biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1674–1751)
|
| biography:
| Colonial statesman and judge, born in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, UK. A Scottish schoolmaster's son, he worked as a merchant in Bristol, England, becoming William Penn's secretary in 1699, and emigrating with him to Pennsylvania that year. He held a series of government appointments in the colony, and sat on and eventually presided over the ruling Provincial Council (1702–47). He also accepted a judgeship (1726), and was chief justice of the colony's supreme court (1731–9). He advised Penn's descendants for five decades and himself made a fortune in land speculation and trade with the Indians. He had long shown an interest in translating classical literature, such as M T Cicero's Cato Major, printed in 1744 by Benjamin Franklin. After retiring from public life (1747), he devoted his final years to his scholarly interests, including a notable work on botany. |
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