Joseph Hewes

Signature that reads 'Joseph Hove'
Black and white portrait of a man with shoulder-length hair, wearing a dark coat and white shirt.

BORN -  January 23, 1730 at Maybury Hill, Kingston (now Princeton), NJ.  Parents (English ancestry) – Aaron Hewes (b1696-d1753) and Provident Worth Hewes (b1704-d1788).  Six Children – Sarah Hewes Allen (b1728-d1785), Joseph Hewes (b1730-d1779), Josiah Hewes (b1732-d1821), Mary Hewes Middleton (b1735-d1779), Daniel Hewes (b1738-d1767), Aaron Hewes (b1742-d1789).    

DIED - November 10, 1779 (age 49), in Philadelphia, PA, some believe because of exhaustion from overwork supporting the war effort.  Religion – Quaker.  Buried - Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA.  Today there is a marker at the cemetery which commemorates Hewes, but the exact location of his grave in the cemetery is unknown.    

APPEARANCE

FAMILY – He was engaged to Iabella Johnston, who died a few days before they were to be married.   He never married.  Before he died, he wrote that he was a sad and lonely man and had never wanted to remain a bachelor.

OCCUPATION – MERCHANT, SHIPPER, LEGISLATOR.  Graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).  Moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1760 and then to Edenton, NC in 1763.  Merchant and owner of a large fleet of ships.  Member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 to 1776, and again in 1779.  Second Signer to die. 

AT SIGNING – Age 46 at signing.  Thomas Jefferson’s recollections (to John Adams in 1820) of the debate on independence - Hewes was sometimes firm, sometimes feeble, changing direction according as the day was clear or cloudy.  John Penn had played a key role in influencing Hewes (with his pacifist Quaker background) to vote for independence.

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until 1777, and again in 1779.  Appointed first Secretary of the Navy in 1776.  Spent heavily on the war from his personal fortune.  Provided the government his own extensive fleet of ships during the Revolutionary War.  John Adams often said that Hewes "laid the foundation, the cornerstone of the American Navy." 

HISTORIC SITES                                                                                                                                                

Princeton Home - Maybury Hill Estate, Princeton, NJ (1730).  Located at 346 Snowden Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540.  Birthplace and boyhood home of Joseph Hewes.  Privately owned.                                                                                                                         

Gravesite – Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA.  Located at 20 North American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, Phone 215-922-1695, Website www.christchurchphila.org.  Today there is a marker at the cemetery which commemorates Hewes, but the exact location of his grave in the cemetery is unknown.   

Edenton Office – Historic Edenton Visitor Center, Edenton, NC (1712).  Located at 108 North Broad Street, Edenton, NC 27932, Phone 242-482-2637, Website www.edenton.nchistoricsites.org.  Edenton was the first capital of NC from 1722 to 1743.  A roadside historical marker reads – “JOSEPH HEWES – Signer of the Declaration of Independence, leader in Continental Congress, merchant.  His store was three block S“ (South).”   

Edenton Home – Disbrowe-Warren House (Joseph Hewes House), Edenton, NC.  Located at 105 West King Street, Edenton, NC 27932.  Privately owned. 

Courthouse – Chowan County Courthouse, Edenton, NC (1767).  Located at 117 East King Street, Edenton NC 27932, Phone 252-482-2637, Website www.edenton.nchistoricsites.org.  Joseph Hewes, was one of the Commissioners appointed to raise money for its construction and practiced law and met in the building.

Church – St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Edenton, NC (1774).  Located at 101 West Gale Street, Edenton, NC 27932, Phone 252-482-3522, Website www.stpauls-edenton.org.  Joseph Hewes was a member of the church.

A large, white, historic house with multiple chimneys and green shutters, surrounded by a well-maintained lawn and trees.

Boyhood Home of Joseph Hewes, Maybury Hill, Princeton, NJ (1730). 

Located at 346 Snowden Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540.  Privately owned. 

The estate was the birthplace and boyhood home of Joseph Hewes from 1730 to 1755.  The house is the only remaining building with a connection to Hewes.  The original house was a small, two-story stone structure with gable roof.  A short distance away, at the northeast corner, stood a detached kitchen building.  When Joseph Hewes was five years old, the main house burned and soon after  rebuilt. Other major additions were made in 1753.