Timothy Matlack Jr. (1736 - 1829)

Born 26 Mar 1736 in Haddonfield, New Jersey

Ancestors

Husband of Ellen (Yarnall) Matlack — married 5 Oct 1758 in New Jersey

Husband of Elizabeth (Claypoole) Matlack — married 17 Aug 1767 in Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 14 Apr 1829 at age 93 in Holmesburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Colonel Timothy Matlack Jr. served with 4th Battalion, Philadelphia City Militia, Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolution.

"Timothy Matlack the 2nd was born in Haddonfield, New Jersey, to Martha Burr and Timothy Matlack, a Quaker merchant and brewer. The family moved to Philadelphia in 1746. In 1758 young Timothy married Ellen Yarnall, the daughter of Quaker preacher Mordecai Yarnall; they had five children. After the death of his first wife, Matlack in 1797 married widow Elizabeth Claypoole Copper."^[1]

As clerk to the secretary of the Second Continental Congress, Matlack penned the official version of the Declaration of Independence on display in the National Archives.

MATLACK, Timothy, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Haddonfield, Camden County, N.J., in 1730; attended Quaker schools in Haddonfield and Philadelphia; engaged in mercantile pursuits in Philadelphia; was in command of a battalion of “Associators” during the Revolution; member of the provincial conference held in Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia, June 18, 1775; delegate to the convention of July 15, 1776, and appointed secretary of state; member of the committee of safety in 1776; in 1777 was appointed keeper of the great seal; member of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in 1779; Member of the Continental Congress in 1780; moved to Lancaster, Pa.; master of the rolls of Pennsylvania 1800-1809; moved to Philadelphia and was prothonotary of the district court for several years; member of the board of aldermen 1813-1818; died at Holmesburg, near Philadelphia, Pa., April 14, 1829; interment in the Free Quaker Burial Ground, Philadelphia, Pa.; reinterment in 1905 in Fatlands, on the Schuylkill River, opposite Valley Forge, Pa.

Timothy Matlack was the founder of the "Fighting Quakers." From The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians:

"TIMOTHY MATLACK: This patriot of the American Revolution deserves a conspicuous place in history. He was one of the “ General Committee of Safety, 'who met almost every day, during the war, at the Coffee House, State House, or Philosophical Hall, to consider the welfare of the cause and the defence [sic] of the country. He was one of the associates of Thomas Paine, James Wigdon, Robert Hare, Colonel Roberdeau, Christopher Marshall, and others. His name appears often in Christopher Marshall's Diary, as one of the most active spirits of the days of 1775–6. His example was worthy of the cause, and led many to follow his footsteps. He was considered somewhat eccentric in his manners and ideas, but his patriotism and valor were undoubted.

"Chiefly from this difference of opinion, as well as to the propriety of oaths of allegiance, and the right or power in any sectarian body of disownment or excommunication, grew the formation of the Society of Free Quakers, or as they were frequently called, Fighting Quakers. 'This body, of which Mr. Matlack was one of the founders, was not numerous, but highly respectable. He was instrumental in raising a large sum of money for building the Free Quaker meetinghouse, southwest corner of Fifth and Arch Streets. Among those whose names were obtained to the subscription list are seen Benjamin Franklin , Robert Morris , John Cadwalader , Samuel Wetherill , and others of equal renown. The property thus obtained, as well as the burying - ground in Fifth Street below Prune Street, is now held by the Society. The latter was granted to the Free Quakers, in trust for a burying - ground, the 26th August, 1786, by the Legislature of Pennsylvania.

"Timothy Matlack was truly a Philadelphian, and truly an American citizen and soldier. He became a colonel in the army, and had the command of a battalion 'to whom he had the resolves of Congress of the 15th of May, 1776, and the resolves made the 20th of May, 1776, at the State House, read, when it was proposed whether they should support them at all hazards, and the same was agreed to unanimously. ” In Duane's “ Marshall's Remembrancer ” we find the following : 'June 14th, 1776, yesterday an express came from Harry Fisher of a numerous body of Tories assembled in Sussex County, State of Delaware, who were intrenching and had cut off the communication by land to Dover . ... Powder and ball were sent from here under escort of a company of Colonel Matlack's battalion.'

"On the 14th June, 1776, he was elected one of the Deputies to attend the conference from the City and Liberties, together with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas McKean, S. Delany, John Cox, John Bayard, G. Schlosser, C. Ludwig, J. B. Smith, James Milligan, B. Loxley, C. Marshall, Sen'r, Joseph Moulder, F. Gurney, J. Schriner, J. Deane, J. Barge, Dr. Rush, S. C. Morris, William Coates, S. Brewster, J. Blewer, William Robinson, G. Goodwin, and William Lowman.

"When he first wore his sword in the streets of Philadelphia, some of his quondam Friends, or Quakers, belonging to meeting, sought to ridicule his side arms, asking him what it was, to which he replied, 'it was to defend his property and his liberty.' It afterwards proved that he not only knew how to wear his sword, but how to use it to some effect.

"Colonel Matlack lived to be upwards of ninety - nine years of age, and retained his faculties to the last in a remarkable degree. In his youth, he was a close observer of passing events, and in old age, it was delightful to listen to his reminiscences of the past.

"He was born at Haddonfield, New Jersey, in the year 1730, and died near Holmesburg, Pennsylvania, April 15th, 1829, and was interred in the Free Quaker burial - ground, South Fifth Street, Philadelphia.

"Colonel Matlack held office under the early Government of the State, and was 'Master of the Rolls' for many years, residing at Lancaster, where he continued to reside for a long time. Late in life he was appointed Prothonotary of one of the courts in the city of Philadelphia. Timothy Matlack Bryan, Esq., his grandson, now living ( 1859 ), has in his possession, given to him by the family, in consequence of bearing his name, a silver urn, presented to Colonel Matlack by 'The Committee of Safety of the City of Philadelphia,' for his patriotic devotion to the cause of freedom, and the many services rendered by him during the entire struggle, and up to the acknowledgment of the independence of the Colonies by Great Britain, in the Treaty of Peace, Anno Domini 1783. Indeed, Colonel Matlack was conspicuous in all the public measures of the War of 1776, was a popular and successful candidate to public offices; and finally, raised himself a respectable name and estate."^[2]

Revolutionary War Service

MATLACK, TIMOTHY, DAR Ancestor #: A075297^[3]

Service: PENNSYLVANIA

Rank(s): COLONEL, PATRIOTIC SERVICE

Birth: 4-26-1734 HADDONFIELD GLOUCESTER CO NEW JERSEY

Death: 4-14-1829 HOLMESBURG PHILADELPHIA CO PENNSYLVANIA

Service Source: PA ARCH, 3RD SER, VOL 10, P 761; 2ND SER, VOL 3, PP 585, 599; 5TH SER, VOL 5, P 13; PAPERS OF THE LANCASTER CO HIST SOC, VOL XLII, #6, P 150; MIN OF THE SUPREME EXEC COUNCIL, VOL 11, P 174

Service Description: 1) RIFLE BATT, PHILADELPHIA CITY; COMMITTEE FOR ESSAYING A DECLARATION 2) SEC, SUPREME EXEC COUNCIL; MEMBER OF COUNCIL OF SAFETY; CLERK, 2ND CONGRESS

Sources

1. ↑ University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center. “Timothy Matlack (c.1730 - 1829),” PENN BIOGRAPHIES, n.d., https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/timothy-matlack
2. ↑ Simpson, Henry. The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians, Now Deceased: Collected From Original and Authentic Sources. Philadelphia, PA: William Brotherhead, 1859. Pages 685-687.
3. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed March 27, 2015), "Record of Timothy Matlack", Ancestor # A075297.

• US Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. II (Reference of Timothy's date of death and of marriage to Ellen and of son William's birth date) Ancestry.com Image ($)
• DID MATLACK PEN GREAT DECLARATION ? Quaker Clerk of Continental Congress wrote with Best Hand at His Time Philadelphia Inquirer ( Philadelphia, PA). Friday Morning, November 10th, 1916. Pg. 16, 4th column.
• "New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988," index, FamilySearch link to record, Timothy Matlack, 14 Apr 1829; citing , reference ; FHL microfilm 542522.
• Col. Timothy Matlack, patriot and soldier, a paper read before the Gloucester County Historical Society at the Old tavern house, Haddonfield, N. J., April l4, 1908 (1910) By Dr. A.M. Stackhouse Published 1910. digital image at Archive.org
• Haverford College; Haverford, Pennsylvania; Minutes, 1757; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes [1]

Timothy Matlack

Marriage Date: 27 Oct 1758

Marriage Date on Image: 27 Tenth 1758

Marriage Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Spouse: Ellin Yarnall

Philadelphia Monthly Meeting

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Meeting State: Pennsylvania Meeting County: Philadelphia

Simpson, Henry. The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians, Now Deceased: Collected From Original and Authentic Sources. Philadelphia, PA: William Brotherhead, 1859. Pages 685-687.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Scott Matlock for starting this profile and Mary Hammond for researching and adding sources. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Scott and others.