HENRY, William, Congress, PA (1729-1786)

HENRY, William, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born near Downington, Chester County, Pa., May 19, 1729; attended the common schools; worked as a gunsmith; justice of the court of common pleas of Lancaster County in 1770, 1773, and 1777; canal commissioner of Pennsylvania in 1771; member of the State assembly in 1776; assistant commissary general with the rank of colonel for the district of Lancaster, Pa., during the Revolutionary War; member of the council of safety 1777; treasurer of Lancaster County 1777-1785; president judge of the court of common pleas in 1780; inventor of the screw auger and the first to suggest steam as a motive power; Member of the Continental Congress 1784-1785; died in Lancaster, Pa., December 15, 1786; interment in the Moravian Cemetery; reinterment in Greenwood Cemetery.

Bibliography Jordan, Francis. The Life of William Henry, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1729-1786, Patriot, Military Officer, Inventor of the Steamboat; A Contribution to Revolutionary History . Lancaster, Pa.: Press of the New Era Printing Company, 1910.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present