Gen. Thomas Mifflin

Thomas Mifflin, was an American merchant, soldier, and statesman who served as the first Quartermaster General of the Continental Army, president of the Confederation Congress, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the first governor of Pennsylvania. Born in Philadelphia to a wealthy Quaker merchant family, Mifflin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1760 before entering the family business and establishing mercantile partnerships. His military service began in 1775 as an aide-de-camp to George Washington and quickly advanced to the Quartermaster General role, where he organized army logistics amid the Revolutionary War's supply shortages, though his tenure from 1775–1776 and resumption in 1777–1779 ended in resignations amid congressional disputes over management and reforms.

 

After the war, Mifflin returned to politics as a Pennsylvania delegate to the Confederation Congress, presiding as its president from 1783 to 1784, and contributed to the Annapolis Convention and the framing of the U.S. Constitution. Elected to Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council in 1788, he served as its president before transitioning to the governorship in 1790, holding office for three terms until 1799 and overseeing fiscal improvements that reduced the state's Revolutionary War debts. His later years included a return to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as speaker until his death in 1800.

 

His father, John Mifflin, was a successful and wealthy importer of Irish linens and other goods, serving as a trustee of the College of Philadelphia and maintaining ties to the Quaker establishment despite the sect's pacifist principles. His mother, Elizabeth Bagnall Mifflin, came from a family of Quaker settlers, representing the fourth generation of Mifflins in Pennsylvania since the family's arrival from England in the late 17th century. As the eldest son in a family that included several siblings, including brothers George and John, Thomas was positioned to inherit the mercantile tradition amid Philadelphia's growing colonial economy.

 

Mifflin's early education occurred in local Quaker schools which emphasized moral instruction, basic literacy, and arithmetic suited to a merchant's life, reflecting the Society of Friends' focus on practical piety over classical scholarship. He then attended the College of Philadelphia (predecessor to the University of Pennsylvania), entering its academy and completing the collegiate program to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1760 at the age of 16. The curriculum there included studies in rhetoric, logic, mathematics, and natural philosophy, preparing him for business rather than the ministry or law, in line with his family's expectations. This education distinguished him among Philadelphia's elite, fostering connections that later propelled his entry into politics and military service, though it also highlighted his departure from strict Quaker doctrine through subsequent actions.

 

Thomas Mifflin served as a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Constitutional Convention, which assembled in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787, to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. As the elected leader of Pennsylvania's delegation, he attended sessions starting on May 28, though records indicate irregular presence throughout the proceedings, which concluded on September 17 when Mifflin signed the completed Constitution, joining seven other Pennsylvania delegates in endorsing the frame of government that established a stronger federal union with separated powers and checks among branches.

 

As governor of Pennsylvania during the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, Thomas Mifflin initially advocated for non-coercive measures to address the unrest in western counties, where farmers violently opposed the federal excise tax on distilled spirits enacted in 1791. On August 5, 1794, Mifflin wrote to President George Washington proposing a proclamation to affirm government resolve while urging peaceful submission, the appointment of commissioners to negotiate with protesters by offering amnesty for past offenses in exchange for compliance with laws, and instructions to local judges, sheriffs, and militias to suppress riots through judicial processes rather than military force. He emphasized preferring "the instruments of conciliation to those of coercion,”viewing armed intervention as a last resort only if civil authority failed, and assured cooperation with any federal militia requisitions while deferring ultimate measures to Washington's judgment.

 

Mifflin's tenure as governor concluded on December 17, 1799, following the inauguration of his successor, Thomas McKean. In the brief period thereafter, he continued public service as a member of the Pennsylvania legislature, reflecting his persistent involvement in state affairs despite advancing age and health challenges.

 

Thomas Mifflin married his second cousin, Sarah Morris, on March 4, 1767, at the Fair Hill Quaker Meeting in Philadelphia. Sarah. The couple established a household in Philadelphia, where they became fixtures in elite social circles, noted for their intelligence, wit, and wealth. Sarah proved a supportive partner, managing domestic responsibilities while Mifflin pursued mercantile, military, and political endeavors; a 1773 portrait by John Singleton Copley depicts her engaged in textile work, symbolizing her role in their shared life. Their marriage produced no children, consistent with contemporary accounts of the family.

 

Sarah Mifflin died in 1790, predeceasing her husband by a decade, after which Mifflin continued his public service without remarrying. The union, though childless, reflected the stability of Philadelphia's Quaker merchant class before the disruptions of the Revolutionary era.

 

Throughout his governorship, Mifflin had contended with recurring illnesses that impaired his physical capacity, a condition that intensified markedly after leaving office. On January 20, 1800, at the age of 56, he died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had traveled or resided in his final days; contemporary accounts attribute his death to the cumulative effects of these ailments, though no specific pathology was documented. His passing occurred on a Monday morning, and the state bore the expenses of his funeral, underscoring official recognition of his contributions.

 

Mifflin was interred in the churchyard of the German Lutheran Church (now Trinity Lutheran Church) in Lancaster, marking a departure from his earlier Quaker roots, which he had disavowed to participate in military service. Despite amassing considerable wealth earlier in life through commerce and land holdings, he expired in relative poverty, a reversal possibly linked to financial imprudence, speculative ventures, or the economic strains of public office.

 

Although fairly distant cousins, Lloyd Mifflin and Thomas Mifflin descended from the same immigrants, John Sr. and John Jr. Mifflin of Norwood, Warminster, Wiltshire, England.

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