Benjamin Loxley

Benjamin Loxley, also known as Benjamin Lockley (December 20, 1720 – October 10, 1801) was a Philadelphia carpenter-architect, master builder, investor and military leader in the American Colonial Period. He began his career by working as a carpenter-architect and renting out land outside the city. He then worked as a master builder and built various properties in the city. He invested in many schemes and was the largest stockholder of the Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia at one point. He was also a philanthropist and participated in several civil activities.

Loxley was also a well known Patriot military leader and was engaged in several battles. He rose through the ranks and eventually became a major in command of artillery. He fought in battles under George Washington. He was taken as a prisoner of war when the British captured and overtook Philadelphia and eventually released in a prisoner exchange. He collaborated with Benjamin Franklin on some of Franklin's electrical experiments, including the kite experiment when Franklin used Loxley's house key to attract electricity from lightning storm clouds and duplicated a previous kite experiment.

Early life

Loxley was born in Wakefield, England on December 20, 1720.
He was the son of Benjamin Loxley and Elizabeth (Pullen). Loxley immigrated to America alone when he was fourteen and settled in the Province of Pennsylvania, a British colony. He lived with his maternal uncle as a farm hand for two years in Darby, Pennsylvania. His uncle then indentured him to W. J. Watkins for the carpenter's and cabinet making trades.

Career

Construction business

Loxley was free of his commitments to Watkins in 1742 when he was 22 years old. With a set of carpenter's tools and books on architecture, Loxley went about finding work in Philadelphia. He soon found several well paying jobs and with this money bought parcels of land just outside the city limits. He rented out the land by the week for pasturing and sold hay. Loxley built a home in the center of the city for his family in 1741–1744, which became known as Loxley's Place. It was on Arch Street and he had a courtyard of houses that he constructed for investments. The group of houses ran north and went to Cherry Street. An adjacent property, that had a street cut into it in 1751, came up for sale in 1753; he purchased the property and added to his courtyard of houses.

Loxley owned almost the complete city block of land in an upper-class prestigious neighborhood near Front and Spruce streets. He had acquired the land in 1759 from George Clymer, who was a Founding Father of the United States and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Since he was a professional carpenter and architect, Loxley built houses there on speculation as a building contractor. This second group of houses that he constructed for investment purposes was known as Loxley's Court.

One of the houses at Loxley Court was on 177 South Second Street (southeast corner at Little Dock) and known as the Benjamin Loxley house, even though he never lived there. He built it as an investment and rented it out to Lydia Darragh, who saved Washington's army by crossing British lines during the British occupation of Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War, delivering information to George Washington and the Continental Army about an imminent British attack. Near Loxley's court of houses was a natural spring where the city's first spa, Bathsheba's spring and bower was located. The spa was used by prominent Philadelphia citizens like General John Cadwalader and Stephen Girard.

Loxley then became a partner with carpenter William Henderson. He was successful in his investments and became a wealthy man. The court of brick houses he had in construction were advertised to be put up for public auction on March 17, 1767. The wide by length property was sold about a month later on April 15 under a land contract of 16 Pennsylvania pound per year, and could be used for commercial purposes of tradesmen.

Loxley was a leader and the largest stockholder of the Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia with architects Thomas Nevell and Robert Smith. They purchased a lot on Chestnut Street for the Carpenters' Company and built the Carpenters' Hall there. The lot was owned by George Emien and conveyed to these three members of the company on February 3, 1768. It was sold on a 20 year land contract of 176 Spanish milled dollars per year; the total amount to pay it off was 3,528 Spanish milled dollars. Loxley and the other two men eventually sold the lot for the same terms to the directors of the company on January 15, 1770. A building was constructed on the lot in 1771.

Military service

Pennsylvania did not have an official militia, since it had been founded by pacifist Quakers, and so prominent Pennsylvanians like Benjamin Franklin established a voluntary organization, known as the Philadelphia Associators, to help defend the province. Loxely had joined the Associators by 1742, and would serve for the next thirty years, primarily as an artillery officer. He trained recruits during King George's War (1744–1748). With the coming of the French and Indian War in 1754, Loxely was appointed captain lieutenant in the Associators. He received training in artillery from British officers and in turn trained other colonists.

In 1758, when British General John Forbes was preparing an expedition into western Pennsylvania to expel the French, he put Loxley in charge of military supplies stored in Philadelphia. Loxley did not see action in the French and Indian War, but in 1764, a frontier vigilante mob known as the Paxton Boys marched on Philadelphia. Loxley arranged his cannons and artillerymen in the streets while Franklin negotiated with the Paxton leaders, which ended the crisis.

With the coming of the American Revolution, Loxley was a committed Patriot. One of his first acts was to turn over the city stores he was in charge to the Patriots, who were then labeled "Rebels" by the British. He was elected to the Philadelphia Committee of Safety in 1775. After news was received of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Philadelphia Associators was reorganized, with Captain Loxley placed in command of
the 174 men of the 1st Company of the Artillery Battalion under Major Samuel Mifflin. Loxley taught the use of cannons and small arms to Patriots, and had traveling shops to produce brass mortars, howitzers and fireworks for the Continental Army.

In July 1776, Loxley took his company in boats down the Delaware River to an engagement with British gunboats at the Battle of Red Bank. He also marched them to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on July 21, 1776, to prevent the British army from crossing from Staten Island. He was promoted to the rank of major in August 1776. He then fought in the Battle of Brandywine under George Washington to protect Philadelphia on September 11, 1777. He was subsequently caught and taken as a prisoner when the city was ultimately taken by the British on September 26, 1777. He was transferred to New York City in 1778 and was later freed in a prisoner exchanged in January 1780.

Personal life

Loxley was interested in philanthropy and worked with many public enterprises. His high ranking position in society was noted by his participation in the monumental 1788 Philadelphia Grand Federal Pageant parade celebrating the twelfth Independence Day. He was the leader of the 450 member section of city architects and building contractors displaying architectural designs. They had a banner with the insignia of the company's arms against a white background with the motto underneath, ''Justice and Benevolence.''

Loxley was a friend of Benjamin Franklin. He helped him make many of his electrostatic machines and assisted him in his electrical experiments. He provided a door key to one of his houses that Franklin used to attract electricity from storm clouds when he flew a homemade kite to have it hit by lightning.

It was the key to Loxley's No. 2 house in this courtyard of his houses he constructed at Loxley's Court. The kite experiment became known as a variant of the ''Philadelphia Experiment'' of 1752.

Loxley married his master Watkins' daughter, Jane on March 28, 1743. The Loxley family bible's entries show that they had two sons, Benjamin Jr. (born June 6, 1746) and Abram (born January 16, 1750). Jane died on September 22, 1760 and he remarried on September 1, 1761 to Catherine Cox, the eldest child of John and Mary (Potts) Cox of Freehold, New Jersey. He had a total of twelve children with Catherine, five of which lived to adulthood. The name of their third child was Jane. Loxley died on October 10, 1801, in Darby, Pennsylvania at the age of 80 and was interred at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Societies and clubs

* Member of Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia.
* Member of Committee of Safety in 1774–1776.
* Member of American Philosophical Society.
* Member of Pennsylvania Hospital.

References

Citations

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Loxley, Benjamin
1720 births
1801 deaths
People from Wakefield
People of colonial Pennsylvania
English emigrants
Architects from Philadelphia
People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution
Pennsylvania militiamen in the American Revolution
Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia)
Patriots in the American Revolution
Prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom