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381:. An ox, hitched to a cart filled with stone, walked between the rails slowly pulling the cart from the quarry to tidewater on Ridley Creek where the stream became navigable. There the cargo was loaded onto barges and ships for transportation to Philadelphia and other destinations along the Atlantic seaboard. The cars carrying stone used metal wheels. When the wooden rails of the railway wore out, they were replaced with stone.
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In 1791, Leiper rented a large four-story house with stables in
Philadelphia to Thomas Jefferson when he worked as Secretary of State. They became good friends and a correspondence of more than one hundred letters occurred between the two men. During the first few years of correspondence, the letters
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after his place of birth. His property contained what may be the first private bank in
America. He built a "safety" which was used to hold federal funds after the British invaded Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. The building was also used to keep payroll for his mill operations and important
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Leiper struggled to get stone from his quarries to market since Crum Creek was not navigable and local roads could not handle wagons carrying heavy stone in all seasons. In 1790, Leiper and a fellow landowner, John Wall, petitioned the
Pennsylvania legislature to allow the construction of a canal in
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and stone quarries. By 1825, Leiper had further expanded his operations to include a paper mill, an oyster crushing mill and a stone-cutting mill. His quarries provided stones for bridge and building construction. Granite from the Leiper quarry was cut for
Philadelphia curbstones and door steps as
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neighborhood of
Philadelphia. The experiment was deemed a success when a single horse was able to haul a four-wheeled cart loaded with over 10,000 pounds of weight. The results of the experiment prompted Leiper to create a track three quarters of a mile long that extended from his quarries on
244:, and exported it overseas. When the American Revolution began, the leading tobacco house in the community was legally prohibited from trading. Leiper seized the opportunity, expanded his business and became the principal tobacco agent in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States.
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concerned the rental house, building construction and their tobacco business. Later letters discuss political issues, including the men's mutual distrust of
England. The correspondence continued after Jefferson became President of the United States and ended in 1825 with Leiper's death.
166:(15 December 1745 – 6 July 1825) was a Scottish American businessman, banker and politician who owned a successful tobacco exportation business as well as several mills and stone quarries. He served as a lieutenant in the
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order to ship stone from his quarry to the market. The legislature declined the construction and Leiper began to consider the construction of a railway similar to others that had been built in
England.
232:. He was educated at schools in Glasgow and Edinburgh. He emigrated to Virginia in 1763 after his brother inherited the family estate and entered the tobacco trade. In 1765, Leiper moved to
546:, born in 1786, represented Delaware county in Congress from 1829 until 1831 and served as an associate judge of the Delaware County circuit court. His daughter Jane Duval Leiper married
1062:
The Life of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, and of Other
Distinguished American Explorers: Containing Narratives of their Researches and Adventures in Remote and Interesting Portions of the Globe
33:
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in
America and the first in Pennsylvania. A 180 foot long stretch of wood rails laid on wooden ties spaced eight feet apart was created as an experiment in the
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361:. A temporary industrial railway was also built on Beacon Hill in Boston in 1795 and a replacement one in 1807 to transport gravel up the hill.
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Leiper's enterprises generated a large fortune, which enabled him to build a grand estate on 414 acres in Nether
Providence Township, known as
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Other railways had been built in North America prior to Leiper's. A gravity tramway was built by British soldiers in 1764 at the Niagara
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when he served as Secretary of State. They became close friends and a correspondence of over 100 letters between the two was exchanged.
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542:, the Pennsylvania politician. Leiper was 32 and Elizabeth 16 when they married. They had 13 children; 10 lived to adulthood. His son,
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The plaque at Leiper's estate commemorating the first permanent railway in the United States was originally dedicated in 1923 by the
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The short railway was actively used until 1828, when it was superseded by a cargo capable canal, known as the
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1319:
Chester (and Its Vicinity,) Delaware County, in Pennsylvania; with Genealogical Sketches of Some Old Families
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papers. The house was occupied by his descendants until 1974 when it was sold to Nether Providence Township.
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in Philadelphia, when he was one of the seven troopers that charged and routed the mob of rioters.
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280:. He also acted with his corps in quelling several civil insurrections and riots, notably in the
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His estate, Strathaven Hall, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
488:, and a member, and ultimately president, of the common council of the city of Philadelphia.
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388:, also designed by Leiper before his death. In 1850, the canal was replaced by a spur of the
276:. As treasurer of the troop, he carried the last subsidies of the French to the Americans at
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961:"National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania"
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975:"National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Thomas Leiper Estate"
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174:. He built one of the first railways in America and the first in Pennsylvania. The
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A History of the People of the United States, From the Revolution to the Civil War
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Calendar of the Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson: Part II Letters to Jefferson
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The Annual Report of the Library Company of Philadelphia for the Year 1988
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Leiper's "safety" on his estate may be the first private bank in America
711:. Philadelphia: The Library Company of Philadelphia. 1989. p. 11.
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794:(2nd ed.). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. pp. 50–51.
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LR-1010, Sections A1 and A2, Mid-County Expressway, Delaware County
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229:
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Founders Online - Thomas Jefferson correspondence to Thomas Leiper
484:. He served as a commissioner for the defense of the city in the
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182:, used to ship quarry stone to market with animal-powered carts.
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Leiper died in Philadelphia, on 6 July 1825 and was interred in
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1135:. Washington, D.C.: Department of State. 1895. pp. 356–358
682:. Vol. XI. James T. White & Company. 1901. p. 167
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for the presidency and was a presidential elector for Jackson.
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1785 in Avondale, now Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania
99:
Tobacco exporter, mill owner, quarry owner, banker, politician
1247:
Liberty to the Downtrodden: Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer
917:. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 50.
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Thomas Leiper - Scottish Patriot of the American Revolution
966:. CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System.
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In 1778, Leiper married Elizabeth Gray, whose father was
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was a three-quarter-mile long track on his property in
1225:. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
1099:. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. p. 4
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Scottish American businessman and banker (1745-1825)
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1420:Pennsylvania militiamen in the American Revolution
1004:. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 17.
745:. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 32.
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1340:The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians, Now Deceased
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468:which allowed it to fund the military efforts of
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831:. New York: D. Appleton and Company. p. 494
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304:in Nether Providence, Pennsylvania. He added a
1455:American businesspeople in the tobacco industry
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464:, Leiper loaned one third of his estate to the
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357:in Lewiston, New York under the supervision of
308:mill to the property in 1779 and later added a
1410:Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
491:He was a founder and the first officer of the
284:of 1794, and in an attack on the residence of
856:. Philadelphia: Chase & Town. p. 503
679:The National Cyclopedia of American Biography
1065:. Philadelphia: G.G. Evans. pp. 16–17.
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364:In 1809 Leiper constructed one of the first
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1440:Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
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1425:People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania
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220:Leiper was born on December 15, 1745, in
185:Leiper rented a house in Philadelphia to
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853:The American Historical Record, Volume 1
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1380:18th-century American businesspeople
1250:. Yale University Press. p. 4.
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339:Daughters of the American Revolution
210:National Register of Historic Places
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647:"Leiper Railway Historical Marker"
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216:Early life and tobacco exportation
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1435:Philadelphia City Council members
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973:Elizabeth Donaghy (August 1970).
568:Oldest railroads in North America
196:and served as a director for the
1311:. Historic Delaware County, Inc.
1059:Smucker, Samuel Mosheim (1858).
911:Harwood, Herbert H. Jr. (1990).
482:Second Bank of the United States
202:Second Bank of the United States
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313:well as in the construction of
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1400:American mining businesspeople
1302:Leiper, John Ashhurst (1976).
998:Davidson, Michelle S. (2010).
739:Davidson, Michelle S. (2010).
732:
516:Thomas Leiper's gravestone in
329:Railway and canal construction
1:
850:Lossing, Benson John (1872).
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499:Correspondence with Jefferson
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1445:Tobacco in the United States
825:McMaster, John Bach (1921).
429:Political career and banking
252:Leiper was a founder of the
7:
1171:– via Newspapers.com.
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476:. He was a director of the
394:Philadelphia-Baltimore line
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1471:
1405:American railroad pioneers
1316:Martin, John Hill (1877).
234:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
172:American Revolutionary War
89:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
73:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1322:. Wm. H. Pile & Son.
1223:www.bioguide.congress.gov
1163:. 12 July 1825. p. 3
791:Railroads of Pennsylvania
690:– via Google Books.
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292:Mill and quarry ownership
204:. His grand house, named
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1395:American canal engineers
1279:. Utah Education Network
1244:Matthew J. Grow (2009).
651:www.explorepahistory.com
296:In 1776, Leiper built a
192:He was a founder of the
1337:Simpson, Henry (1859).
1160:Lancaster Intelligencer
1093:Sims, David C. (1972).
788:Treese, Lorett (2012).
254:Philadelphia City Troop
168:Philadelphia City Troop
1415:Pennsylvania Democrats
1343:. William Brotherhead.
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323:Chestnut Street Bridge
1273:"Kane, Thomas Leiper"
1219:"Leiper, George Gray"
964:(Searchable database)
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466:Bank of North America
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194:Bank of North America
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525:Laurel Hill Cemetery
518:Laurel Hill Cemetery
478:Bank of Pennsylvania
208:, was listed on the
198:Bank of Pennsylvania
85:Laurel Hill Cemetery
1271:McAllister, David.
1430:People from Lanark
548:John Kintzing Kane
544:George Gray Leiper
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493:Franklin Institute
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370:Northern Liberties
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341:and placed on the
319:Swarthmore College
260:at the battles of
142:George Gray Leiper
1329:978-5-87148-424-1
1257:978-0-300-15326-2
1072:978-0-608-40245-1
1011:978-0-7385-7263-5
1001:Nether Providence
801:978-0-8117-0011-5
752:978-0-7385-7263-5
742:Nether Providence
718:978-1-4223-6121-4
554:and army General
495:in Philadelphia.
474:Siege of Yorktown
470:George Washington
325:in Philadelphia.
282:Whiskey Rebellion
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928:. Retrieved
913:
906:
901:, p. 2.
894:
882:
877:, p. 1.
870:
858:. Retrieved
852:
845:
833:. Retrieved
827:
805:. Retrieved
790:
768:
756:. Retrieved
741:
734:
722:. Retrieved
707:
684:. Retrieved
678:
655:. Retrieved
650:
619:Simpson 1859
614:
609:, p. 4.
602:
597:, p. 3.
578:
577:
537:
529:
522:
502:
490:
459:
451:Michael Leib
440:
419:
386:Leiper Canal
383:
379:Ridley Creek
363:
352:
348:
295:
286:James Wilson
251:
219:
191:
184:
163:
162:
67:(1825-07-06)
18:
1375:1825 deaths
1370:1745 births
1277:www.uen.org
1206:Leiper 1976
1194:Martin 1877
1182:Leiper 1976
1118:Leiper 1976
1044:Leiper 1976
945:Leiper 1976
899:Leiper 1976
887:Martin 1877
875:Leiper 1976
773:Leiper 1976
653:. WITF, Inc
607:Leiper 1976
595:Leiper 1976
540:George Gray
486:War of 1812
343:Sproul Road
298:powder mill
170:during the
65:6 July 1825
1364:Categories
1283:6 November
1229:6 November
1139:7 November
1103:2 November
1078:3 November
1017:2 November
930:4 November
860:6 November
835:3 November
807:4 November
758:2 November
724:2 November
657:3 November
574:References
375:Crum Creek
310:blade mill
302:Crum Creek
274:Germantown
270:Brandywine
258:Revolution
222:Strathaven
108:Democratic
56:, Scotland
54:Strathaven
46:1745-12-15
983:6 January
579:Citations
262:Princeton
212:in 1971.
148:Signature
1167:6 August
686:6 August
562:See also
480:and the
443:Democrat
366:railways
321:and the
278:Yorktown
230:Scotland
200:and the
137:Children
1296:Sources
472:at the
355:Portage
266:Trenton
131:
123:
1326:
1254:
1155:"Died"
1069:
1008:
921:
798:
749:
715:
534:Family
412:built
345:bridge
300:along
272:, and
226:Lanark
114:Spouse
91:, U.S.
75:, U.S.
1309:(PDF)
978:(PDF)
969:Note:
306:snuff
125:(
121:
1324:ISBN
1285:2022
1252:ISBN
1231:2022
1169:2020
1141:2022
1105:2022
1080:2022
1067:ISBN
1019:2022
1006:ISBN
985:2012
932:2022
919:ISBN
862:2022
837:2022
809:2022
796:ISBN
760:2022
747:ISBN
726:2022
713:ISBN
688:2020
659:2022
449:and
240:and
62:Died
40:Born
392:'s
1366::
1275:.
1221:.
1157:.
1051:^
952:^
817:^
780:^
696:^
667:^
649:.
626:^
587:^
558:.
527:.
414:c.
396:.
317:,
268:,
264:,
228:,
224:,
127:m.
87:,
1332:.
1287:.
1260:.
1233:.
1143:.
1107:.
1082:.
1021:.
987:.
934:.
864:.
839:.
811:.
762:.
728:.
661:.
48:)
44:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
