Thomas Leiper
Encyclopedia
Thomas Leiper was a Scottish American merchant and local politician who served in the American Revolutionary War
. He was the first American to construct a permanent working railway by creating a short span on his property in Delaware County, Pennsylvania
.
Born in Strathaven, Lanark, Scotland
, Leiper was educated at Glasgow and Edinburgh, and emigrated to Maryland in 1763. In 1765 Leiper moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and opened a business storing and exporting tobacco
. When the American Revolution began, the leading tobacco house in the community was interdicted and legally prevented from trading. Leiper seized the opportunity and expanded his business, soon becoming the principal tobacco agent in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States.
Some years later Leiper built several large mills for the processing of tobacco and snuff in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 1780 he bought and operated quarries in the neighborhood of his mills, and provided stones for bridge and building construction. Granite from the Leiper quarry was cut for Philadelphia curbstones and door steps, and was used for buildings on the Swarthmore College
campus, homes in Swarthmore, and the Leiper Presbyterian Church. Leiper acted as a general contractor for a Philadelphia home built for the use of Thomas Jefferson
when Jefferson served as George Washington
's Secretary of State. Leiper’s enterprises generated a large fortune, which enabled him to personally contribute to the improvement of Philadelphia and the Delaware County area, known as "Avondale," near his country residence.
Leiper was a staunch Democrat
, and served actively as chairman of Democratic town meetings. At one meeting, he was the first to nominate General Andrew Jackson
for the presidency. He was a presidential elector, director of the banks of Pennsylvania and the United States, commissioner for the defense of the city in the War of 1812
, and a member, and ultimately president, of the common council of the city of Philadelphia. Leiper died in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1825.
, and in an attack on the residence of James Wilson in Philadelphia, when he was one of the seven troopers that charged and routed the mob of rioters.
to a landing on Ridley Creek
in Delaware County. The road was three quarters of a mile in length. An ox, hitched to a cart filled with stone, walked between the rails slowly pulling the cart from the quarry to tidewater on Ridley Creek where the stream became navigable. There the cargo was loaded onto barges for the ten mile trip to Philadelphia. The short railway was actively used until 1828, when it was superseded by a cargo capable canal, also designed by Leiper before his death. In 1850, the Leiper Canal
was in turn replaced by a spur of the B.&O. Railroad's Philadelphia-Baltimore line
.
. Later letters discuss political issues, including the men’s mutual distrust of England. The correspondence continued after Jefferson became President of the United States and ended in 1825 with Leiper's death. A 30 page compilation of this correspondence was published by the Friends of Thomas Leiper House
, in Wallingford, Pennsylvania.
, born in 1786, represented Delaware county in Congress from 1829 until 1831 and served as an associate judge of the Delaware County circuit court. His daughter Jane Duval Leiper married John Kintzing Kane
, a U.S. district judge. The couple's children included naval officer, physician, and explorer Elisha Kent Kane and army General Thomas L. Kane
.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He was the first American to construct a permanent working railway by creating a short span on his property in Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
.
Born in Strathaven, Lanark, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Leiper was educated at Glasgow and Edinburgh, and emigrated to Maryland in 1763. In 1765 Leiper moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and opened a business storing and exporting tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. When the American Revolution began, the leading tobacco house in the community was interdicted and legally prevented from trading. Leiper seized the opportunity and expanded his business, soon becoming the principal tobacco agent in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States.
Some years later Leiper built several large mills for the processing of tobacco and snuff in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 1780 he bought and operated quarries in the neighborhood of his mills, and provided stones for bridge and building construction. Granite from the Leiper quarry was cut for Philadelphia curbstones and door steps, and was used for buildings on the Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
campus, homes in Swarthmore, and the Leiper Presbyterian Church. Leiper acted as a general contractor for a Philadelphia home built for the use of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
when Jefferson served as George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's Secretary of State. Leiper’s enterprises generated a large fortune, which enabled him to personally contribute to the improvement of Philadelphia and the Delaware County area, known as "Avondale," near his country residence.
Leiper was a staunch Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and served actively as chairman of Democratic town meetings. At one meeting, he was the first to nominate General Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
for the presidency. He was a presidential elector, director of the banks of Pennsylvania and the United States, commissioner for the defense of the city in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, and a member, and ultimately president, of the common council of the city of Philadelphia. Leiper died in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1825.
Military service
Leiper was a founder of the Philadelphia City Troop, a city-based light horse cavalry, and served with them as lieutenant during the Revolution at the battles of Princeton, Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown. As treasurer of the troop, he carried the last subsidies of the French to the Americans at Yorktown. He also acted with his corps in quelling several civil insurrections and riots, notably in the Whiskey Riot of 1794Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...
, and in an attack on the residence of James Wilson in Philadelphia, when he was one of the seven troopers that charged and routed the mob of rioters.
Railway and canal construction
In 1809 Leiper constructed the first permanent railway or tramway in America. A pair of iron rails laid on wooden ties ran from his quarries on Crum CreekCrum Creek
Crum Creek is a creek in Delaware County and Chester County, Pennsylvania, flowing approximately , generally in a southward direction and draining into the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. It begins in a swamp near Newtown Square, Pennsylvania along which several mills were established...
to a landing on Ridley Creek
Ridley Creek
Ridley Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania in the United States. The entire drainage basin is in the suburban Philadelphia area, but the upper creek and extensive park lands on the creek retain a rural character, while the mouth of the creek has long been heavily...
in Delaware County. The road was three quarters of a mile in length. An ox, hitched to a cart filled with stone, walked between the rails slowly pulling the cart from the quarry to tidewater on Ridley Creek where the stream became navigable. There the cargo was loaded onto barges for the ten mile trip to Philadelphia. The short railway was actively used until 1828, when it was superseded by a cargo capable canal, also designed by Leiper before his death. In 1850, the Leiper Canal
Leiper Canal
Early in the 19th century, the Leiper Canal ran about along Crum Creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. George Leiper, who financed the canal, used it between 1829 and 1852 to haul stone in flat-bottomed boats from his quarry near Springfield to the navigable Delaware River at Eddystone. The...
was in turn replaced by a spur of the B.&O. Railroad's Philadelphia-Baltimore line
Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad
The Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad was a railroad line built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Baltimore, Maryland. It was built in the 1880s after the B&O lost access to its previous route to Philadelphia, the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad...
.
Correspondence
Correspondence between Thomas Leiper and Thomas Jefferson began in 1791, when Jefferson rented a house in Philadelphia from Leiper. More than one hundred letters were exchanged by the two men. During the first few years of correspondence, the letters concerned the rental house, building construction and tobacco. Leiper, as a Philadelphia tobacco merchant, bought his tobacco from Maryland and Virginia plantation owners including Jefferson and James MadisonJames Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
. Later letters discuss political issues, including the men’s mutual distrust of England. The correspondence continued after Jefferson became President of the United States and ended in 1825 with Leiper's death. A 30 page compilation of this correspondence was published by the Friends of Thomas Leiper House
Thomas Leiper Estate
The Thomas Leiper Estate is a Registered Historic Place in Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania. Built by Thomas Leiper around 1785, the estate was named Strath Haven after Leiper's birth place in Strathaven, Scotland....
, in Wallingford, Pennsylvania.
Family
In 1778, Leiper married Elizabeth Gray, whose father was politically active in Pennsylvania. Leiper was 32 and Elizabeth 16 when they married. They had 13 children; 10 lived to adulthood. His son, George Gray LeiperGeorge Gray Leiper
George Gray Leiper was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.George Gray Leiper was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the son of merchant Thomas Leiper. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1803. He moved to “Lapidea,” Delaware County,...
, born in 1786, represented Delaware county in Congress from 1829 until 1831 and served as an associate judge of the Delaware County circuit court. His daughter Jane Duval Leiper married John Kintzing Kane
John K. Kane
John Kintzing Kane was an American politician, attorney and jurist. Kane was noted for his political affiliation with President Andrew Jackson and for an 1855 pro-slavery legal decision dealing with the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.Kane was born in Albany, New York, the son of Elisha Kane and Alida...
, a U.S. district judge. The couple's children included naval officer, physician, and explorer Elisha Kent Kane and army General Thomas L. Kane
Thomas L. Kane
Thomas Leiper Kane was an American attorney, abolitionist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War...
.
See also
- Leiper CanalLeiper CanalEarly in the 19th century, the Leiper Canal ran about along Crum Creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. George Leiper, who financed the canal, used it between 1829 and 1852 to haul stone in flat-bottomed boats from his quarry near Springfield to the navigable Delaware River at Eddystone. The...
- Leiper RailroadLeiper RailroadThe Leiper Railroad was a horse drawn railroad that operated between 1810 and 1828 in what is now Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was replaced by the Leiper Canal, remnants of which are still visible...
- Oldest railroads in North AmericaOldest railroads in North America- Early experimental railroads :*1720: A railroad is reportedly used in the construction of the French fortress at Louisburg, Nova Scotia.*1764: Between 1762 and 1764 a gravity railroad is built by British military engineers at the Niagara Portage in Lewiston, New York.*1795: A wooden railway on...
- Thomas Leiper EstateThomas Leiper EstateThe Thomas Leiper Estate is a Registered Historic Place in Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania. Built by Thomas Leiper around 1785, the estate was named Strath Haven after Leiper's birth place in Strathaven, Scotland....