Henry Ingle

"Henry Ingle (1764-1822) was a carpenter, cabinetmaker, and hardware merchant who was born in Germantown, PA. He was apprenticed to a Philadelphia cabinetmaker at the age of nine, then moved to central Virginia (1784-1793), then Philadelphia again, and then to Washington, D.C. in 1796, where he and his brother Joseph established their businesses. He was well known and respected in the District of Columbia, was deeply involved in the new city’s government, and helped to found both the District’s Christ Church (Protestant Episcopal) and the church’s “burying ground,” which has come to be known as Congressional Cemetery. He was a personal friend of George Washington, and he and his brother built the coffin in which Washington was buried. In addition to these various claims to fame, we should also note that at least four, and possibly five, of his grandsons attended the University of Virginia over its first fifty years.

Henry Ingle married Mary Bright Pechin (1766-1844), and the couple had several children, among them John Pechin Ingle (1791-1863) who married, first, Susan Hawkins Baker (d. 1843), and second, Mildred H. Baker (ca. 1806-1850); Joseph Ingle (1796-1863) who married Susan K. Childs (1816-1855); and Edward Ingle (1799-1839) who married Julia Pechin (1801-1838); William Ingle; and Christiana Ingle.

The first Ingle to study at the University of Virginia was Christopher Ingle (24 Sept. 1829-30 Dec. 1910). In the U.Va. Matriculation Books, Ingle gave the birthdate above, and in the column for “parent/guardian” wrote “self” — so we cannot guess who his father was from that information. In session 28 (1851-1852) he studied Law. According to the U.S. censuses, Christopher Ingle maintained a law practice in Washington, D.C. for many years. On 10 Feb. 1862, Ingle married Ellen S. Hutton (1830-1912) in the District of Columbia. The couple had five children, but only Annie J. Ingle lived to adulthood. Christopher is buried in the Ingle family plot in Congressional Cemetery; Ellen is also buried in Congressional Cemetery, but not in the same plot."

~• from https://uvastudents.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/ingle-family-washingto...

~• Henry Ingle & Monticello

~• preparation of Wahington's coffin

Joseph and Henry Ingle

Henry Ingle, born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1764, began his cabinet making career in Philadelphia under the apprenticeship of John Webb, a cabinetmakerand house joiner, who owned the
largest and most successful shop in thecity.

Completing his apprenticeship in 1784, he moved to Albermarle County, Virginia where he worked as a young journeyman. After four years, he moved to Richmond where he worked until moving back to Philadelphia about 1790. In October 1789, he advertised that he was leaving Richmond and needed to settle his accounts.

In Philadelphia he joined his brother Joseph, also a cabinetmaker, and set upshop on High Street next door to the residence of Thomas Jefferson, then serving as Secretary of State under President George Washington. The Biddle Directory of Philadelphia for 1791 listed Henry and Joseph Ingle, “Joiners,” as living at 273 High Street.

That same year Henry married Mary Pechin, daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia merchant. He and Mary moved to a home on Elfreth Alley. Joseph, unmarried at the time, probably continued to reside at 273 High Street.

It was in January 1791 that Thomas Jefferson began doing business with Henry Ingle on a fairly regular basis, a relationship that was to continue for many years. Jefferson is known to have made extensive improvements to his Philadelphia residence, among them cabinetwork. Notations in Jefferson’s Memorandum Book dating from January 1791 until March 1809, show payments to Henry for cabinetwork, tools, hardware, supplies, writing instruments, wire, and a writing box, etc.13 In the latter years, the building supplies were for Jefferson’s extensive renovations to his Monticello estate."