Mayor William Hudson, II

Children - Samuel Hudson, Mary Cooper (born Hudson), Elizabeth Cookfield (born Hudson), Sarah Hudson, William Hudson, John Hudson, Susanna Owen (born Hudson), Eleanor Hudson, Hannah Metcalf (born Hudson), Rebecca Hudson, Timothy Hudson, Rachel Emler (born Hudson)

Mayor of Philadelphia

He was the mayor of Philadelphia 5th Oct. 1725 - 4th Oct. 1726. Wm. and Mary had 14 children, 7 of whom died in infancy or youth.

(Hinshaw, William Wade, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. 2, Compiled by Thomas Worth Marshall, Gen. Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1969, Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, pp. 378, 558; PA AR: Second Series: Vol. IX: Part II: Section 4: List of Officers of the Colonies on the Delaware and the Province of Pennsylvania, 1614-1776.)

GEDCOM Note

William was an early mayor of Philadelphia and friend of William Penn.

WILLIAM HUDSON, MAYOR OF PHILADELPHIA, 1725- 1726.

BY THOMAS ALLEN GLENN.

There appeared in the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser of 11th January, 1742 (O.S.), the following obituary notice of a former mayor of Philadelphia :

" On the 16th of December last, departed this Life William Hudson, who was an early Settler in this Province (viz., about the year 1684), and In the 80th year of his patiently waiting the Pleasure of his Creator ; and hath left behind him that desirable epithet A good Name. He was intrusted with a Commission of the Peace for the Space of near forty Years, the Administration whereof he acquitted himself as one worthy of so honourable a Post. He was charitable to the Poor, and contributed largely to the Relief of the Indigent and Needy, and espoused the cause of the oppressed Widow and the Fatherless, Sympathizing with the Afflicted, not forgetting those that were confined in Prison. He was a Tender Husband, a kind Father, a good Neighbour, and a Sincere Friend; and hath no doubt chang'd this transitory Life for a blessed Immortality, and translated into the Kingdom of Peace and Blessedness."

William Hudson was born in 1661, in Yorkshire, England, being the eldest son, and, after the English custom, heir of William Hudson, by Mary, his first wife. The elder Hudson, who resided principally in York City, where he had established extensive tanneries, was a person of good education, possessing much mercantile ability and great determination, yet upright and gentle in his dealings, a man of honor, and loved by his family and friends. The Hudsons came of a good old stock, in which the blood of sturdy yeoman mingled with that of county squire and London merchant. Mayor Hudson, in 1739, sealed his will with a ring bearing the device of a cross-crosslet, and for a crest the three feathers of the Prince of Wales. On an ancient silver tankard, brought by him from Yorkshire, the arms of the once famous family of Shipley, of the County ofYork, are quartered with another old shield. William Hudson, the elder, early joined the Society of Friends, and did not shrink from bearing his share of the persecutions inflicted upon that sect. On the 8th of 11th Month, 1673, he was committed to York Castle by a writ de excommunicato capiendo, after prosecution by the Ecclesiastical Court, for refusing to pay a small assessment towards repairing the " Steeple House" of his parish. He was nominally a prisoner for nine years, but was, it appears, on account of his high standing and influence, allowed occasional liberty upon paroles. During the latter part of his life he travelled over England as a minister among Friends, and not infrequently became involved in serious difficulties with the authorities on that account, on which occasions he defended himself before the courts, always with ability and usually with success. He was three times married.

His first wife, Mary, whose maiden name has not been definitely ascertained,' died 11th of 9th Month, 1681, and was buried 13th of same, in the Friends' ground at York. He married, secondly, 10th of 5th Month, 1684, at Selby, Susannah Morley, who died 14th of 5th Month, 1700, and, thirdly, at York, 8th of 5th Month, 1703, Jane Waite, who died 27th of 12th Month, 1704/5. Hudson had issue, by his first wife only, five children : William, the subject of this sketch; John, who died at York in 1687; Mary, who died there in 1674; Samuel, who died there in 1699, unmarried; Timothy, who came to Pennsylvania, but returned to Yorshire, where he married and left children.

' There is still in existence in Burlington County, New Jersey, considerable plate, said to have been brought from Yorkshire, and marked " William Hudson and Mary Head." From this circumstance we may presume that her maiden name was Head.
Vol. XV.— 22

'William Hudson, Jr., was just twenty-one when the fame of Penn's Plantations began to be spoken about in England, and he was quick to see the advantages that the new province possessed for young and enterprising men. He had inherited property from his mother, and his father was not unwilling to advance additional capital in a venture that was likely to pay a rich profit; so that in the year 1683, young Hudson, in company with James Marshall, of York, and others, set sail for Pennsylvania, bringing with them from "York Citty, in England," a certificate of removal, which, upon their arrival at Philadelphia, was duly recorded, but was, unfortunately, undated. It sets forth that " James Marshall and Rachell his wife are now determined, through God's assistance, to Transport themselves with their family into þe Province of Pensilvania in America, as also William Hudson, þe younger of þe said Citty of w'ch they have aquainted many ffriends ; and further, touching the aforesaid Wm Hudson, he being in an unmarried state, we know nothing but that he is clear from all p'sons w'soever in relation to marriage. And if it shall please God yet he shall find Inclination in himself to alter his state with respect to marry in America, his father hath freely given him up to the exercise of Truth in his own Spirit with the advice & satisfaction of the Church of God there. In relation thereunto. Your Brethren & Sisters in þe Truth, of the p'ticular Monthly Meeting in York."

This document was signed by William Hudson (Sr.), Edward Geere, John Blaykling, Elizabeth Hammond, John Taylor, Elizabeth Middleton, Thomas Hammond, John Ford, and others.

"We do not know the name of the good ship which bore these adventurers to Pennsylvania, nor the precise date of arrival, but it must have been prior to January, 1683 (O.S.). Hudson's first care after his arrival was to secure desirable lands. A tract of one hundred and eighty acres was surveyed to him, 10th Month 29th, 1683, in Newton Township, Chester (now Delaware) County, the plantation lying near the Radnor line. Darby Creek flows through it. Other properties, consisting both of town and country lots, were speedily acquired by him, the conveyances being so frequent as to render even a partial list impossible here. Whilst purchasing lands he was also active in establishing tanneries, principally in Philadelphia, the preference being given to the low and swampy ground along Dock Creek. He was eminently successful from the start, and for nearly half a century was one of the largest manufacturers, shipping- merchants, and ship-owners in Pennsylvania.

That there was among the colonists considerable jealousy respecting this wealthy and pushing young Yorkshireman is evident, for soon after his arrival he was accused of having spoken disrespectfully of a certain proclamation of the Governor regarding the maintenance of the peace, and was reported to the Council, but after an investigation it was declared that no direct evidence against him could be found, and that " he did deny the words."

On the 28th of 12th Month, 1688, William Hudson took advantage of his father's permission, very necessary it seems among Friends in those days, and married Mary, daughter of Samuel Richardson, Provincial Councillor, and a justice, one of the most prominent of the settlers.

This marriage, which was quite a social event among the colonists, and at which the Governor and Council were present, of course secured for Hudson the very considerable influence of his father-in-law, Richardson, and became instrumental in launching him upon a political career ultimately terminating in the office of chief magistrate of his adopted city.

He first became a member of the Common Council, and is mentioned as such in the charter of 1701. In 1706 he was returned from Philadelphia for the Provincial Assembly, as a member of which body he served with distinction, his name frequently appearing on some committee charged with an important mission. On the 4th of October, 1715, he became an alderman and associate justice of the City Court. He was chosen mayor of Philadelphia in 1725, and subsequently became a justice of the Orphans' Court. Unfortunately, the scant and unsatisfactory records of this period of colonial history furnish us with but little of interest concerning the management of city affairs by him, whilst enjoying the mayoralty, other than that his administration was honorable and efficient, distinguished by that straightforward and downright policy which marked his successful life. With Hudson's retirement from public service, the Quaker influence in colonial politics, which from Penn's time had confined the holding of important offices to members of a few favored families, who may perhaps be styled the aristocracy of the Province, ceased. Although not the last Quaker mayor, Hudson was one of the last of his school.

Among the first in Philadelphia to commence the arduous task of prison reform, William Hudson was indefatigable in his efforts in this direction, being in the habit of making almost daily visits to the prison, endeavoring to lessen the suflerings of the wretched inmates, and create in them an ambition towards a future useful life. He delighted in hospital work and in visiting the sick poor. In his private charities, which were countless, he was strictly impartial, and all races and persons of every religious belief were beneficiaries. Hudson was too busy a man to be studious, yet he was fond of reading, and was careful that his children should possess the advantages of as excellent an education as the facilities of Philadelphia afforded. In his dress he was rather inclined to be as fashionable as a consistent Quaker could well be. He was usually clad in a black velvet suit with large silver buttons, and silver shoe-buckles, and carried a long gilt-headed cane, with a leather loop and tassel. He appeared in public, except when he went to meeting on First Days, in a fine coach, which was valued after his death — although then ancient — at £14, being a rare luxury at that time. Notwithstanding this tendency towards worldly pleasures, he was an exemplary Friend, and none stood higher in the esteem of the Society. He was a stout and successful defender of the right of Quakers to remain uncovered in the courts of justice, and while on the bench kept his own fashionable beaver firmly upon his head. He was accounted an able preacher, and his labors as a minister were marked with success.

It was, probably, directly after his first marriage that he erected the mansion in which he passed the remainder of his life built of red and black-glazed brick, and was three stories high, having a sloping roof. A brick " portico" extended from the front entrance, perhaps corresponding to the modern porte coucher. The house was surrounded by a paved courtyard, shut in from the street by a high wall, there being a coach-way on Third Street, and another entrance-gate on Chestnut Street. The place was shaded by several old trees, and a charming view of the Delaware could be obtained from the garden sloping away on the southeast towards Dock Creek. The stables and servants' quarters were built in the rear of the court-yard. This typical colonial dwelling contained on the first floor the hall room, " dining-room, Great Kitchen, and Outer Kitchen." On the second floor the " great chamber" and two other large rooms, besides smaller ones. The third floor is described simply as " the Garrett," and probably consisted of but one apartment.

The furniture was in keeping with the best style of the times ; black walnut was the principal wood used, with an occasional oak or mahogany piece. There were two tall clocks, one in the hall-room and the other in the dining- room. One of these old time pieces, said to have been purchased by Hudson's father at a sale in London, where the auctioneer told him that it had once been the property of Oliver Cromwell, is now in the Philadelphia Library. At one period of his career Hudson was a considerable slave-holder, but at the time of his death he possessed but two ; one of these, Daphnie by name, afterwards became the property of his widow. He was, however, a kind master, and although kept in bondage at a time when such an action was not only not looked upon with horror, but practised by the most humane, his slaves were treated with such uniform mildness and justness that their slavery was but in name. Mary, the first wife of Hudson, died on the 17th of the 12th Month, 1708 (O.S.), and he married secondly, 12th Month 27th, 1709 (O.S.), Hannah, widow of Robert Barber, of Chester, and sister of David Ogden, deceased, of Middletown, Chester (now Delaware) County, father of the John Ogden who afterwards married Hudson's grand- daughter, Hannah Owen. His second wife survived him, and died in 1759, at the great age of ninety-nine years. Her will was proved on the 12th of September of that year.

A termination to William Hudson's good works and useful life came, after a long illness, on the 12th of December, 1742 (O.S.), and a few days after he was buried in the Friends' ground at the corner of Fourth and Arch Streets, where, undisturbed by the noise and bustle of the great city that has sprung up around the spot, he rests in an unmarked and an unknown grave. His will, a very voluminous document, much decayed by time, remains in the vaults of the Register's office. The body of the will is dated 1739, but there are numerous codicils bearing various dates. The last codicil, made just prior to his death, bears a different seal from the body of the will, — viz., a lion rampant, — which device probably belonged to some one present, Hudson himself being almost too weak to write his name.

There is much of interest in this old paper concerning the title to various Philadelphia properties. He gives particular directions about a lot of ground which he owned, comprising the square bounded by Mulberry and High Streets (now Arch and Market) and Fifth and Sixth Streets, and which he desires to be called " Hudson's Square." He directs that it be intersected by two streets, perhaps the present Commerce and North Streets, and divides the lots among his grandchildren. His lands and tenements in the townships of Fogerby and Reedness, in Yorkshire, England, he leaves, eventually, to his daughter Rachel, wife of Samuel Emlen.

"William Hudson had fourteen children, all by his first wife : Samuel, Mary (married Joseph Cooper), Elizabeth, Sarah, William, John (died an infant), Susannah (married, first, Robert Owen, secondly, John Burr), Eleanor, John, Hannah (married Jacob Medcalf), Rebecca, Timothy (died an infant), Rachel (married Samuel Emlen), and Timothy (who died young). There are at present no descendants bearing the name of Hudson, the last having died about the beginning of the present century, but the descendants in the female line are numerous. They comprise, among others, the families of Lewis, Savery, Wharton, Ogden, Glenn, Howell, Burr, Jones, Stockton, and Niles.

26th Mayor of Philadelphia; Oct. 5, 1725 to Oct. 4, 1726

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 10 2021, 0:01:54 UTC
• Reference: William Hudson, Mayor of Philadelphia https://www.jstor.org/stable/20083431?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Tanner.

He married
(1) Mary Richardson 28 February 1689, and
(2) Hannah Ogden March 1710.

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• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Dec 10 2021, 0:37:50 UTC