Thomas Fitzsimons

Thomas Fitzimons, born in County Tubber, Wicklow, Ireland in 1741, immigrated to Philadelphia, married Catherine Meade on November 23, 1761, and eventually established a West Indies Trading Company with her brother George Meade that operated successfully for over 40 years. He was a founding member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick on March 17, 1771. During the Revolutionary War, he commanded a company of home guards that fought a supporting action in the Battle of Trenton in 1776, sat on the Philadelphia Council of Safety and the Navy Baord, and provided supplies and more than £5,000 for the support of Pennsylvania soldiers. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1786 and 1787. As a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in 1787, he supported a strong national government, favored giving Congress taxing powers of commerce, opposed slavery, and became one of the two Catholic signers of the U.S. Constitution, the other being Daniel Carroll of Maryland. Elected three times as a Federalist to the first three Congresses of the United States, he served from March 1789 until March 1795. After losing reelection in 1794, he continued public and business service as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, a director of the First Bank of North America, president of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and an organizer of the Insurance Company of North America. He died on August 26, 1811.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States