Francis Hopkinson
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
FRANCIS
HOPKINSON was born in Philadelphia on October 2, 1737. His
father was an English immigrant who had become a successful lawyer and was a
friend of Benjamin Franklin. When
Hopkinson was only thirteen, his father died. The
care of the family fell upon his widow, who was a niece of the Bishop of
Worcester, England. Mrs. Hopkinson
was a lady of superior intellect and very well qualified to supervise the
education of her children. She had
early on recognized indications of genius in her son Francis and made every
effort despite her limited income to give him the advantages of a superior
education. She also had help from
her husband's friend, Ben Franklin, who saw him through the College of
Philadelphia. His mother lived to
see him graduate and become an eminent lawyer.
Hopkinson
a lawyer by profession, was more a poet, satirist and musician – he is
considered by many to be the first native American composer. He
is also credited with designing the United States flag. In
1766, Hopkinson traveled to England to visit he land of his fathers. He
was held in such high regard in Philadelphia that the provost of the College of
Philadelphia publicly wished him a safe and prosperous voyage.
Hopkinson
shunned politics, preferring to use family connections in England to secure
posts as collector of customs at Salem, New Jersey, and later as collector of
customs at New Castle, Delaware. During
this time he had married Ann Bordon of New Jersey, whose well-to-do family had
founded Bordentown. It was there
that he settled, prospered as a lawyer and was appointed to the prestigious
provincial council by Governor William Franklin.
Curiously,
while Hopkinson accepted royal favors, he turned out numerous satires against
British oppression that he published under a variety of pseudonyms. In
early 1776, he wrote "The Prophecy", an allegory that likened royal
government to a certain tree, planted by the king in America.
Hopkinson
came to the Second Continental congress representing New Jersey only in time to
vote for independence. During the
Revolutionary War, a party of Hessians suddenly invaded his residence in
Bordentown. The family only had time
to escape with their lives before the invaders began to plunder the house. Hopkinson's
library contained the most distinguished books of the times and he had a
collection of scientific equipment with which he amused himself in his leisure. After
the British were driven out of Philadelphia, a book that had been taken from his
library by the invading soldiers was given back to him. On
a blank page, the officer who had taken the book and written in German an
acknowledgment of the theft and declared that although he believed Hopkinson to
be an obstinate rebel, the books and equipment of his library were evidence that
he was a very well educated man.
In
1779, he was appointed to succeed Ross as the judge of the admiralty court of
Pennsylvania, an office that he held for ten years until the organization of the
federal government. Soon after the
adoption of the federal constitution, Washington appointed Hopkinson to the
office of Judge of the United States, for the district of Pennsylvania. This was
an important and dignified position that he was well qualified and suited for,
giving stability and dignity to the new national government. During
his judicial career Hopkinson conscientiously avoided mingling in politics.
Hopkinson's
life was suddenly terminated on May 8, 1791 at the age of fifty-three. He
apparently died of a stroke, which killed him within two hours of its onset. He
left a widow and five children.
THOPKINSON,
Thomas, lawyer, born in London, England, 6 April, 1709; died
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 5 November, 1751. He was the son of a London
merchant, studied law, and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1731. He became deputy
to Charles Reed, clerk of the orphan's court of Philadelphia county, and on the
death of Reed was appointed his successor. He was also master of the rolls from
20 June, 1736, till 1741, deputy prothonotary, and afterward prothonotary of
Philadelphia county. For several years he was judge of the admiralty, became a
member of the provincial council on 13 May, 1747, and two years later a county
justice. He participated in all the public enterprises of the time, was one of
the incorporators of the library company, one of the original trustees of the
College of Philadelphia, and also the first president of the Philosophical
society. His attainments in natural philosophy were recognized by Benjamin
Franklin, who remarked: "The power of points to throw off the
electrical fire was first communicated to me by my ingenious friend, Mr. Thomas
Hopkinson."
--His son, Francis Hopkinson, signer of
the Declaration of Independence, born in Philadelphia, 21 September, 1737; died
9 May, 1791, was educated at, the College of Philadelphia, studied law under
Benjamin Chew, and was admitted to the bar in 1761. In that year he acted as
secretary at a treaty with the Indians, which he commemorated in "The
Treaty," a poem, published soon afterward. From February, 1764, till
May, 1765, he was librarian and secretary of the Philadelphia library. In May,
1766, he sailed for Europe, and after spending a few weeks in Ireland went to
London, where he remained for a year, with the exception of occasional visits to
his cousin, the Bishop of Worcester. In London he was associated with John
Penn, Benjamin West, Lord North, and others
of distinction, and endeavored, without success, to secure an appointment as one
of the commissioners of customs for North America.
After his return to Philadelphia he resumed the practice of law, and also
kept a store for some time. He was a member of the two societies which united in
1769 to form the American philosophical society at Philadelphia, was a director
of the library company from 1771 till 1773, and in March, 1772, became collector
of customs at New Castle, from which office he was afterward removed owing to
his republican principles. He was for several years a resident of Bordentown,
New Jersey, was a member of the provincial council of that state from 1774 until
the Revolution, and in June, 1776,
was chosen one of its delegates to the Continental congress, he served on the
committee of that body to draft articles
of confederation, voted in favor of declaring the colonies independent, and
was one of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence. Under the newly established government he was appointed the
head of the navy department, and was also treasurer of the Continental loan
office.
In January, 1778, he wrote "The Battle of the Kegs," a
humorous ballad, descriptive of the alarm that was caused by an attempt of
patriots in Bordentown to destroy the British shipping at Philadelphia by means
of torpedoes enclosed in kegs and floated down the Delaware. During the war he
supported the patriot cause by various productions in prose and verse, and
powerfully influenced public sentiment in favor of independence. He was judge of
admiralty for Pennsylvania in 1779-'89, and was United States district judge for
that state from 1790 till his death. He was impeached by the assembly of
Pennsylvania for alleged misdemeanors while acting as judge of admiralty, but
was acquitted of all charges. Mr. Hopkinson was not only familiar with science
as it then existed, but was also skilled in painting and music, and composed
airs for his own songs.
The most important of his political writings are "The Pretty
Story" (Philadelphia, 1774); "The Prophecy" (1776);
and "The Political Catechism" (1777). His poems include "The
New Roof, a Song for Federal Mechanics," and among his best essays are "The
Typographical Mode of conducting a Quarrel" and "Thoughts on
Diseases of the Mind." After his death appeared "The
Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings of Francis Hopkinson"
(Philadelphia, 1792).
--Francis's son, Joseph Hopkinson,
jurist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 12 November, 1770; died there, 15
January, 1842, was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1786, and was
afterward a trustee of that institution. He studied law, and began practice at
Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1791, but soon afterward returned to Philadelphia. He
was leading counsel for Dr. Benjamin Rush (q. v.)
in his suit against William Cobbet in 1799, and was also one of the counsel for
the defendents in the insurgent trials before Judge Samuel Chase in 1800.
Subsequently, when the latter was impeached before the United States senate, he
chose Mr. Hopkinson to conduct his defence.
He was a Federalist politically, and was elected in 1814 a representative
in congress from Philadelphia, serving one term, and approving the re-chartering
of the United States bank. In 1823 he resumed the practice of law, and in 1828
he was appointed by President John Quincy Adams
United States judge for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, which office he
held until his death. He was a member of the convention of 1837 to revise the
constitution of Pennsylvania, and, as chairman of its committee on the
judiciary, contended unsuccessfully for the life tenure of the judges. He was
for many years president of the Academy of fine arts and vice president of the
American philosophical society, was long a confidential friend of Joseph
Bonaparte, who then resided at Bordentown, and managed Bonaparte's affairs
during his absence.
Mr. Hopkinson was the author of various addresses and articles on legal
and ethical subjects, but he is best known as the author of the national song, "Hail,
Columbia," which he wrote in the summer of 1798 for the benefit of an
actor and former school mate named Fox, to an air entitled "The
President's March," composed in 1789 by a German named Feyles. This
song, inciting national pride, probably helped to avert entanglement in the
European conflict.
