Benjamin Loxley

Benjamin Loxley, also known as Benjamin Lockley (December 20, 1720 – October 10, 1801) was a prominent Philadelphia carpenter-architect, master builder and investor in the American Colonial Period. He began his career by working as a carpenter-architect and renting out land outside the city. He then worked as a master builder and built various properties in the city. He invested in many schemes and was the largest stockholder of the Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia at one point. He was also a philanthropist and participated in several civil activities.

Benjamin Loxley
Muster roll of Benjamin Loxley
Born(1720-12-20)December 20, 1720
Wakefield, England
DiedOctober 10, 1801(1801-10-10) (aged 80)
Darby, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting placeMount Moriah Cemetery
OccupationCarpenter-architect, Master builder, Investor
OrganizationCarpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia
Military career
Allegiance Great Britain (until 1755)
 United States
Service/branchBritish Army
Continental Army
Years of service1750–1755 (British Army)
1775–1780 (Continental Army)
RankLieutenant (British Army)
Major (Continental Army)
UnitFirst Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
Battles/warsBattle of Red Bank
Battle of Brandywine

Loxley was also a well known Patriot military leader and was engaged in several battles. He rose through the ranks and eventually became a Major. He fought in battles under George Washington. He was taken as a prisoner of war when the British captured and overtook Philadelphia and eventually released in a prisoner exchange. He collaborated with Benjamin Franklin on some of Franklin's electrical experiments, including the kite experiment when Franklin used Loxley's house key to attract electricity from lightning storm clouds and duplicated a previous kite experiment.

Early life

Loxley was born in Wakefield, England on December 20, 1720.[1] He was the son of Benjamin Loxley and Elizabeth (Pullen). Loxley immigrated to America alone when he was fourteen and settled in Pennsylvania. He lived with his maternal uncle as a farm hand for two years in Darby, Pennsylvania. His uncle then indentured him to W. J. Watkins for the carpenter's and cabinet making trades.[2]

Career

Construction business
Loxley Place court entrance from Arch Street

Loxley was free of his commitments to Watkins in 1742 when he was 22 years old. With a set of carpenter's tools and books on architecture, Loxley went about finding work in Philadelphia.[3] He soon found several well paying jobs and with this money bought parcels of land just outside the city limits. He rented out the land by the week for pasturing and sold hay.[4] Loxley built a home in the center of the city for his family in 1741–1744, which became known as Loxley's Place.[5] It was on Arch Street and he had a courtyard of houses that he constructed for investments. The group of houses ran north and went to Cherry Street.[6] An adjacent property, that had a street cut into it in 1751, came up for sale in 1753; he purchased the property and added to his courtyard of houses.[7][8][9]

Loxley owned almost the complete city block of land in an upper-class prestigious neighborhood near Front and Spruce streets. He had acquired the land in 1759 from George Clymer, who was a Founding Father of the United States and signatory of the Declaration of Independence.[10] Since he was a professional carpenter and architect, Loxley built houses there on speculation as a building contractor.[11] This second group of houses that he constructed for investment purposes was known as Loxley's Court.[5]

A depiction of Benjamin Loxley house in Philadelphia at 177 South Second Street.

One of the houses at Loxley Court was on 177 South Second Street (southeast corner at Little Dock) and known as the Benjamin Loxley house, even though he never lived there.[5][12][10] He built it as an investment and rented it out to Lydia Darragh, who saved Washington's army by crossing British lines during the British occupation of Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War, delivering information to George Washington and the Continental Army about an imminent British attack.[13][14][15] Near Loxley's court of houses was a natural spring where the city's first spa, Bathsheba's spring and bower was located.[16] The spa was used by prominent Philadelphia citizens like General John Cadwalader and Stephen Girard.[17]

Loxley then became a partner with carpenter William Henderson.[2] He was successful in his investments and became a wealthy man.[1][2] The court of brick houses he had in construction were advertised to be put up for public auction on March 17, 1767. The fifty foot (15 m) wide by one hundred and twenty foot (37 m) length property was sold about a month later on April 15 under a land contract of 16 Pennsylvania pound per year, and could be used for commercial purposes of tradesmen.[18]

Loxley was a leader and the largest stockholder of the Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia with architects Thomas Nevell and Robert Smith.[2] They purchased a lot on Chestnut Street for the Carpenters' Company and built the Carpenters' Hall there.[19] The lot was owned by George Emien and conveyed to these three members of the company on February 3, 1768. It was sold on a 20 year land contract of 176 Spanish milled dollars per year; the total amount to pay it off was 3,528 Spanish milled dollars. Loxley and the other two men eventually sold the lot for the same terms to the directors of the company on January 15, 1770. A building was constructed on the lot in 1771.[20]

American Revolution
Continental Army infantry, illustrated by Henry Alexander Ogden

Loxley was loyal to the Crown and King George of Great Britain before the cry for freedom by the Thirteen Colonies. He was the Keeper of the King's Stores in Philadelphia and had charge of city commercial property for the king.[1] In the 1750s, he was a lieutenant for the British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies General Edward Braddock.[5] After Braddock's defeat in 1755, he volunteered his services for the new American movement of independence, especially in building trades.[2] One of his first acts he did was to turn over the city stores he was in charge to the Patriots, who were then labeled "Rebels" by the British.[21]

Loxley formed the first artillery company of Philadelphia in 1775.[22] He taught the use of cannons and small arms to Patriots, and had traveling shops to produce brass mortars, howitzers and fireworks for the Continental Army.[23] He was a Captain in the Philadelphia Associators under Colonel Samuel Mifflin.[24]

In July 1776, Loxley took his company in boats down the Delaware River to an engagement with British gunboats at the Battle of Red Bank.[22] He also marched them to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on July 21, 1776, to prevent the British army from crossing from Staten Island.[1] He was promoted to the rank of Major in August 1776.[25] He then fought in the Battle of Brandywine under George Washington to protect Philadelphia on September 11, 1777.[21] He was subsequently caught and taken as a prisoner when the city was ultimately taken by the British on September 26, 1777.[26] He was transferred to New York City in 1778 and was later freed in a prisoner exchanged in January 1780.[26]

Personal life
Franklin's kite lightning experiment
using Benjamin Loxley's house key

Loxley was interested in philanthropy and worked with many public enterprises.[1] His high ranking position in society was noted by his participation in the monumental 1788 Philadelphia Grand Federal Pageant parade celebrating the twelfth Independence Day. He was the leader of the 450 member section of city architects and building contractors displaying architectural designs. They had a banner with the insignia of the company's arms against a white background with the motto underneath, Justice and Benevolence.[27]

Loxley was a friend of Benjamin Franklin. He helped him make many of his electrostatic machines and assisted him in his electrical experiments.[1][5][28] He provided a door key to one of his houses that Franklin used to attract electricity from storm clouds when he flew a homemade kite to have it hit by lightning.[21][29][30] It was the key to Loxley's No. 2 house in this courtyard of his houses he constructed at Loxley's Court.[31] The kite experiment became known as a variant of the Philadelphia Experiment of 1752.[32]

Loxley married his master Watkins' daughter, Jane on March 28, 1743.[1][33] The Loxley family bible's entries show that they had two sons, Benjamin Jr. (born June 6, 1746) and Abram (born January 16, 1750).[34] Jane died on September 22, 1760 and he remarried on September 1, 1761 to Catherine Cox, the eldest child of John and Mary (Potts) Cox of Freehold, New Jersey. He had a total of twelve children with Catherine, five of which lived to adulthood.[35] The name of their third child was Jane.[36] Loxley died on October 10, 1801, in Darby, Pennsylvania at the age of 82 and was interred at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia.[37]

Societies and clubs

References

Citations
  1. "The Spirit of '76". 3–4. Spirit of '76 Publishing Company. 1897. He was a friend of Franklin, made many of his instruments. assisted in his experiments, and it was the key of the Loxley House which Franklin held on that memorable day when he drew lightning from the skies. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Biography from the American Architects and Buildings database". Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, part of the American Architects and Buildings database. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  3. Browning 1912, p. 419.
  4. "Choice Paster, near Philadelphia to be leased by the week for Cows or Horses". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. June 23, 1757. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  5. "Loxley Place". The Pennsylvania Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 19, 1955. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com .
  6. Hazard 1891, p. 265.
  7. "Our old back courts". The Times. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 22, 1893. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
  8. "By virtue of a writ". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 20, 1753. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com .
  9. "Sale by public venue at William Beil's near the Draw-bridge". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 27, 1753. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  10. "Lydia Darrach / Loxley House, Philadelphia, Where she played eavesdropper". The Wilkes-Barre News. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. December 18, 1907. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com .
  11. "Account of the Grand Federal Procession in Philadelphia". The National Gazette. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 24, 1832. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  12. Hazard 1891, p. 266.
  13. Rees 1866, p. 123.
  14. Lossing 1851, p. 301.
  15. "Lydia Darragh articles to be shown at New Castle". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. April 19, 1955. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com .
  16. Petrulionis 1999, pp. 62–66.
  17. "By an ex-editor/The Veteran finds a slice of prehistoric Philadelphia". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. June 2, 1895. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com .
  18. "To Be SOLD". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 19, 1767. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  19. Crissy 1858, p. 11.
  20. "Carpenter's Company on Lot in Philadelphia since 1770". The Buffalo Times. Buffalo, New York. October 12, 1924. p. 86 – via Newspapers.com .
  21. "Benjamin Loxley Hero". The Times. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. June 1, 1891. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  22. DAR 1897, p. 112.
  23. Rhees 1886, p. 154.
  24. Westcott 1894, p. 197.
  25. Griffith 1899, p. 82.
  26. Rhees 1896, p. 80.
  27. "Grand Federal Procession". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. July 21, 1788. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  28. "Virtue of Writ". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 4, 1766. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  29. "Loxley Court". Historic District, North of Market Street. Independence Hall Association. 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2015. Loxley himself lived in Number 2, and it was the key from the front door of this house that Benjamin Franklin used in his kite flying experiment with lightning.
  30. Harry Kyriakodis. "Franklin's Philadelphia Experiment". Scribd. Retrieved July 24, 2015. Franklin flying a kite during a lightning storm in the mid-18th century. The key used was reputedly the key for the front door of Loxley's house.
  31. Skaler 2005, p. 102.
  32. Campbell 1999, p. 61.
  33. Roach 2007, p. 188.
  34. HSP 1899, p. 265.
  35. "Jane Loxley, Philadelphia, 1776". M. Finkel & Daughter. 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  36. Cox 1912, pp. 173–174.
  37. Watson 1881, p. 346.
  38. Coates 1887, p. 36.

Sources
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