Item #44673 Probated Will of William Bingham, Philadelphia Merchant, Signed by Benjamin Chew. "By the Tenor of these Presents, I Benjamin Chew, Register General for the Probate of Wills..." Benjamin Chew, William Bingham.
Probated Will of William Bingham, Philadelphia Merchant, Signed by Benjamin Chew. "By the Tenor of these Presents, I Benjamin Chew, Register General for the Probate of Wills..."
Probated Will of William Bingham, Philadelphia Merchant, Signed by Benjamin Chew. "By the Tenor of these Presents, I Benjamin Chew, Register General for the Probate of Wills..."
Probated Will of William Bingham, Philadelphia Merchant, Signed by Benjamin Chew. "By the Tenor of these Presents, I Benjamin Chew, Register General for the Probate of Wills..."

Probated Will of William Bingham, Philadelphia Merchant, Signed by Benjamin Chew. "By the Tenor of these Presents, I Benjamin Chew, Register General for the Probate of Wills..."

Philadelphia: 1769. 1 sheet; [4] pp. Bifolium. 9 x 15 inches. Leaves detached at centerfold, with some loss of a few letters, extremities worn, small tears along other folds, light browning and soiling. Good. Item #44673

Dated March 4, 1769, printed announcement of probate completed in manuscript signed by Benjamin Chew which is affixed with a seal to a true copy of the will, also signed by Chew (and apparently in his handwriting), of William Bingham, father of the William Bingham (1752-1804) who became perhaps the richest man in Revolutionary America.

Benjamin Chew (1722-1810) moved to Philadelphia at an early age. "After receiving a classical education and then studying law with Andrew Hamilton in Philadelphia, Chew traveled to London to continue his legal studies at the Middle Temple. While abroad he made many important connections that advanced his career down the road; most important among his new ties were those to the proprietary Penn family.

When he returned to America in 1744, Benjamin Chew settled in Delaware, where he established a successful law practice. Additionally he was elected Kent County representative to the Assembly of the Lower Counties, serving as speaker of that body from 1753 to 1757.

In 1754 Chew moved to Philadelphia and again established a thriving law practice. During this period, Chew represented the interests of the Penn family, and like them, left his Quaker faith to join the Church of England. As early as 1755 he was made both Recorder of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Attorney General. Over the years, the Penns appointed Chew to a variety of other public offices, including Register-General (in 1765) and Chief Justice of Pennsylvania (in 1774, following in the footsteps of William Allen).

Chew was also a friend of George Washington and John Adams, and as relations between Great Britain and the colonies began to sour, he was at first an outspoken advocate for the colonies. Nonetheless, Chew believed protest and reform were the solution to the problems with Parliament, and when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, Chew was not among its supporters. Chew lost almost all of his Pennsylvania positions at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, retaining only the post of Register-General until 1777. In that year, due to his lack of support for the revolution and his close ties to the Crown, Chew was arrested for treason and paroled to Union Iron Works in New Jersey. Shortly after his arrest, his Germantown mansion “Cliveden” was occupied by the British and damaged by fighting during the Battle of Germantown (archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/benjamin-chew).

William Bingham (1723-1769) "was the only surviving son of his father through whom he inherited considerable property in and around Philadelphia. His mother was a first cousin of Mary (Budd) Allen, mother of the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, William Allen. He served as an Ensign in the French & Indian War and became profitably engaged in the West Indian rum trade with his brother-in-law, Joseph Stamper. In 1745, he married Molly ("whose attractions were referred to very enthusiastically by William Black"), daughter of John Stamper, Mayor of Philadelphia ... Bingham's son, William, was reckoned to be the most powerful man in the country during the Revolutionary era. ([househistree.com/people/william-bingham-1723-1769).

Price: $750.00