Mary Willing Clymer (1770–1852) was a noted American socialite 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 ...

during the city's time as capital of the United States. Her portrait by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

, painted in 1797, is currently displayed at the Chicago Art Institute.

Life

Mary Willing Clymer was born Mary Willing on September 15, 1770, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of thirteen children born to parents

Thomas Willing Thomas Willing (December 19, 1731 – January 19, 1821) was an American merchant, politician and slave trader who served as mayor of Philadelphia and was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress. He also served as the first presi ...

and Anne McCall. Her father was a former

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

(1763-64) and a

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme J ...

justice (1767-1777). He went on to become the president of the

Bank of North America The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first ''de facto'' central bank. Chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 17 ...

and

First Bank of the United States First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Mary wed Henry Clymer on July 9, 1794 and the couple had eight children. Henry was the son of

George Clymer George Clymer (March 16, 1739January 23, 1813) was an American politician, abolitionist and Founding Father of the United States, one of only six founders who signed both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. He was among the e ...

(1739–1813), who signed both 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 ...

and the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. Mary sat for a portrait by famed painter

in 1797. The portrait's caption notes that she was, "one of Philadelphia's premier social figures during the era when the city was the nation's capital". She is buried at Friends Burying GroundFind-A-Grave
/ref> in Mercer County, Trenton, New Jersey along with her husband.

Notes

Sources

ancestry.com Burnell, Jim ''George Clymer the Signer''
(accessed 16 October 2011)
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress ''Clymer, George''
(accessed 16 October 2011) *Independence National Historical Park portrait gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Clymer, Mary Willing People of colonial Pennsylvania People from Philadelphia 1770 births 1852 deaths Burials in New Jersey