Maria Apthorp^[1]

1760 - 1790  (30 years)

• Name	Maria Apthorp
  Born	1760	Likely Pennsylvania Colony
  Gender	Female
  Died	14 Oct 1790	New York, New York
  Buried	Trinity Churchyard, Manhattan, New York
  Person ID	I22656	My Reynolds Line
  Last Modified	27 Oct 2020

  
  

  Family	Hugh [Davison] Williamson,   b. 5 Dec 1735, Franklin County, Pennsylvania ,   d. 22 May 1819, Franklin County, Pennsylvania  (Age 83 years)
  Married	3 Jan 1789	New York City, New York   [4]
  Children	1. Charles Apthorp Williamson,   b. 1789, New York ,   d. 18 Mar 1811, New York  (Age 22 years)
  Last Modified	19 Jul 2022
  Family ID	F8525	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Documents » Slide Show		Williamson-Apthorp Marriage New York Daily Gazette Jan 5, 1789
  		Hugh Williamson-Obit The Evening Post May 24, 1819
  		Maria Apthorp Williamson-Death Notice New York Daily Gazette Oct 15, 1790

  
  

• Sources

  [S127] Geni, https://www.geni.com/people/Hugh-Williamson/6000000021676270398. Hugh Williamson Birthdate: December 05, 1735 Birthplace: Nottingham Township, PA Death: May 22, 1819 (83) New York, New York (stabbed to death) Place of Burial: Trinity Churchyard Manhattan New York County (Manhattan) New York Plot: Interred in the Apthorp family vault Immediate Family: Son of John W. Williamson and Mary Williamson Husband of Maria Apthorp Williamson Father of David Williamson; Charles Apthorp Williamson and John Williamson Brother of John Cary Williamson; Margaret Reynolds and Samuel Williamson http://kurtshistoricsites.com/Hugh_Williamson.html Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Hugh Williamson was a physician and polymath who served as one of North Carolina?s delegates to the Federal Constitutional Convention. Active in the debates at the Convention, Williamson was a leading intellectual in Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary America. Williamson?s parents were devout Presbyterians, and his father enrolled Williamson in a Presbyterian school, where he studied the liberal arts. Upon graduation from this school, Williamson matriculated at the new College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania). At the college, Williamson not only studied mathematics but also taught Latin and English to secondary school students, and he graduated in May 1757 with a bachelor?s in mathematics. Williamson then left Philadelphia to study theology, first in Pennsylvania and later in Connecticut. He soon decided to abandon these studies, returning to the College of Philadelphia to study medicine. Earning a master?s degree in 1760, he taught at the college while pursuing doctoral studies. In 1763, his studies took him to Britain. He finally earned an M.D. from Utrecht University in Holland and in 1768 returned to Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, Williamson not only practiced medicine but also became a renowned independent scholar. Within months of his arrival in Philadelphia, he was inducted into the American Philosophical Society, which had been founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1763. Led by luminaries such as Franklin, Benjamin Rush, and Thomas Jefferson, the members of this organization studied not philosophy as we know it today but, rather, natural philosophy ? to wit, natural science, with an emphasis on practical knowledge. Though a physician by profession, Williamson, as a member of the Philosophical Society, soon began writing on subjects as diverse as climatology, marine biology, and astronomy. His ?Attempt to Account for the Change of Climate? is perhaps his most famous scientific work; far from being the work of an amateur, it reveals a strong grasp of causal logic and the scientific method. In the early 1770s, Williamson became widely recognized as a scholar not only in America but also in Britain and the Netherlands. Traveling widely, he happened to be in Boston when the Tea Party occurred. Immediately after witnessing the event, Williamson sailed from Boston to England on the first ship to depart the city. Because Williamson had left Boston so soon after the Tea Party, the English Privy Council questioned him about the Tea Party. While in Britain, Williamson penned an open letter to Lord Mansfield, the longtime chief justice of the King?s Bench, in which he explicated the grievances of the colonies. Published in both London and America, this open letter, titled The Plea of the Colonies on the Charges Brought Against Them by Lord Mansfield, and Others, in a Letter to His Lordship, became a classic pamphlet of the American Revolution. At the outset of the Revolution, Williamson traveled to the Netherlands, though he left the Continent for Philadelphia when the Declaration of Independence was signed. He attempted to assist the war effort by joining the Continentals as a military physician, but they did not desire his assistance. He thus resumed the practice of medicine around Philadelphia. The British occupation of Philadelphia drove Williamson, and thousands of others, out of the city. He briefly moved to Charleston to work as a merchant. As Williamson was sailing from Charleston to Baltimore, the movements of British forces left him with no safe option but to drop anchor at Edenton, North Carolina. He stayed in the city indefinitely, working as tanner, shipbuilder, and physician. Already a prominent figure in America, Williamson attracted the attention of Governor Richard Caswell, who welcomed Williamson?s medical expertise. After performing such services as inoculating North Carolinian soldiers against smallpox, Williamson was named the state?s surgeon general. In 1782, Edenton elected Williamson to the General Assembly, and within months, he joined the Continental Congress, where he made himself an expert on all matters of concern to North Carolina. After completing three terms in the Congress, he returned to Edenton and again was elected to the General Assembly. In 1787, Williamson was named a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention. Appointed to five committees (the second most of any delegate to the convention) and giving more than seventy speeches, Williamson was one of the most active delegates in Philadelphia. He had a particularly strong interest in economic questions, serving on committees to consider questions such as state debts and the slave trade. While considering these questions of immediate import to the young republic, Williamson also made a large number of smaller contributions to the Constitution. After other delegates proposed that Federal senators serve seven-year terms, Williamson suggested the six-year term stipulated in the Constitution. Moreover, his comments on the procedure for trying the president after impeachment affected the outcome of that debate ? though granting the Supreme Court the power to try the president had been considered, delegates deemed trial by the Senate a more desirable option. After the convention, Williamson wrote a number of essays in support of the new Constitution, and he attended the Fayetteville Convention of 1789. He was elected to the House of Representatives from North Carolina after ratification, and, as in the Constitutional Convention, was especially active on economic issues. He nonetheless declined to run for reelection due to the early death of his wife. Upon his departure from Congress, Williamson retired from political life, moving to New York to resume intellectual pursuits. During the decades he spent in New York, he wrote numerous scholarly works, including an authoritative history of North Carolina, before his death in 1819. Sources: Bruce R. Dain, A Hideous Monster of the Mind: American Race Theory in the Early Republic (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2003); John L. Humber, ?Hugh Williamson,? in Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, ed. William S. Powell (Chapel Hill, 1996); John R. Vile, The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America?s Founding (Santa Barbara, 2005); Hugh Williamson, The History of North Carolina (Philadelphia, 1812) See Also: Related Categories: Ratification Debates, Federalist, Early America, Revolution Era Related Encyclopedia Entries: William Hooper (1742-1790), Federalist Party, Francis Oliver (1740-1808), William Richardson Davie (1756-1820), William Blount (1749-1800), James Iredell, Sr. (1751-1799), Alfred Moore (1755-1810), Principles of an American Whig, Hillsborough Convention of 1788, Ratification Debates, An Address to the Freemen of North Carolina (Publicola), A Speech at Edenton, Archibald Maclaine (1728-1790), Person County (1792), Jones County (1779), William Henry Hill (1767-1808) Related Commentary: Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, A Duel to End All Duels: Richard Dobbs Spaight Vs. John Stanly Timeline: 1664-1775 , 1776-1835 Region: Statewide http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/commentary/275/entry NOTE: Mary Williamson wife of John Williamson is identified as Mary Davidson, d/o George and Margaret Davidson. Given the details of the will of these associates, I do not believe this information is accurate. Mary Williamson is Mary Reynolds, daughter of George Reynolds and is mentioned in his will. [S127] Geni, https://www.geni.com/people/Hugh-Williamson/6000000021676270398. Birth: Dec. 5, 1735 Death: May 22, 1819 Congressman, Signer of US Constitution. A member of the first graduating class of what is now the University of Pennsylvania; he left college to lead a life full of diverse career experiences including being a licensed clergyman, a professor of mathematics, a physician, a merchant and an author. As a member of the American Philosophical Society he was commissioned to observe the movements of Mercury and Venus. Although he was a native New Englander he returned from a trip to England, in 1776, to settle in North Carolina. It was there that he became involved in politics. From 1779 to 1782 he was the surgeon-general for the North Carolina militia. From 1782 to 1785 and from 1787 to 1788 he served in the Continental Congress. It was in 1787 that he was sent as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia. He was a vocal participant pushing for representation, in the new nation's legislative branch, to be based on population, a position that would benefit the larger states. After the new government was established the Federalist was elected to the First and Second Congresses representing his North Carolina district from 1790 to 1793. As a Congressman he opposed the Jay Treaty, the whiskey tax and the establishment of the Bank of the United States. After serving two terms he moved to New York City where he once again assumed his writing career. In the latter stages of his life he published works on North Carolina history, the lightening rod, and the affects of the climate on the health of humans. ALthough out of politics, the Pennsylvania native continued to demonstrate concern for his fellow man by volunteering in an orphanage, a New York City hospital and for the humane society. He remained active in his scientific, literary and community service pursuits until his death. Burial: Trinity Churchyard Manhattan New York County (Manhattan) New York Plot: Interred in the Apthorp family vault Maria Williamson (Apthorpe) Birthdate: 1760 Birthplace: unknown info Death: October 20, 1790 (29-30) New York, New York, United States Place of Burial: Trinity Churchyard Manhattan New York County (Manhattan) New York, USA Plot: Interred in the Apthorp family vault Immediate Family: Daughter of Hon. Charles Ward Apthorp and Mary Apthorpe Wife of Hugh Williamson Mother of David Williamson; Charles Apthorp Williamson and John Williamson Sister of Charlotte Augusta Apthorp; James Apthorpe; Charles Apthorpe; George Apthorpe; Susannah Apthorpe; Eliza Apthorpe; Rebecca Apthorpe and Ann Apthorpe ________________ Hugh Williamson Birthdate: December 05, 1735 Birthplace: Nottingham Township, PA Death: May 22, 1819 (83) New York, New York (stabbed to death) Place of Burial: Trinity Churchyard Manhattan New York County (Manhattan) New York Plot: Interred in the Apthorp family vault Immediate Family: Son of John W. Williamson and Mary Williamson Husband of Maria Apthorp Williamson Father of David Williamson; Charles Apthorp Williamson and John Williamson Brother of John Cary Williamson; Margaret Reynolds and Samuel Williamson http://kurtshistoricsites.com/Hugh_Williamson.html Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Hugh Williamson was a physician and polymath who served as one of North Carolina?s delegates to the Federal Constitutional Convention. Active in the debates at the Convention, Williamson was a leading intellectual in Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary America. Williamson?s parents were devout Presbyterians, and his father enrolled Williamson in a Presbyterian school, where he studied the liberal arts. Upon graduation from this school, Williamson matriculated at the new College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania). At the college, Williamson not only studied mathematics but also taught Latin and English to secondary school students, and he graduated in May 1757 with a bachelor?s in mathematics. Williamson then left Philadelphia to study theology, first in Pennsylvania and later in Connecticut. He soon decided to abandon these studies, returning to the College of Philadelphia to study medicine. Earning a master?s degree in 1760, he taught at the college while pursuing doctoral studies. In 1763, his studies took him to Britain. He finally earned an M.D. from Utrecht University in Holland and in 1768 returned to Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, Williamson not only practiced medicine but also became a renowned independent scholar. Within months of his arrival in Philadelphia, he was inducted into the American Philosophical Society, which had been founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1763. Led by luminaries such as Franklin, Benjamin Rush, and Thomas Jefferson, the members of this organization studied not philosophy as we know it today but, rather, natural philosophy ? to wit, natural science, with an emphasis on practical knowledge. Though a physician by profession, Williamson, as a member of the Philosophical Society, soon began writing on subjects as diverse as climatology, marine biology, and astronomy. His ?Attempt to Account for the Change of Climate? is perhaps his most famous scientific work; far from being the work of an amateur, it reveals a strong grasp of causal logic and the scientific method. In the early 1770s, Williamson became widely recognized as a scholar not only in America but also in Britain and the Netherlands. Traveling widely, he happened to be in Boston when the Tea Party occurred. Immediately after witnessing the event, Williamson sailed from Boston to England on the first ship to depart the city. Because Williamson had left Boston so soon after the Tea Party, the English Privy Council questioned him about the Tea Party. While in Britain, Williamson penned an open letter to Lord Mansfield, the longtime chief justice of the King?s Bench, in which he explicated the grievances of the colonies. Published in both London and America, this open letter, titled The Plea of the Colonies on the Charges Brought Against Them by Lord Mansfield, and Others, in a Letter to His Lordship, became a classic pamphlet of the American Revolution. At the outset of the Revolution, Williamson traveled to the Netherlands, though he left the Continent for Philadelphia when the Declaration of Independence was signed. He attempted to assist the war effort by joining the Continentals as a military physician, but they did not desire his assistance. He thus resumed the practice of medicine around Philadelphia. The British occupation of Philadelphia drove Williamson, and thousands of others, out of the city. He briefly moved to Charleston to work as a merchant. As Williamson was sailing from Charleston to Baltimore, the movements of British forces left him with no safe option but to drop anchor at Edenton, North Carolina. He stayed in the city indefinitely, working as tanner, shipbuilder, and physician. Already a prominent figure in America, Williamson attracted the attention of Governor Richard Caswell, who welcomed Williamson?s medical expertise. After performing such services as inoculating North Carolinian soldiers against smallpox, Williamson was named the state?s surgeon general. In 1782, Edenton elected Williamson to the General Assembly, and within months, he joined the Continental Congress, where he made himself an expert on all matters of concern to North Carolina. After completing three terms in the Congress, he returned to Edenton and again was elected to the General Assembly. In 1787, Williamson was named a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention. Appointed to five committees (the second most of any delegate to the convention) and giving more than seventy speeches, Williamson was one of the most active delegates in Philadelphia. He had a particularly strong interest in economic questions, serving on committees to consider questions such as state debts and the slave trade. While considering these questions of immediate import to the young republic, Williamson also made a large number of smaller contributions to the Constitution. After other delegates proposed that Federal senators serve seven-year terms, Williamson suggested the six-year term stipulated in the Constitution. Moreover, his comments on the procedure for trying the president after impeachment affected the outcome of that debate ? though granting the Supreme Court the power to try the president had been considered, delegates deemed trial by the Senate a more desirable option. After the convention, Williamson wrote a number of essays in support of the new Constitution, and he attended the Fayetteville Convention of 1789. He was elected to the House of Representatives from North Carolina after ratification, and, as in the Constitutional Convention, was especially active on economic issues. He nonetheless declined to run for reelection due to the early death of his wife. Upon his departure from Congress, Williamson retired from political life, moving to New York to resume intellectual pursuits. During the decades he spent in New York, he wrote numerous scholarly works, including an authoritative history of North Carolina, before his death in 1819. Sources: Bruce R. Dain, A Hideous Monster of the Mind: American Race Theory in the Early Republic (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2003); John L. Humber, ?Hugh Williamson,? in Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, ed. William S. Powell (Chapel Hill, 1996); John R. Vile, The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America?s Founding (Santa Barbara, 2005); Hugh Williamson, The History of North Carolina (Philadelphia, 1812) See Also: Related Categories: Ratification Debates, Federalist, Early America, Revolution Era Related Encyclopedia Entries: William Hooper (1742-1790), Federalist Party, Francis Oliver (1740-1808), William Richardson Davie (1756-1820), William Blount (1749-1800), James Iredell, Sr. (1751-1799), Alfred Moore (1755-1810), Principles of an American Whig, Hillsborough Convention of 1788, Ratification Debates, An Address to the Freemen of North Carolina (Publicola), A Speech at Edenton, Archibald Maclaine (1728-1790), Person County (1792), Jones County (1779), William Henry Hill (1767-1808) Related Commentary: Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, A Duel to End All Duels: Richard Dobbs Spaight Vs. John Stanly Timeline: 1664-1775 , 1776-1835 Region: Statewide http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/commentary/275/entry NOTE: Mary Williamson wife of John Williamson is identified as Mary Davidson, d/o George and Margaret Davidson. Given the details of the will of these associates, I do not believe this information is accurate. Mary Williamson is Mary Reynolds, daughter of George Reynolds who is mentioned in his will. [S107] Family Histories, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/107355398/person/342368244927/facts. Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) Name Hugh Williamson Birth Year 1735 Death Year 1819 Has Photo No Source All Possible Worlds. A history of geographical ideas. Fourth edition. By Geoffrey J. Martin. Entries begin on page 539. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. (AllPW) Allibone's Critical Dictionary of English Literature. British and American authors living and deceased from the earliest accounts to the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. Three volumes. By S. Austin Allibone. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1858-1871. (Alli) American Authors, 1600-1900. A biographical dictionary of American literature. Edited by Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1938. (AmAu) American Biographies. By Wheeler Preston. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1940. (AmBi) American National Biography. 24 volumes. Edited by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. (AmNatBi) Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Six volumes. Edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1888- 1889. (ApCAB) Biographical Annals of the Civil Government of the United States. During its first century; from original and official sources. By Charles Lanman. Washington, DC: James Anglim, 1876. (BiAUS) Biographical Dictionary of American Science. The seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. By Clark A. Elliott. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979. (BiDAmS) Biographical Dictionary of Southern Authors. Compiled by Lucian Lamar Knight. Atlanta: Martin & Hoyt Co., 1929. Originally published as Library of Southern Literature, Volume 15, Biographical Dictionary of Authors. (BiDSA) Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971. The Continental Congress (September 5, 1774 to October 21, 1788) and the Congress of the United States (from the first through the ninety- first Congress March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1971, inclusive). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971. Biographies begin on page 487. (BiDrAC) Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989. The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774 to October 21, 1788 and the Congress of the United States from the first through the one hundredth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1989, inclusive. Bicentennial Edition. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989. Biographies begin on page 507. (BiDrUSC) Biographical Index to American Science. The seventeenth century to 1920. Compiled by Clark A. Elliott. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. (BiInAmS) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 7: September, 1964-August, 1967. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1968. (BioIn 7) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 8: September, 1967-August, 1970. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1971. (BioIn 8) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 15: September, 1986-August, 1988. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1988. (BioIn 15) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 16: September, 1988-August, 1990. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1990. (BioIn 16) Cyclopaedia of American Literature. Embracing personal and critical notices of authors, and selections from their writings, from the earliest period to the present day; with portraits, autographs, and other illustrations. Volume 1. By Evert A. Duyckinck and George L. Duyckinck. Philadelphia: William Rutter & Co., 1875. Use the Index in Volume 2 to locate biographies. (CyAL 1) A Dictionary of American Authors. Fifth edition, revised and enlarged. By Oscar Fay Adams. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1904. Biographies are found in the 'Dictionary of American Authors' section which begins on page 1 and in the 'Supplement' which begins on page 441. (DcAmAu) Dictionary of American Biography. Volumes 1-20. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928-1936. (DcAmB) Dictionary of American Medical Biography. Lives of eminent physicians of the United States and Canada, from the earliest times. By Howard A. Kelly and Walter L. Burrage. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1928. (DcAmMeBi) A Dictionary of North American Authors Deceased before 1950. Compiled by W. Stewart Wallace. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1951. (DcNAA) Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Volume 6, T-Z. Edited by William S. Powell. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996. (DcNCBi 6) Drake's Dictionary of American Biography. Including men of the time, containing nearly 10,000 notices of persons of both sexes, of native and foreign birth, who have been remarkable, or prominently connected with the arts, sciences, literature, politics, or history, of the American continent. By Francis S. Drake. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 1872. (Drake) The Encyclopedia of Colonial and Revolutionary America. Edited by John Mack Faragher. New York: Facts on File, 1990. (EncCRAm) Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History: From 458 A.D. to 1915. New edition entirely revised and enlarged. 10 volumes. By Benson John Lossing. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1915. (HarEnUS) Index to Scientists of the World from Ancient to Modern Times. Biographies and portraits. By Norma Olin Ireland. Boston: F.W. Faxon Co., 1962. (InSci) The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Volume 2. New York: James T. White & Co., 1891. Use the Index to locate biographies. (NatCAB 2) The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Brief biographies of authors, administrators, clergymen, commanders, editors, engineers, jurists, merchants, officials, philanthropists, scientists, statesmen, and others who are making American history. 10 volumes. Edited by Rossiter Johnson. Boston: The Biographical Society, 1904. (TwCBDA) Who Was Who in America. A component volume of Who's Who in American History. Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Revised Edition. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1967. (WhAm HS) Who Was Who in American Politics. A biographical dictionary of over 4,000 men and women who contributed to the United States political scene from colonial days up to and including the immediate past. By Dan and Inez Morris. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1974. (WhAmP) Who Was Who in the American Revolution. New York: Facts on File, 1993. (WhAmRev) [S245] Vital Record (Ancestry), https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/107355398/person/342368244927/facts. Name Hugh Williamson Spouse Name Maria Apthorp Marriage Date 1789 Marriage Place New York City, New York, New York Marriage ID 2220329917 Other Comments On microfilm at Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Source The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (quarterly), 1943, selected extracts Publisher New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Publication Place New York, NY Page 119 Name: Hugh Williamson Spouse Name: Maria Apthorp Marriage Date: 1789 Marriage Place: New York City, New York, New York Marriage ID: 2220329917 Other Comments: On microfilm at Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Source: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (quarterly), 1943, selected extracts Publisher: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Publication Place: New York, NY Page: 119