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{{Short description|American Founding Father and politician (1739–1813)}}

'''George Clymer''' ([[March 16]], [[1739]] - [[January 23]], [[1813]]), was a signer of the [[United States]] [[Declaration of Independence]] as a representative of [[Pennsylvania]].

{{other uses}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}

{{Infobox person

| name = George Clymer

| image = George Clymer.jpg

| caption = Portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]]

| birth_date = {{birth date|1739|3|16}}

| birth_place = [[Philadelphia]], [[Province of Pennsylvania]], [[British America]]

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1813|1|23|1739|3|16}}

| death_place = [[Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Morrisville]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[United States|U.S.]]

| resting_place = [[Friends Burying Ground, Trenton|Friends Burying Ground]]<br>[[Trenton, New Jersey]]

| known_for = [[Founding Father of the United States]]

| occupation =

| spouse = {{marriage|Elizabeth Meredith|1765}}

| children = 10

| signature = George Clymer signature.png

}}

'''George Clymer''' (March 16, 1739{{spnd}}January 23, 1813) was an [[Politics of the United States|American politician]], abolitionist and [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father of the United States]], one of only six founders who signed both the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]].<ref name=ArchivesFramers>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/founding-fathers# |title=Meet the Framers of the Constitution |date=November 2, 2015 |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]] |access-date=February 9, 2023}}

He was born in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], orphaned at a young age, and apprenticed to his paternal uncle in preparation for a career as a merchant. He was a patriot and leader in the demonstrations in Philadelphia resulting from the [[Tea Act]] and [[Stamp Act]]. He became a member of the Philadelphia Committee of Safety in 1773, and was elected to the [[Continental Congress]] 1776-1780. He was a Member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, a Revenue Officer, and a Federal Indian Agent from 1781-1796. He was the First president of the Philadelphia Bank, and the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, and vice-president of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society.

</ref><ref name=Bernstein2001>{{cite book |last=Bernstein|first=Richard B. |author-link=Richard B. Bernstein |title=The Founding Fathers Reconsidered | chapter=Appendix: The Founding Fathers: A Partial List |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |orig-date=2009 |isbn=978-0199832576 |___location=New York |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/foundingfathersr0000bern/page/176/mode/2up}}</ref> Clymer was among the earliest [[Patriot (American Revolution)|patriots]] to advocate for complete independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/george-clymer/ |title=George Clymer |date=December 11, 2011 |website=The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence |access-date=October 9, 2020}}</ref> He attended the [[Continental Congress]] and served in political office until the end of his life. He was a [[Constitutional Convention (United States)#Framers of the Constitution|Framer of the Constitution]] where he attempted unsuccessfully to regulate the importation of slaves. Clymer was himself a minor slave owner, at least briefly when seven years old through inheritance.

== Early life and family ==

Clymer was born in [[Philadelphia]] in the [[Province of Pennsylvania]] on March 16, 1739. Orphaned when only a year old, he was apprenticed to his maternal aunt and uncle,<ref>{{cite book|last=Carpenter|first=Louis Henry|title=Samuel Carpenter and his descendants|year=1912|publisher=J.B. Lippincott|pages=257}}</ref> Hannah and [[William Coleman (judge)|William Coleman]], to prepare to become a merchant. He married Elizabeth Meredith on March 22, 1765. In a letter written by Clymer to the rector of Christ Church, the Reverend Richard Peters, Clymer states that he had previously fathered a child; neither the child's nor mother's name is mentioned.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/georgeclymerphil0000grun/page/32 |title=George Clymer, Philadelphia revolutionary, 1739-1813 |publisher=Arno Press |___location=New York |last1=Grundfest |first1=Jerry |year=1982 |pages=32–33 |isbn=9780405140822 }}</ref> Clymer and his wife had nine children, four of whom died in infancy. His oldest surviving son, Henry (born 1767), married the Philadelphia socialite [[Mary Willing Clymer|Mary Willing]] in 1794. John Meredith, Margaret, George, and Ann also survived to adulthood, though John Meredith was killed in the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in 1787 at age 18.{{fact|date=August 2022}}

== Career ==

Clymer was a patriot and leader in the demonstrations in Philadelphia resulting from the [[Tea Act]] and the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]]. Clymer accepted the command as a leader of a volunteer corps belonging to [[John Cadwalader (general)|General John Cadwalader]]'s brigade.<ref name="Losser">{{cite book|last1=Losser|first1=B.J.|title=Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the American Declaration of Independence|date=1857|publisher=Derby & Jackson|___location=New York|page=115|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymU9AAAAYAAJ&q=signers+of+articles+of+confederation|access-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref> In 1759, he was inducted as a member of the original [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, I:18, 236, 237–47, 457, II:35-36, 41, 42, 44, 257, 342, 343, III:133, 491.</ref> He became a member of the Philadelphia [[Committee of safety (American Revolution)|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]]. He served on several committees during his first congressional term and was sent with [[Sampson Mathews]] to inspect the northern army at [[Fort Ticonderoga]] on behalf of Congress in the fall of 1776.<ref name="Laurens">Pieper, Thomas, and Gidney, James (1980). [https://books.google.com/books?id=9aoJVOjymwIC&q=%22sampson+matthews%22 ''Fort Laurens, 1778–1779: The Revolutionary War in Ohio'']''. Kent State University Press, p 13. Retrieved March 2, 2013.''</ref> When Congress fled Philadelphia in the face of [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Sir Henry Clinton]]'s threatened occupation, Clymer stayed behind with [[George Walton]] and [[Robert Morris (financier)|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 [[Sint Eustatius]]. Although not partial to the merchant business, Clymer continued in business with his father-in-law and brother-in-law until 1782.<ref name="Losser" />

[[File:Summerseat, Clymer Street & Morris Avenue (Morrisville Borough), Morrisville (Bucks County, Pennsylvania).jpg|thumb|left|[[Summerseat (Morrisville, Pennsylvania)|Summerseat]], Clymer's home]]

He resigned from Congress in 1777 and in 1780 was elected to a seat in the Pennsylvania Legislature. In 1782, he was sent on a tour of the southern states in a vain attempt to get the legislatures to pay up on subscriptions due to the central government. He was re-elected to the Pennsylvania legislature in 1784 and represented his state at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He was elected to the first [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Congress]] in 1789.

He was the first president of [[CoreStates Financial Corporation|The Philadelphia Bank]] and the [[Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts]] and vice-president of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society. When Congress passed a bill imposing a duty on spirits distilled in the United States in 1791, Clymer was placed as head of the excise department in the state of Pennsylvania. He was also one of the commissioners to negotiate a treaty with the [[Creek Indian]] confederacy at [[Colerain, Georgia]] on June 29, 1796. He is considered the benefactor of [[Indiana, Pennsylvania|Indiana Borough]], as it was he who donated the property for a county seat in [[Indiana County, Pennsylvania]].

Clymer died on January 23, 1813. He was buried at the [[Friends Burying Ground, Trenton|Friends Burying Ground]] in [[Trenton, New Jersey]].

== Slavery ==

Clymer is known to have been a slave owner; to what degree is uncertain, although it is known his father, grandfather and brother were minor slave owners.<ref name="Grundfest" /> When his father Christopher died, George, then seven years old, inherited "a negro man named Ned", who died soon after. Ned was probably the only remains of an inheritance given to Christoper from his father, Richard, George's grandfather, who owned four slaves.<ref name="Grundfest">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/georgeclymerphil0000grun/page/16/mode/2up?q=negro |title=George Clymer, Philadelphia revolutionary, 1739-1813 |publisher=Arno Press |___location=New York |last1=Grundfest |first1=Jerry |year=1982 |pages=14–17 |isbn=9780405140822 }}</ref>

Clymer, as a member of the Pennsylvania delegation during the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|framing of the Constitution]], unsuccessfully opposed the slave trade. The question of the slave trade, i.e. the import of new slaves into the United States, was one of the most contentious issues for the framers. Clymer was on the committee to draft a [[Constitutional_Convention_(United_States)#Commerce_and_Slave_Trade_Compromise|Slave Trade Compromise]] to postpone the slave trade decision until 1808. Clymer supported an "export tax" (tariff), which was a way to indirectly tax slavery, and which like the slave trade question was opposed by southern states. Nevertheless, the tariff was included as part of the compromise.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Two Faces of the Keystone State |journal=The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography |last1=Finkleman |first1=Paul |date=January 1988 |volume=112 |number=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_pennsylvania-magazine-of-history-and-biography_1988-01_112_1/page/64/mode/2up?q=%22george+clymer%22+slave |pages=64,67 }}</ref>

== Legacy ==

[[USS George Clymer (APA-27)|USS ''George Clymer'' (APA-27)]] was named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/APA/apa27-history.html |title=History of USS ''George Clymer'' (APA-27)}}</ref> [[Clymer, Pennsylvania|Clymer]], Indiana County, Pennsylvania, was named in his honor as was [[Clymer, New York]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n84 85]}}</ref> There is a George Clymer Elementary School in the School District of Philadelphia. Clymer's home in [[Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Morrisville, Pennsylvania]], known as [[Summerseat (Morrisville, Pennsylvania)|Summerseat]], still stands, as does a house he owned in Philadelphia's [[Fairmount Park]] known as [[Ridgeland Mansion]]. One of the streets running alongside Summerseat in Morrisville is Clymer Avenue.

In [[Reading, Pennsylvania]], Clymer Street is named in his honor. In the Leedom Estates section of Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, Clymer Lane is named after him.

Clymer Avenue in [[Indiana, Pennsylvania]], is named after George Clymer.{{citation needed |date=March 2022}}

==See also==

{{Portal|Biography}}

* [[Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence]]

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==

{{commons category}}

{{CongBio|C000538}}

* [http://www.colonialhall.com/clymer/clymer.php Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301102057/http://www.colonialhall.com/clymer/clymer.php |date=March 1, 2021 }}

* [http://www.leftjustified.com/george-clymer George Clymer Bio]

* [https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/george-clymer/ Biography and portrait] at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]

* {{Find a Grave|2768}}

* [http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/george-clymer/ George Clymer biography], from the website of [http://www.dsdi1776.com/ The Society of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence]

* [https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/clymer__george], from the website of the [https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/ Pennsylvania Center for the Book]

{{S-start}}

{{s-par|us-hs}}

{{US House succession box

|state=Pennsylvania

|district=AL

|before=District Created

|after= At large on a general ticket: <br /> [[Thomas Fitzsimons]], [[Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg]], [[Thomas Hartley]], [[Israel Jacobs]], [[John W. Kittera]], [[Daniel Hiester]], [[William Findley]], and [[Andrew Gregg]]

|years=1789–1791 <br /> alongside: [[Thomas Fitzsimons]], [[Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg]], [[Thomas Hartley]], [[Thomas Scott (American politician)|Thomas Scott]], [[Henry Wynkoop]], [[Daniel Hiester]] and [[Peter Muhlenberg|Peter G. Muhlenberg]]

}}

{{S-end}}

{{USDecOfIndSig}}

{{United States Constitution signatories}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clymer, George}}

[[Category:1739 births]]

[[Category:1813 deaths]]

[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania]]

[[Category:19th-century American Episcopalians]]

[[Category:18th-century American Episcopalians]]

[[Category:Indiana County, Pennsylvania]]

[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania]]

[[Category:Politicians from Philadelphia]]

[[Category:Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence]]

[[Category:Signers of the United States Constitution]]

[[Category:Founding Fathers of the United States]]

[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves]]

[[Category:18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]

[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]