Joseph Rush was a master builder already active in Carpenters' Company affairs by February 15, 1763, when he was elected to the important committee to set the prices used by masters in measuring carpentry work in Philadelphia. On January 20, 1766, he was elected Warden of The Company and on December 14, 1778, he was chosen President. The date of Rush's election to The Company is unknown due to the loss of early records; as early as 1746 he is recorded as having taken one Cornelius Vanostin as an apprentice following the death of his brother Thomas Rush (d. 1745). Joseph Rush was an "encourager" to the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan, The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first architectural book published in America. Following Joseph Rush's death, his widow applied for and received financial assistance from The Carpenters' Company. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Isaac Coats, Jr., was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company by 1768 although no Company records prior to the 1760s survive to provide a specific date. He was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. In April, 1776, the Committee of Salfety commissioned Coats to erect a powder magazine capable of holding 1000 barrels of powder on the northeast corner of Franklin Square. Although one of the largest contributors toward the construction of Carpenters Hall in 1770, he resigned from The Company in 1783. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Nathaniel Irish was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in the early 1760s, although the loss of early Company records make it impossible to confirm the exact date. He was excluded from The Company in 1769. In 1775 he presented a design for an armed galley to the Committee of Safety for use on the Delaware River. From 1777 through 1780 he was a Captain of Flower's Artillery Artificer Regiment. In the late 1780s his Southwark property was sold at Sheriffs' sale and he appears to have moved shortly thereafter to Pittsburgh where he died in 1816. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Patrick Craghead was a master builder who became a member of The Carpenters' Company before 1767. He served as a Second Lieutenant in Baldwin's Artillery Artificer Regiment during the Revolution. Written by Sandra L. Tatman, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
William McMullin was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company c.1768 (records unclear) and then dropped from the membership rolls in 1770. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
William Dilworth was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to 1763, but no Company records prior to the l760s survive to confirm the date of his membership. From 1763 through 1765 he was a member of the important Company committee to set the prices for measuring carpentry. In 1754 William Logan paid Dilworth "for Makg. my Back Porch" at Stenton. He was the master builder of St. Paul's Church (1761) and between 1762 and 1765 served as director of the Philadelphia Contributionship. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders
Robert Carson was a master builder who became a member of the Carpenters' Company prior to 1770. He is recorded as having built pews for the Third (Old Pine) Presbyterian Church of 1768. During the American Revolution, English soldiers utilized the church as a hospitals and used the pews for firewood. Biography from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website, a project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Written by Sandra L. Tatman and Thomas Stokes.
James Bringhurst was a master builder who subsequently became a successful merchant. He was elected to The Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia before 1768, but no Company records prior to the 1760s survive to give a specific date. Prior to the Revolution Bringhurst served as an officer or committee member of The Company; in later years he was inactive. Elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1774, he was a member of the building committee for Philosophical Hall, erected in the 1780s on what is now Independence Square. At the time of his death Bringhurst was residing in Rhode Island. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Master builder William Rakestraw is probably the son of William (d.1736)) and grandson of William (d. 1718), making it difficult to sort early references. As a lad he was apprenticed to the leading master builder James Portues who bequeathed him 40 pounds in 1736. In 1755 Rakestraw charged 6.12.6 pounds for "pulling down" the Second and Market Streets Friends Meeting House. An early member of The Carpenters' Company, he is only recorded as present at the meeting of April 27, 1767. The date of his election is unknown. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
John Hitchcock was a master builder who became a member of the Carpenters' Company in the 1760s, although no Company records prior to 1763 survive to confirm the date of his election. He was the illegitimate son of Joseph Hitchcock, who bequeathed him "all my Working Tools and Implements belonging to my Trade." Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Joshua Pancoast was a master builder who briefly appears on the rolls of The Carpenters' Company in 1770, after his death at the age of 32 the previous year. The earliest record of him in Philadelphia was the announcement of his intention to marry Hannah Lownes in 1761. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Evan Peters was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to the date of the earliest surviving records of the 1760s. He first appears in the Company records early in 1770, the same year he made a pump for The Company's lot. (Making pumps may be been a particular speciality of Peters's. In his inventory was listed "1 pump Shank & 7 Boaring Bitts (best) ...500.0.0 pounds," an unsual item to find in a carpenter's estate.) Peters died in 1779. In 1773, Peters, along with James Nevill, advertised the sale of multiple buildings in Philadelphia. The advertisement also lists James Nevill as having drawings of the buildings. The previous year Peters took an apprentice named John Brotherson for the tenure of two years and six months in order to teach him the pump making business and the rough parts of the business of a house carpenter. Another advertisement from 1768 lists Evan Peters as a contact for the purchase of stones and other milling equipment. It is unclear whether this is the same Evan Peters. In 1769, Peters is listed as having one servant and receiving a tax of 14 pounds and 4 shillings. In 1774 he was assessed for 17 pounds and 4 shillings. Written by Thomas Stokes, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
The master builder Samuel Powel has commonly been mistaken for the wealthy and socially prominent Mayor of Philadelphia, Samuel Powel (1738-1793), grandson of Samuel Powell. The date of this Powel's election to The Carpenters' Company is unknown; he is first mentioned as present at a meeting on October 23, 1769, and was appointed to committees or elected to offices within The Company in the 1770s. These early references fit the possibility of a birthright membership for the grandson of the Company founder, and it should be kept in mind that Philadelphia Mayor Samuel Rhoads and Speaker Joseph Fox both were members of The Company. However, Louise Hall ("Artificer to Architect in America") discovered that in 1786 Powell was in arrears on his dues and his son William received for him in 1791 repayment of his contribution toward building Carpenters' Hall. In 1808 Powel was in Handcock Town, MD, when he signed a note to borrow $40.00 from The Company. According to Company records, Powel died in 1815. None of these post-Revolution references fit the facts of Mayor Powel's life. Unless later research proves that there were two Samuel Powels who were members of The Carpenters' Company in the eighteenth century, it must be assumed that previous histories of The Company, including those by this author, are incorrect. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
William Lownes was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to 1768. From 1773 through 1775 he was elected a Philadelphia City Assessor and was probably actively floowing his craft inasmuch as he took several apprentices in the early 1770s. After the Revolution he lived in Bucks County and was excluded from The Company, probably for failure to pay his dues, in 1809. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Joseph Gridley was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to 1767, but no Company records prior to the 1760s survive to confirm the date of his membership. Inactive in Philadelphia after 1771 and marked as dead in Company records in 1782, he may have moved to Massachusetts. biography from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders, a project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Written by Thomas Stokes.
William Robinson was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to the date of surviving records; first present at a Company meeting in 1766; elected Warden of The Company in 1773 but was "Out of the Province" much of that time. Robinson was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan, The British Architect (1775), the first archtiectural book published in America. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
James Graisbury was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to 1769, but no Company records prior to the 1760s survive to confirm the date of his memebership. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
The master builder Jacob Reary was elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to the date of earliest surviving records of the 1760s. At The Company meeting of April 15, 1771, Thomas Nevell reported that Reary "Stood in Need of Some Assistance After Consideration his Case this Meeting Agreed to Grant him An Order on the Master for 20/ Shillings...." Company records mark him as deceased in 1782. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Thomas Shoemaker was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company on 1 February 1769, the same year he appears in the Philadelphia tax lists as a resident of the North Ward. He was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan, The British Architect (1775), the first book of architecture published in America, and the following year he is recorded as taking the inventory of plumber Eden Haydock's estate. For the last twenty years of his life, Shoemaker served on committees or as an officer of The Carpenters' Company (Master, President, and Treasurer). By the time of his death he was clearly a person of means with extensive real estate holdings. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
David Evans is unfortunately a common eighteenth-century Philadelphia name; the lives of three house carpenters and one cabinetmaker overlap, making it difficult to separate documentary references. Nonetheless, two master builders have been identified. David Evans, Sr. was the son of Evan and Elizabeth (Musgrave) Evans. Apprenticed to a carpenter, he married Letitia Thomas in 1755, shortly after becoming free of his articles. By 1761 he was living on Pear (now Chancellor) Street and donated a lot of ground next to his home for the erection of the Union Library Company's building that he may also have designed and built. Evans (or his cousin of the same name who died in 1783) was a member of Benjamin Franklin's Library Company to which he presented a set of Abraham Swan's Collection of Designs in Architecture (London, 1757) in 1764, and a few years later he was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Swan's The British Architect (1774), the first book on architecture published in America. In 1769 he became a member of both The Carpenters' Company and the American Philosophical Society, although he resigned from the latter in 1770 and was never too regular in his attendance at meetings of the former. In 1770 Evans worked with Thomas Nevell on the Second Street house of John Cadwalader, and the next year served as "superintendent" for John Dickinson's "Fairhill" in Germantown and his town house on Chestnut Street; he continued to provide building services for Dickinson over the next thirty years. Following the Revolution, Evans and his son, David Evans, Jr., worked together to complete the Pennsylvania Hospital. The elder Evans offered a design for Library Hall in 1789, but William Thornton won the commission. That same year Evans became a Common Councilman, a position he held until 1791, and was appointed to a committee to prepare a plan and estimate for the new city hall. Payments made to Evans in 1792-93 have generally been taken as proof that he designed and supervised contruction of the structure now known as the Supreme Court Building on Independence Square. From 1794 through 1809 he was a director of the Philadelphia Contributionship. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
William Colladay was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1769, serving as a member of various committees throughout the l770s. One of several master builders who were active in civic affairs in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, Colladay served as an Overseer of the Poor, and assessor for Philadelphia, and in 1774 a Regulator of Party Walls, Buildings, and Partition Fences. He was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. Following the Revolution, Colladay continued to serve in various semi-official positions. In 1784 he was appointed to "view & value" (measure) the carpenters' work on the Triumphal Arch and in 1790 he helped to select "a suitable Lot and to prepare Materials for building a House thereon for the Accomodation of the President of the United States, and to prepare and report a Plan and Estimate thereof." That same year, together with Joseph Rakestraw, he made extensive repairs to the State House (Independence Hall). The only other structure with which he can firmly be associated is the Zion Lutheran Church at 4th and Cherry Streets on which he worked in 1794. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Abraham Jones was a successful master builder from Southwark elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1770, and brother of Isaac Jones. He was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Thomas Middleton was a master builder believed to have come to Philadelphia in 1762 from Monmouth County, New Jersey. He signed the articles of The Carpenters' Company in 1770 and died the following year. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
William Boyer was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1770. He was an "encourager" to the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (Philadelphia: R. Ball for J. Norman, 1775). Boyer was listed in the Mulberry Ward in 1769 and 1774. biography from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders, a project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Written by Roger W. Moss and Thomas Stokes.
Andrew Edge was a master builder who erected several speculative houses on Fifth and Sixth Streets in the 1760s and 1770s. On the recommendation of Benjamin Loxley, he was elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1770 but rarely attended meetings. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Samuel Jervis was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1770. He was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. Following the Revolution, Jervis was not active in The Company. According to the 1774 tax lists, Jervis lived in the Middle Ward. In 1785, he lived on Second street between Market and Chestnut. biography from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders, a project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Written by Roger W. Moss and Thomas Stokes.
The master builder Samuel Wallis signed the Articles of The Carpenters' Company on 16 July 1770. Never regular in his attendance at Company meetings, he may have been out of Pennsylvania much of the time. (There was a Samuel Wallis in Harford County, Maryland, in 1790.) According to Company records, Wallis died in 1798 at the age of fifty eight years. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Benjamin Mitchell was a master builder who joined the Friendship Carpenters' Company in 1770; and when that company merged with The Carpenters' Company in 1786, he signed the articles. Written by Roger W. Moss, from thePhiladelphia Architects and Builders website.
Samuel Caruthers was a house carpenter elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1771, although he never signed the articles and there is no record of his attending meetings. He is primarily of interest as a manufacturer and dealer in hand tools for the building trades from his Third Street shop at the "Sign of the Carpenter's Plane and Hand Saw." Written by Roger W. Moss and Sandra L. Tatman, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
John Allen was a Master Builder proposed for membership in The Carpenters' Company by Thomas Nevell, and Abraham Carlile. He was elected on April 15, 1771, but died without taking part in any recorded activities of The Company. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
The master builder Moses Thomas was married in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1742. The date of his arrival in Philadelphia is unknown, as is the date of his election to The Carpenters' Company; he appears to have signed the articles of The Company c1772. He was a resident of the Mulberry Ward of Philadelphia at the time of both the 1769 and 1774 taxes. During the Revolution, Thomas disappeared from the Warden's official list of Carpenters' Company members. On April 15, 1775, Thomas was warranted three hundred acres of land in Northampton County, PA; this may explain his disappearance from Philadelphia. Company records give his death date as 1780, although this has not been confirmed. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Thomas Procter was an Irish-born master builder who, wishing to improve his understanding of the "art of architecture," studied with Thomas Nevell in 1771. The following year he was elected to membership in The Carpenters' Company, the same year (1772) he erected the City Tavern on Second Street above Walnut (reconstructed by Independence National Historical Park). From 1771 through 1773 he is recorded as having taken on four apprentices: James Magill (1771), James Smith (1772), John Adams (1772), William Crook (1773); he was also an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. On the eve of the Revolution he served as Warden of The Carpenters' Company (1774-1775). At the outbreak of fighting, Procter applied to the Council of Safety for appointment as Captain of an artillery company which was stationed at Fort Island in the Delaware River. His artillery served at the battles of Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown. In 1779 he was commissioned by Congress as a Colonel of Artillery in the Army of the United States and served with General Sullivan on his expedition against the Six Nations in New York. In 1781 he resigned his commission, briefly resuming his military career late the next year. During the Whiskey Insurrection Procter served as a Brigadier General and in 1796 he was appointed a "Major General of the militia composed of the city and county of Philadelphia." From October 20, 1783, until October 14, 1785, Procter was Sheriff of the County of Philadelphia, and in 1790 he was elected City Lieutenant by the Supreme Executive Council. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Although trained to the craft of house carpentry, Adam Zantzinger spent most of his life as a merchant. He was elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1772 and signed the Articles the following year, even though he was advertising his ironmongery store at the southwest corner of Market and 4th Streets that same year. He maintained his association with The Carpenters' Company, however, until he was removed from the rolls for non-payment dues in 1798. He died the following year. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
ohn Keen, eldest son of Matthias and Mary (Swift) Keen, was born in Philadelphia and apprenticed to Robert Smith. He became a member of The Carpenters' Company in 1772 and rapidly joined the inner circle of master builders; he served The Company as a committee member or officer from the time of his election as Warden in 1776 to 1785. In 1801 he became Vice-President of The Company. Nothing is known of Keen's architectural work, but he was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan, The British Architect (printed by R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. According to a nineteenth-century biographical sketch published in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography by Gregory B. Keen, John Keen "sided with the Colonies in the War of the Revolution, and fought in Captain Richard Humphreys's Company, in General Cadwalader's Division of Pennsylvania Militia, at the battle of Princeton, where he was slightly wounded by a fence-rail splintered by a cannon ball, while giving some information about the enemy to General Washington." Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Joseph Evans was a master builder from Dock Ward nominated to the Friendship Carpenters Company by Robert Evans and elected to membership in 1772. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Joseph Govett was a master builder proposed for membership in The Carpenters' Company several times (1765, 1771, 1772) but was blocked from admission until 1772 because of his membership in the Journeymen Carpenters' Company. He was an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. When the Library Company erected its hall on Fifth Street (designed by William Thornton) in 1789-1790, Govett received two shares in the library for contributed services. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
John Lort was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1773, the same year as his partnership with Thomas Nevell. The partners were paid 47 pounds 13 shillings 10 pence for work performed at Carpenters' Hall that was then under construction. Lort is also known to have been one of several carpenters who worked on the Library Company building in 1790. His inventory included drawing instruments and a "Lot of Architect Books" valued at 2 pounds 12 shillings and 6 pence. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Joseph Ogilby was a leading master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1773. He became a Warden of The Company in 1775 but was replaced the next year when it was reported that he had left the city. Ogilby was an "encourager" to the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan, The British Architect (1775), the first book of architecture published in America. Following the Revolution he returned to Philadelphia and resumed his active participation in Company affairs: Assistant in 1782, governing committee in 1784-93, 1798-1800. He received two shares in the Library Company for work performed at Library Hall and helped to found two fire companies: Reliance (1786) and Weccacoe (1800). By 1809 Ogilby was a resident of Montgomery County, Maryland, where he died. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
William Williams was one of the leading master builder/proto-architects in late eighteenth-century Philadelphia. He first comes to notice with a provocative advertisement in the Pennsylvania Packet for January 4, 1773: William Williams, a native of this city, where he was regularly bred to the business of HOUSE CARPENTRY, begs leave to inform his friends, and the public that having lately returned from London, where he has for some time studied ARCHITECTURE in its various branches, he proposes carrying on the business of House Carpentry in the most useful and ornamental manner, as is now executed in the city of London, and most parts of England; and humbly hopes, from his practice and experience, to give the highest satisfaction to such as shall be pleased to employ him, in a new, bold, light and elegant taste, which has been lately introduced by the great architect of the Adelphi Buildings at Durham Yard [Robert Adam]; and which is now universally practiced all over Britain. He also fits up shop-fronts in the nicest manner, from the plainest and most simple to the most elegant and tasty, according to original plans taken in London. Williams's advertisement is one of the earliest Philadelphia references to Adamesque neo-classicism, and he also is know to have owned several English architectural books that were new in the 1770s, such as N. Wallis's A Book of Ornaments in the Palmyrene Taste containing upwards of sixty new designs...(London, 1771), that survive with his signature in the library of The Carpenters' Company. Williams was elected to membership in The Company on February 15, 1773, together with Robert Allison and Joseph Ogilby; he signed the Articles on April 19, 1773. Two years later he was an Encourager of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book of architecture published in America. During the revolution, he rose from Captain to Lt.-Colonel between 1775 and 1780. On April 6, 177, he married Ester Smith, daughter of the late master builder/proto-architect Robert Smith, at St. Michael's and Zion Church; in October he was taken prisoner by the British at the Battle of Germantown, and several months later he escaped and rejoined the American forces. For the rest of his life he was referred to as Colonel Williams. Following the Revolution, Williams resumed his craft and served as Warden of the Carpenters Company, 1785-1786. For the Grand Federal Procession of July 4, 1788, to celebrate the ratification of the Constitution, Williams and his journeymen erected a float for the Company in the form of a dome resting on thirteen columns in the Corinthian order, rich in the adopted symbolism of the new nation: "The frieze decorated with thirteen stars; ten of the columns complete, and three left unfinished [for those states that had not yet ratified the Constitution]. On the pedestals of the columns were inscribed, in ornamented ciphers, the initials of the thirteen American states. ON the top of the dome a handsome cupola, surmounted by a figure of Plenty bearing cornucopias and other emblems of her character. Round the pedestal of the edifice were these words: 'In Union the fabric stands firm.'" Too little is yet known about the other work of this key figure, who, together with Thomas Carstairs, may be an important link to British neo-classicism in Philadelphia. Williams was one of the carpenters granted two shares in the Library Company of Philadelphia for his work on Library Hall (designed by William Thornton, 1789-1790), and two fine examples of Williams's domestic work survived on Spruce Street (modern numbers 435 & 427). The first of these he built in 1792 on speculation and sold to Anthony Butler for 1400 pounds. The second house (427) was erected at about the same time (c. 1790-1792) and sold to the French Consul General to the United States, Antonine de la Forest. Executed in the finest late eighteenth-century Philadelphia style, this house was resold in 1795 for 8,000 Spanish milled silver dollars to Don Joseph de Jaudenes, Commissary General and Envoy from the King of Spain. Additional insight to Williams's place in Philadelphia architecture comes from 1793 when Stephen Hallet and James Hoban attacked William Thornton's design for the United States Capitol. President Washington, at his wits end over the bickering between these three sent Hallet and Hoban to Philadelphia to meet with Samuel Blodget, Superintendent of Public Buildings, and Thornton. Since Blodget also thought Thornton's plan was "impracticable," Thornton arrived at the meeting with Colonel Williams and Thomas Carstairs as his advisors. Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, presided over this extraordinary meeting that resulted in some changes in the Thornton plan. Williams, whom Jefferson called an "undertaker," -- that is, a builder/contractor -- produced several suggestions for how Thornton's design could be improved. But Jefferson was not convinced; he wrote to President Washington, Williams's "method of spanning the intercolonnations with secret arches of brick, and supporting the floors by an interlocked framing appeared to me totally inadequate; that of unmasking the windows by lowering the galleries was only substituting one deformity for another, and a conjectural expression how head-room might be gained in the Stair-ways shewed he had not studied them." The meeting temporarily saved the Thornton design, but it must have taught Williams the lesson that Benjamin H. Latrobe would soon learn -- amateur architect Jefferson could be outspoken and pigheaded on matters of taste and architecture. Other references to Williams's professional activity include sizeable payments for work done "at the President's House by Wm Williams" (1792-1797) made to his estate by Richard Wells, supervisor of construction, in 1796. While John Smith, Joseph Rakestraw, and Robert Allison also worked on this seminal structure located on the west side of Ninth Street, south of Market (demolished c. 1829), the design is usually attributed to Williams. In partnership with Joseph Rakestraw, Williams worked on the southward extension of Congress Hall that created the Senate Chamber, 1793-1794. Rakestraw and Williams appear to have been on a retainer and were regularly paid 75 pounds each during the period they were engaged at the building; they were paid in full on May 19, 1794. Shortly thereafter both men died, probably from yellow fever. Following William Williams's death, the Columbianum or American Academy of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, &c opened an exhibition that included several architectural drawings by Robert Smith, John Sproul, Abraham Colladay, and Williams. So far as is known, this was the first exhibition of architectural drawings ever held in the United States. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Robert Allison, a talented carpenter and master builder, proved to be one of the Carpenters’ Company’s most colorful members. Carpenter, master builder, land speculator and developer, he was a strong supporter of the American cause. Well-known buildings with which he was associated include Benjamin Franklin’s house in Franklin Court, the State House, Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and the House Intended for the President of the United States. Presumably of Scottish descent, his first known job in Philadelphia was assisting Robert Smith with Benjamin Franklin’s home off of Market Street in 1764 for which he was paid £120. On December 2, 1766, he married Rachel Gunning at the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Germantown. The following March 29, 1767, their daughter, Margaret, was baptized at the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. A year later, a second daughter, Jane, was also baptized at the First Presbyterian Church on April 13, 1768. Allison began his land acquisitions in 1767 purchasing two lots of ground on George Street in Southwark from Samuel Rhoads and his wife. Allison is listed as a resident of Southwark, a carpenter with one servant, on the 1769 tax list. He began his long career of community service by accepting an appointment to a committee to work out suitable financial arrangements for Captain Condy who was overseeing the building of the new Presbyterian Church at Fourth and Pine Streets. Allison was building on his own as well. In 1771 Gunning Bedford, surveyor for The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire inspected Allison’s home on the west side of “Georges Street between Cedar and Plum Streets in the district of Southwark where he dwells.” This two-story structure, twenty feet front, thirty feet deep, included chimney breasts, double cornices, entry wainscoting and a Doric frontispiece, was not yet finished and ultimately not insured by Allison for a few more years. The 1770s were busy ones for Allison and his family. A new daughter, Rachel, was baptized at the First Presbyterian Church in 1772 and the household was swelled by the addition of apprentices: John Strickland in 1772, and Robert Hall, Robert Leech and Francis Kain in 1773. All were to be taught the trade of a house carpenter. Robert Leech was to have time to go to evening school one quarter each winter and Francis Kain was to be able to be taught to read the Bible, “write a legible hand and cypher as far as rule of 3.” In addition to teaching his craft, Allison was to provide food, lodgings and laundry. Allison had been elected to the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia in 1773 along with Joseph Ogleby and William Williams. Records show that he worked on the Jacob Graff house during this period, and presumably also built on his own property, including 2 tenements on the southwest corner of Shippen and George Street, (surveyed by Bedford in 1774). Smaller than Allison’s own home, Bedford noted in his survey that the carpenters’ work was done in a plain way except the hanging of the doors. Allison also applied for a loan of £200 from the Contributionship in 1774 offering as collateral two houses on Penn Street near Cedar. He received the money in February 1775 on the proviso that he insure the houses. Within the year he applied for an additional £150 on the properties which the Board agrees to pay out of the first money that can be spared. On January 17, 1775 Allison was elected a member of the committee of the Carpenters’ Company for the upcoming year along with Robert Smith, Thomas Shoemaker, James Bringhurst, Benjamin Loxley, William Colladay, James Pearson, Joseph Rakestraw, William Lownes, Gunning Bedford, Thomas Nevel, Joseph Ogelby, James Worrel, and Joseph Fox, Esq. He continued his land dealings, purchasing property from Samuel Powel and his wife on Penn Street in late 1774, then selling a section of that land to James Hunter. October 1, 1775 he sold a frame tenement and lot to Francis Gurney. He also purchased two copies of the first architectural book published in the colonies by Robert Bell, Abraham Swan’s The British Architect with engravings by John Norman (published in England in 1745). 1776 was a momentous year for the colonies, certainly Philadelphia and also for Robert Allison. In January of 1776, he was elected to the Carpenters’ Company’s Standing Committee for Settling Prices along with most of his colleagues from the Committee the prior year. He also began to cultivate political connections. He was elected to the Committee for the City and Liberties of Philadelphia for the District of Southwark for a six-month period. He began the year with a measuring job, shelving at Captain David Sproats’ store with Edward Bonsall, but was soon engaged with the construction of a fort on Liberty Island with James Worrell. Other work took place on Province Island, Mid Island and Fort Mifflin. A son, George, was born on February 26, 1776, and baptized on March 2, 1776 at the Third Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. It is likely that an earlier son, Robert, was born in 1775 although no birth or baptismal records can be found. (A Robert Allison is recorded as buried at Third Presbyterian in 1822, and we know Allison did have a namesake who handled some details of his father’s funeral in 1811.) His defense work continued through 1777. Additionally that year he, together with David Evans, removed the State House bells to Allentown for safekeeping. His work for the cause of the Patriots took on a new dimension as he began his service in the militia. Pennsylvania law required all males capable of bearing arms, between the ages of 18 and 53, to serve in the militia for two months of active duty. Philadelphia had eight battalions; it appears that divisions generally fell along neighborhood lines. The men in these divisions elected their officers who were then commissioned by the State and subject to a three-year tour of duty. Allison was elected a lieutenant colonel in 1777 and served until 1780. Seemingly, he was responsible for much of the organization work; he was allotted $100 by the Council of Safety for recruiting expenses at the critical point when General Howe was threatening to invade Philadelphia and was also paid for the procurement of muskets just prior to the Battle of Brandywine. Allison’s sixth battalion was called to active duty at Swedes Ford. However, once the battalion’s two-month tour of active duty ended, a new battalion replaced them. Substitutes could be found or fines paid if one needed to avoid duty. This clearly enabled the colonists to continue as much as possible with everyday life. Allison’s carpentry work continued through 1778 with the commission to remove the plank, scantling etc. left by enemy troops and remove them to safety. He was also asked to draw plans for repairs to the courtroom in the State House and provide needed materials. In September he was to deliver to Colonel Bull the materials he retrieved from enemy redoubts to complete structures at Billingsport and Mud Island. He was also paid for repairs on the old workhouse, the Schuylkill bridge, and sundry small jobs. One of the most interesting was the removal of lead spouts from houses upon order of the Council of Safety with Evan Evans and James Worrell, to be delivered to J. Watkins, presumably the lead was to be used for ammunition. Allison, Evans and Worrell petitioned Congress in 1779 to appoint someone to value the lead and repay those citizens who were affected. Allison maintained a strong political presence; the issues of currency devaluation were of paramount interest to him. He served as the committee representative from Southwark to stop the issuance of paper money and to raise money by subscriptions raised by canvassing the neighborhood, although apparently nothing came of this. It may, however, have led to the petition submitted to Congress by hundreds of citizens, requesting that its members determine the extent and quantity of paper money to be issued and when it shall stop. They further suggest raising revenue by subscription. This was read on September 13, 1779. In May of that same year Allison and others sent another petition to Congress regarding the decay of credit and depreciation of money. His concerns reached beyond the financial, however. In a city where political sympathies were divided, tensions could run high. Allison signed a petition pledging support for those loyal to the American cause who were being dissuaded by Loyalists from testifying against them during the time of the British occupation. He was elected again as a member of the Committee for the City and Liberties in the late summer of 1779. He also took the time to aid individual colleagues, signing a petition with others including David Rittenhouse and Robert Smith in support of William Brown’s efforts to become the auctioneer of the city in 1779. In 1778 he signed a petition endorsing John Norman’s efforts to raise funds to finish the publication of a treatise on artillery. Even earlier in 1777 he was one of 19 Master Carpenters who signed a petition to the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania supporting George Ingels for the office of measurer for the city. In 1780 Allison received £720 from David Rittenhouse, payable to Messrs. Allison and Smith, for planks used in refitting the public stables for the use of members of the Assembly etc. It is likely that this was the stable at Sixth and Chestnut Streets, advertised for sale in 1778 with stalls for 22 horses, and room for hay. The stable was used by the local militia during the war and was offered at public auction in 1782, listed as lately occupied by the Militia Lighthorse. Allison served on the Sheriff’s Committee in 1780 to divide the estate of his colleague, Robert Smith, who had died in 1777. Given the timing of this project it was probably Robert Smith’s son John, who worked with Robert Allison on this project. The 1782 and 1783 supply tax lists show entries for “Smith & Allison, “ but it is unclear whether this is related to his work with Robert Smith’s estate or a partnership with the son. In 1781 Allison was chosen assistant Master of the Carpenters’ Company working with Master Samuel Rhoads. Allison is credited with building Washington College’s first building in Chestertown, Maryland in 1783, a work he undertook with Joseph Rakestraw. By 1784 he returned to Philadelphia and together with Gunning Bedford, measured the carpenters’ work on the Free Quakers’ Meeting House. In 1785 he was paid for measuring and painting , carpenters’ work for T. Worrell in settlement of Eden Haydock’s estate, who died in 1776. Allison continued to reside at 35 East George Street. He remained active in the Carpenters’ Company proposing Ebenezer Ferguson and Francis McAllison as new members in 1785. By the late 1780s the depression which engulfed the city took its toll on Robert Allison and he entered into bankruptcy on October 9, 1788. The following day, Ebenezer Ferguson entered his claim for £200. Notices appeared in the Pennsylvania Packet soon after and on October 16, 1788, Robert Allison, “house carpenter, dealer and chapman” was to surrender himself to commissioners for the bankruptcy commission as well as on November 18 and November 26 at which time his creditors were to come prepared to prove their debts.” (A chapman is defined as one who buys and sells, a peddler, a hawker or in 1793, a “cheapener.” That same year his property on Catherine Street was sold at Sheriff’s sale. In 1789, ten Southwark lots (some developed) belonging to Robert Allison along George Street and Shippen Street were sold at Sheriff’s sale. Additional lots on Water Street, Swanson Street and Love Lane were also sold. ` Allison rebounded from this major blow, and in 1790 petitioned City Council “to be employed as a Carpenter when a City-Hall shall be built.” He continued to reside on George Street, according to the 1790 census. Residing with him were 9 free white males under 16, presumably some apprentices, and 5 white free females. Along with other master builders he endorsed the work of Zane Chapman & Company makers of composition ornaments. By 1792 Allison was purchasing property again with James Corkrin from John Dickinson Sargeant. He also finally paid off his bond and interest to The Philadelphia Contributionship. Throughout the next few years Allison bought and sold different pieces of the property from South to Gaskill Streets between Third and Fourth Streets. He moved his family to the property on South Street by 1793. After the death of William Williams in 1794, Allison and John Smith were employed as master carpenters on the house intended for the President of the United States. Allison devoted more time to Carpenters’ Company affairs in these years, and was chosen as a member of the Committee of the Carpenters’ Company in 1795. In 1796 Allison repurchased the adjoining South Street properties held by James Corkrin and then sold sections of the property to John Smith, John Batten, Barney McCarrell, and Joseph Knox. He continued to live at 117 South Street, the 1798 direct tax values the property at $1237.50. John Smith sold the South Street property back to Allison in 1801 who in turn sold it as part of a larger lot including two houses, to Joseph Sims for $5,000. It is likely that this was the Smith house as well as Allison’s own home. In the midst of this transaction, his wife, Rachel Allison, died, on March 5, 1801. Her death was recorded in both the deed and in the newspaper, a simple line: “Mrs. Allison, wife of Col. Robert Allison.” The money disappeared quickly and in 1802 Allison applied to the Carpenters’ Company for both a loan as well as relief money. He continued his commitment to the company, this time serving as one of a committee of 15 to revise the price guide. In March of 1804 he offered to sell the Carpenters’ Company his copy of Gibbs Designs, which it purchased for $8. Still funds were hard to come by as he explains in a letter to the Committee in February of 1805. With pain I am under the Disagreeable necessity to beg your favours for some small trifle to help me a little along. You know the severity of the winter having hardly anything to do and I could not get any money from those that owned moneys. It’s made me live very miserable. If it is as much as [the] purchase of a half Cord of wood as I am afraid wood will be higher. Do Oblige if you can. In 1806 Allison’s financial affairs hit bottom. An undated letter to the Carpenters’ Company reveals a myriad of financial concerns, of debts owed to him and by him, and legal issues and court sittings, and it is likely from this same trying period. A note towards the end of his letter hints at tension between Allison and the Company: I have been troublesome I must own but God knows far against my will. I am a member of this Company – you will therefore Judge of my ___situation at present. While Allison blames his financial difficulties on lack of work, and debts owed, the Carpenters’ Company records show another side of the issue. In 1806 Allison was imprisoned for debt, and a special meeting of the Carpenters’ Company Managing Committee had been called “for the purpose of taking into consideration the condition of our member, Robert Allison, who is represented to be in prison for debt.” George Summers, Daniel Knight and Jacob Lybrand were appointed a committee to check on the situation and be certain he was “comfortably accomodated.” Five days later the committee reported that they had done this. Seven months later, the committee’s minutes note that application was made on behalf of Robert Allison for aid. Jacob Lybrand and Jonathan Roberts were directed “to call on him and acquaint him that the committee will not consent to assist him until he changes his mode of living.” Within six months, on July 1, 1807, the committee authorized the payment of five dollars to Allison for relief. According to the Philadelphia City Directory Allison lived on Lombard Street at his point, listed as “measurer of carpenters’ work.” It is uncertain how plentiful work was but Allison began to rely more heavily on relief funds from the Carpenters’ Company. He received another $5 in 1807 and a total of $20 in 1808. These amounts began to increase in 1809 and the Company began to provide goods as well as money. In 1809 the committee instructed David Flicknir to provide Allison with a half of cord of wood, overcoat, shoes, stockings and $5. Other payments followed n 1809 and by 1810 he was receiving stipends every other week, sometimes $5 and sometimes $3, perhaps to keep him from squandering larger sums. Allison died on December 20, 1811. Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser of December 23, 1811 carried the following notice: Died – on Friday morning in the 73rd year of his age, after a short but painful illness, which he bore with Christian fortitude and resignation, Mr. Robert Allison, a respectable inhabitant of this City. The Carpenters’ Company paid for many of the funeral expenses. The Committee reimbursed William Powell for $16 for funeral expenses for Robert Allison on December 20, 1811, and paid David Flickner $14 for part of Allison’s funeral expenses. They also paid Henry Connelly $10 for his plain walnut coffin. A final entry in the minutes from January 8, 1812 reads: Robert Allison handed to the Committee several bills of the Funeral Expenses of his father. Jacob Lybrand was directed to pay two dollars the amount of two bills and inform him that the committee would not pay the other bills. Allison clearly was a skilled master builder, a trusted Patriot and a willing supporter of colleagues and friends. He appears in his prime years to have been respected by colleagues and it is thought he may have been a worthy successor of Robert Smith, although at this time few major building connections have been found. He was extremely proud of his militia rank of Colonel and used it frequently. He and his wife left behind a sizeable family, although unfortunately little is known of their lives. Allison counted among his contemporaries some of the city’s leading and wealthier citizens. Unfortunately he seems to have lived beyond his means for much of his life and his financial misfortunes ultimately overshadowed his earlier contributions. Written by Carol Smith, for the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
George Forepaugh was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1774 and served as Warden from 1780. According to Hazard's Register, he was the master carpenter for the Senate gallery of Congress Hall, 1795. When Forepaugh died in 1817, his estate was valued at $4,143.75. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Samuel McClure was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1774. For a brief period (1781-1782) he served The Company as a Warden. In 1779 he was assessed for a tax of 1 pound and 10 shillings for the state tax in the Dock Ward. Biography from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website, a project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Written by Roger W. Moss and Thomas Stokes.
Joseph Few was a master builder nominated to The Carpenters' Company by William Williams and elected 17 April 1775, although he never signed the Articles. He built a residence at 301 Pine st. 1774-1775. This building was later occupied by Thaddeus Kosciuszko during his exile from Poland. Today, it is a museum, the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial. Few was an "encourager" of Abraham Swan, The British Architect (Philadelphia: R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775). It is possible that this Joseph Few served during the Revolution as Regimental Quartermaster of the 4th Continental Artillery, 1 April 1777 through 31 October 1777. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
John Smith, son of the master builder/architect Robert Smith, was registered as a student at the Pennsylvania Academy in Philadelphia from July 1760 to April 1765. He was listed as the administrator of his father's estate in 1777, and, in fact, was working with the elder Smith on the Delaware River fortifications at the time of his death. John Smith continued to serve the patriot cause as a superintendent of carpenters erecting cannon platforms from September through November 1778. In 1779 he was elected to The Carpenters' Company but was irregular in his attendance at meetings during the latter years of the Revolution. In 1783 he was elected Warden, only to be replaced in the Spring of 1784 because he had moved to Chester County. According to Company records, Smith had financial difficulties; The Company paid his funeral expenses in 1805. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
William Ashton was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company on April 19, 1770. He was an encourager to the 1775, Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
The master builder John Trip was elected to The Carpenters' Company on April 19, 1770, but rarely attended meetings. In 1800 it was reported that he was living in Wilmington, Delaware. Some Company records indicate that he was expelled from membership, probably for failure to pay dues; other Company records give a death date of 1805. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
The Southwark master builder Joseph Rhoads was elected to The Carpenters' Company prior to the date of earliest surviving records. He first is recorded as present at a Company meeting in 1767, and he served on various Company committees in 1770s. On February 22, 1772, Rhoads was paid for measuring work at Christ Church and in November that same year he witnessed the will of Thomas Tresse, also a house carpenter from Southwark. When Rhoads died in 1784, his inventory included--in addition to the usual assortment of tools--an "Iron Machine for Raising." His estate was owed over 44 pounds by the trustees of Northampton County Court House and over 64 pounds by the estate of Robert Smith. Rhoads's widow, Ann, received a refund of 12 pounds from The Carpenters' Company for his 1770 subscription for the erection of the Hall. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
Matthias Sadler was a master builder apprenticed to Joseph Ogilby from 1771 until 1776. He served during the Revolution in Baldwin's Artillery Artificer Regiment and by 1780 appears as a resident of Mulberry Ward in Philadelphia. On April 30, 1781 he was proposed to membership in The Carpenters' Company by Joseph Govett and elected shortly thereafter. In 1786 Sadler became Warden of The Company. He worked on the Library Company's hall for which he received two shares in the library. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
James Gibson was a master builder and an "encourager" of the Philadelphia edition of Abraham Swan's The British Architect (R. Bell for J. Norman, 1775), the first book on architecture published in America. Throughout the Revolution he served, as did many of the building trades craftsmen, in Baldwin's Artillery Artificer Regiment, rising from 1st Lieutenant to Captain between 1777 and 1781. He was elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1782 but appears to have left Philadelphia for Baltimore shortly thereafter; he became a member of the Carpenter's Society of Baltimore in 1790 and returned his copy of The Carpenters Company price book from that city in 1807. Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.
George Ingels was a master builder elected to The Carpenters' Company in 1782, and he actively served The Company as a member of committees or an officer (President, 1795-1813). He marched at the head of 450 "architects and house carpenters" in the Grand Federal Procession (July 4, 1788), carrying The Company banner showing their arms and the motto, "Justice and benevolence." Written by Roger W. Moss, from the Philadelphia Architects and Builders website.