Henry Foxall (May 24, 1758 – December 11, 1823) was an English-born American politician, industrialist and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

preacher. He is considered the first United States

defense contractor The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and serv ...

because he supplied the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

during the

Quasi War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the Barbary Wars, in which the United States and Sweden fought against Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against Sw ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

with cannons and cannonballs from his iron foundries in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Georgetown (then part of Maryland) and

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. He also served as Mayor of Georgetown and helped found the

Foundry United Methodist Church Foundry United Methodist Church is a historic congregation of the United Methodist Church, located on 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C., and founded in 1814. History Henry Foxall, the prominent owner of the Columbia Foundry (besides the church, al ...

in Washington, D.C.

Early life

Henry Foxall was born on May 24, 1758, in Monmouth Forge in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

to Mary (née Hays) and Thomas Foxall. After his birth, the family returned to the British West Midlands. The family became

through their friendship with the Asbury family. Foxall would remain friends with

Francis Asbury Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States, he devoted his life to ...

for the rest of his life. His father was an ironworker who served as foreman at the Old Forge in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

for a time.

Career

Ironworking

Foxall learned the iron foundry trade in England and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He apprenticed at Funtley Forge, near

HMNB Portsmouth His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

. He was employed by

Henry Cort Henry Cort (c. 1740 – 23 May 1800) was an English ironware producer although formerly a Navy pay agent. During the Industrial Revolution in England, Cort began refining iron from pig iron to wrought iron (or bar iron) using innovative producti ...

for seven years and learned proficiency in the use of coke to fire the iron furnace and the puddling and rolling techniques pioneered by Cort. He then went to Ireland, having been recruited by Thomas O'Reilly, in the late 1780s and worked at the Arigna Iron Works in

Arigna Arigna (, formerly ''Cairn An Ailt''), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is near Lough Allen (on the Shannon-Erne Waterway), on a designated scenic route between Keadue and Sliabh an Iarainn. Arigna is situated in Kilronan Parish ...

. By November 1791, Foxall converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

. Around June 1795, after the Catholic Defenders attacked Arigna, Foxall and his family fled to Annandale and later took the ship ''Joseph'' to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. By October 1795, they had settled in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. While in Philadelphia, he set up and purchased the Eagle Iron Works in partnership with Robert Morris. Their partnership dissolved in 1800. While in Philadelphia, he was able to supply the

with

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s and cannonballs during the

and the

. This act makes him considered the first United States

. In 1800, Foxall moved to Georgetown and built the

Columbia Foundry Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

in 1801. He also set up a foundry in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

in 1809. Both foundries produced cannons for the federal government. It was estimated that during his time leading the Columbia Foundry, approximately 300 heavy guns and 30,000 shots were produced in a year. He supplied armaments during the

and his foundry was targeted by British forces, but the attack never happened due to weather and rumors of additional American forces. Foxall's business was also a supplier of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

and the

U.S. Capitol building The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

. He retired in 1815 and sold his foundries.

Other endeavors

Foxall served as Mayor of Georgetown. He also was the director of a bank in Georgetown, trustee of the Georgetown Importing and Exporting Company and the owner of a bakery. Foxall was actively involved in the

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. He worked as a lay preacher, but was ordained officially as an elder in 1814. Foxall donated in 1814 to have the Foundry Chapel (later the

) built. It was the first Methodist congregation organized in the city of Washington west of the Capitol. The church was dedicated on September 10, 1815, and named in commemoration of

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

's Foundry Chapel in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Personal life

Foxall married three times. Foxall married Ann Harward of Stourport, Worcestershire in 1780 while in Ireland, and together they had five children, three that died at a young age, John (1786–1809) and Mary Ann (1791–1856). His wife died in the 1798 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic. He married Margaret English Smith, and she died in 1816. He later married his third wife, Catherine Holland, in November 1816. Foxall became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

citizen after moving to Georgetown in 1803. Foxall owned a house on 34th Street, the previous residence of General

James Lingan James McCubbin Lingan (May 15, 1751 – July 28, 1812) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and subsequently a senior officer in the Maryland State Militia. He was taken prisoner at Fort Washington early i ...

. He also owned a country house on Spring Hill in Georgetown. He also built a house for his daughter, Mary McKenney, at 3123 Dumbarton Avenue, later called the Foxall-McKenney House.

Later life and death

After retiring in 1815, he returned to England on two occasions, once in 1815 and another time in 1823. On December 11, 1823, he died while visiting England.

Legacy

The

Foxhall Village Foxhall, also known as Foxhall Village, is a neighborhood in northwestern Washington, D.C., bordered by Reservoir Road on the north side, Foxhall Road on the west, Glover-Archbold Park on the east, and P Street NW on the south (with some properties ...

neighborhood in Washington, D.C. is named after Foxall.

References

External links

Henry Foxall, National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foxall, Henry 1758 births 1823 deaths 18th-century Welsh people 19th-century Welsh people People from Washington, D.C. English emigrants to the United States 18th-century American politicians 19th-century American politicians American Methodist clergy Mayors of places in the District of Columbia Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)