MEMOIR OF

MICHAEL HILLEGAS.

MICHAEL HILLEGAS was born in Philadelphia, on the 22d day of April, 1729, O. S. He was the son of Michael and Margaret Hillegas, who were natives of Germany. The date of their immigration is not ascertainable. The earlier records of arrivals at Philadelphia are unsatisfactory. Among them is that of John Frederick Hillegas, in 1727, from the Palatinate upon the Rhine. If he was of this family, the relationship has not been traced; and, although the name of Hillegas is quite common in parts of Pennsylvania, it cannot be asserted that any descendant of this pair now bears it. The father was naturalized at the April Term, 1749, of the Supreme Court, in Philadelphia. He "took the Sacrament," 26 March, 1749, an Act of Parliament requiring as a prerequisite to naturalization, that the applicant, within three months prior thereto, should have taken the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in some Protestant or Reformed congregation.* Their remains repose side by side in Christ Church Burial Ground, at Fifth and Arch Streets,

*Penna. Archives, 2d Series, II., 377.

Of the early life of the subject of this memoir, little is now known. The style and penmanship of

MHCilleg as

his letters and other

a writings, public and

private, show that he

was well and carefully educated, and that his business training was accurate and thorough. This, with the grandeur of his integrity, and his patriotic devotion during the long years of the Revolution, fitted him for the discharge of the duties of the public offices that he honored, and the trusts that he executed with faithfulness and zeal.

He was a merchant* and sugar refiner, and was

*In 1762, he was a member of the firm of Winey & Hillegas, as appears by the following certificate in his hand-writing: "These are to Certify That Tho' & Dav Potts did pay us in the year 1762, Twenty-three pounds for Powder delivered at twice, to Wm. Palmer which we were then Inform'd was to be used in the Clearing the falls of Schuylkill. Dated Philad3, May 11th, 1768.

"£23.0.0."

"WINEY & HILLEGAS.

interested in the manufacture of iron. Success in business gave him an ample fortune, a considerable part of which he contributed, by gift and loan, to the support of the army, during the struggle for independence.

He was one of the commissioners appointed to locate and erect Fort Mifflin.

He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania, being one of the representatives from Philadelphia (one of the three original counties), from 1765 to 1775 inclusive.*

During all this time he was a member of the committee "to audit and settle the Accounts of the General Loan-Office and other public Accounts."

His taste for literature and practical science led him to association with the men of Philadelphia who gave that character and dignity to the pursuit of knowledge and intellectual culture for which, in those early days, the city was distinguished; and, on the 8th of April, 1768, he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. The following letter, written to him, is found in Sparks's Letters of Franklin, page 329:

LONDON, 17 March, 1770.

DEAR SIR: I received your favor of November 25th, and have made inquiries, as you desired, concerning the copper covering of houses. It has

*Penna. Archives, 2d Series, IX., 727.

been used here in a few instances only, and the practice does not seem to gain ground. The copper is about the thickness of a common playing card; and, though a dearer metal than lead, I am told that, as less weight serves, on account of its being so much thinner, and as slighter woodwork in the roof is sufficient to support it, the roof is not dearer on the whole, than one covered with lead. It is said, that hail and rain made a disagreeable drumming noise on copper; but this, I suppose, is rather fancy; for the plates being fastened on the rafters, must, in a great measure, deaden such sound. The first cost, whatever it is, will be all, as a copper covering must last for ages; and, when the house decays the plates will still have intrinsic worth. In Russia, I am informed, many houses are covered with plates of iron tinned, such as our tin pots and other vases are made of, laid on over the edges of one another like tiles; and which, it is said, last very long, the tin preserving the iron from much decay by rusting. In France and the Low Countries, I have seen many spouts or pipes for conveying the water down from the roofs of houses, made of the same kind of tin plates soldered together; and they seem to stand very well.

With sincere regard, I am

Yours, &c.,

B. FRANKLIN.

In 1771, he was a member of the board of commissioners, whose duty was to improve the navigation of

the Delaware. In the Journal of Elizabeth Drinker, under date 29 September, of that year, is the following memorandum: "Set off about 8 o'clock; M. Hillegas, J. Bright, & H. D. and myself— rode on, by the Falls Meeting House to Yardley's Ferry; baited our horses and eat a second breakfast there. * *After dinner, H. D., M. H., and J. Bright, commissioners appointed for improving and clearing the navigation of the river Delaware, and whose business to this place was to inspect the works carrying on at these Falls, left the Ferry, spent some time on the water, and returned to me about 5 o'clock, when we again journeyed on, and about dusk got to ye widow Jemmison's.

In 1774, he was called to duty upon the Committee of Observation for Philadelphia.

On the 30th of June, 1775, he was appointed Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, and on the 6th April, 1776, he, with Joseph Parker and David Rittenhouse, were chosen members of that committee.* On 30th May, 1776, he was "appointed Provincial Treasurer, in the room of Owen Jones, Esq."

There are no trusts, public or private, more cautiously reposed or more thoroughly scrutinized than such as relate to the custody and control of money. The confidence in Mr. Hillegas was strikingly shown by his long-contiuued service as Provincial Treasurer, Continental Treasurer, and Treasurer of the United

*Colonial Records, X., 281, 537.