Jacob Broom (1752 - 1810)

Born 17 Oct 1752 in Delaware

Ancestors

Husband of Rachel (Pierce) Broom — married 14 Dec 1773 in Holy Trinity Church, Wilmington, Delaware

Descendants

Died 25 Apr 1810 at age 57 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Chief Burgess Jacob Broom served with American Founding Fathers during the American Revolution.

Jacob Broom is remembered as a signer of the Constitution of the United States. He was born in 1752 in Willmington, Delaware to James Broom and Esther Willis. His father was a blacksmith and a farmer. As a young man learned both of his father's trades. He studied surveying, opening for business in 1772.^[1]

Jacob Broom married Rachel Pierce on December 14, 1773 in Holy Trinity, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware. ^[2] She was the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Pierce. ^[3] They were the parents of:

Ann Broom, (1775-1824);^[4][5],

James Madison Broom (1776-1850);^[6][7]

Elizabeth Broom, (1777);^[8]

Rachel Maria Broom (1788-1864); (m. Samuel Henry of Philadelphia);^[9]

Esther Willis Broom (m. Samuel Lyon of Baltimore);^[10]

Sarah Broom, (1783);

Jacob Pearce Broom, (1786 );

Lavinia Broom;^[11]

Nicholas Way Broom. (1783- )^[12]

Jacob Pearce Broom;^[13]

Jacob did not fight in the American Revolution, possibly due to his mother's Quaker background. He did support the war effort by surveying and mapping the Brandywine area for George Washington. ^[14] Following the war he remained very active in politics. He was elected vice-mayor of Wilmington when he was 24. He was then re-elected to that position six times. He was elected mayor four times. He never lost any election in which he ran.^[15] He served in the Delaware State Legislature 1784-6 and 1788. He was sent to the Constitutional Convention and faithfully represented the position of the smaller states. After the convention, he remained active in Wilmington, serving as Post Master, chairing the board of directors of Wilmington's Delaware Bank, and serving on the Board of Trustees of Wilmington College. He was also very active in the Old Swedes Church.

Jacob Broom purchased the home of Nicholas Way in Wilmington, Delaware in 1802. Dr. Nicholas Way was a friend of Jacob Broom. He distinguished himself in providing sanctuary and treating victims of the yellow fever plague of 1793, but he succumbed to plague himself in 1795.^[16] Jacob named his youngest son after him.

Jacob Broom died in Philadelphia while on business in 1810 ^[17] and was buried at Christ Episcopal Church, 20 North American Street (2nd Street and Church Street), Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States. A bicentennial memorial plaque can be seen here.

A copy of a letter written by Jacob Broom to his son James is here at Wall Builders - Historical Documents.

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.mccullough.nl/Jacob_Broom.htm
2. ↑ "Delaware Church Deaths, 1750-1886", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F7R9-MXF : accessed 15 Sep 2014), Jacob Broom and Rachel Pierce, 1773.
3. ↑ William Campbell, The Life and Character of Jacob Broom, Papers of the Historical Society of Delaware, Issues 50-55 Google eBook, The Society, 1908, Delaware.
4. ↑ Note: Ann Broom, born 22 Aug 1775 in Wilmington, DE; died 12 Apr 1824 in Baltimore, MD. She married (1) John Stapler Littler 24 Apr 1794 in Old Swedes Church, Wilmington, DE; born Abt. 1773 in DE; died 10 May 1806 in Maysville, Kentucky. She married (2) Asa Moore 24 Oct 1811; born Abt. 1765; died 10 Oct 1823 in Baltimore, MD. Baptism: 19 Jul 1784, Old Swedes Church, DE Burial: Friends Burial Ground, Baltimore, MD taken from Broom Descendents
5. ↑ "Delaware Births and Christenings, 1710-1896," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2SR-2M7 : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Broom in entry for Ann Broom, 02 Jul 1784; citing ; FHL microfilm 908217
6. ↑ "Delaware Births and Christenings, 1710-1896," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2SR-K5H : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Broom in entry for James Broom, 02 Jul 1784; citing ; FHL microfilm 908217.
7. ↑ "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J6F4-NJM : accessed 15 Sep 2014), James Broom, 15 Jan 1850; citing , Department of Records; FHL microfilm 1939702.
8. ↑ "Delaware Births and Christenings, 1710-1896," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2SR-3PF : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Broom in entry for Elizabeth Broom, 02 Jul 1784; citing ; FHL microfilm 908217.
9. ↑ "Delaware, Marriages and Marriage Licenses, 1713-1894", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F7HH-6XP : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Broom in entry for Rachel Maria Broom, 1791.
10. ↑ "Delaware Births and Christenings, 1710-1896," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/:/MM9.1.1/V2SR-K3V : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Broom in entry for Ester Broom, 02 Jul 1784; citing ; FHL microfilm 908217.
11. ↑ "Delaware, Marriages and Marriage Licenses, 1713-1894", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F7HH-6XT : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Broom in entry for Lavinia Broom, 1791.
12. ↑ "Delaware Births and Christenings, 1710-1896," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2SR-JZW : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Broom in entry for Nicholas Way Broom, 22 Jul 1793; citing ; FHL microfilm 908217.
13. ↑ "Delaware, Marriages and Marriage Licenses, 1713-1894", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F7HH-66L : accessed 31 Aug 2014), Jacob Brom in entry for Jacob Pearce Broom, 1791.
14. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 10 Feb 2018), "Record of BROOME, JACOB", Ancestor # A015121.
15. ↑ http://www.constitutionday.com/broom-jacob-de.html
16. ↑ http://genealogytrails.com/del/epidemics.html
17. ↑ http://www.mccullough.nl/broom_descendants.htm#Jacob4_Broom

See also:

• Ancestry.com. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates Index, 1803-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008, 2010. From originals housed at the Philadelphia City Archives. "Death Records
• Joseph C. Morton, Shapers of the Great Debate at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Greenwood Press, 2006 http://smartcat.acpl.lib.in.us/?itemid=|acpl-bibs|ocm60835346
• Mardell Thompson Boyles, Jacob Broom, Historical Sketches, Birmingham, Mich. : M.T. Boyles, 1986 http://smartcat.acpl.lib.in.us/?itemid=|acpl-bibs|ocm19996520
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Broom