following lines:
Previous to the construction of the new court-house he purchased the adjacent property where:
From 1793 till his death in 1799 Hannum was Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds of Chester County.
He was buried at the Bradford Friends Burying Ground, Marshallton, Pennsylvania, USA.
The Col. John Hannum House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Wikipedia