Charles Humphreys (September 19, 1714 – March 11, 1786) was a signatory to the
Continental Association
The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against ...
while representing
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
in the
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. It met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the British Navy ...
. He was born in
Haverford, Pennsylvania
Haverford is an unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, approximately west of Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) open ...
, and was a slave owner, miller, and fuller.
The son of Daniel and Hannah (née Wynne; daughter of
Dr. Thomas Wynne) Humphreys, he served as a delegate for Pennsylvania to the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
from 1774 to 1776. He was a signatory to the Continental Association, however he voted against the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
, since he believed it would inevitably escalate the
Revolutionary War and that conflicted with his
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
beliefs. He withdrew from the Congress soon afterwards. Despite not taking part in the Revolutionary War, his sympathies were with the patriotic cause, and he criticized what he thought was British oppression. Humphreys became the owner of a
grist
Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.''
Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on ho ...
and
fulling mill
Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...
in 1782.
Humphreys and his two sisters Elizabeth and Rebecca were slaveholders. Charles, Elizabeth, and Rebecca owned nine Black people in Haverford Township whose names were Tom, Ceasar, Judy, Nany, Nancy, Dolly, Alice, Fanny, and Tommey. The slave's ages ranged from very young to very old: Tom and Ceasar were adult men; Judy, Nany, Nancy, and Dolly were adult women; and Alice, Fanny, and Tommey were children.
Humphreys died in Haverford in 1786.
References
1714 births
1786 deaths
People from Haverford Township, Pennsylvania
American Quakers
Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania
18th-century American politicians
Place of birth missing
Place of death missing
Signers of the Continental Association
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