David Redick was a Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 surveyor

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

, lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He was born in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, and after coming to America made his home for several years in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...

. He married the niece of business associate David Hoge. He accompanied Mr. Hoge (c. 1780) to survey the latter's land holdings in the Chartiers Valley

Chartiers Creek

Chartiers Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The creek was named after Pierre Chartiers, a trapper of French and Native American parentage who established a trading post at the mouth of the creek in 1743....

, in western Pennsylvania. Under Hoge's direction he platted the town of Bassett Town, which was soon renamed Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...

. At that time, Washington County

Washington County, Pennsylvania

-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...

 was in the process of being established, and Mr. Hoge apparently wanted to establish a town that could serve as the new county's center of government. Redick purchased a lot on the town's main street and lived there until his death. Redick was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1782.

Career

Redick was elected to represent Washington County on the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania

Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania comprised the executive branch of the Pennsylvania State government between 1777 and 1790...

 in 1786. He was elected Vice-President of the Council (a position analogous to Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

The Lieutenant Governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Lieutenant Governor is elected every four years along with the Governor. Jim Cawley of Bucks County is the incumbent Lieutenant Governor...

) on 14 October 1788, following the resignation of Peter Muhlenberg

Peter Muhlenberg

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg was an American clergyman, Continental Army soldier during the American Revolutionary War, and political figure in the newly-independent United States...

, and served until the next regular election, 5 November 1788, when he was succeeded by George Ross

George Ross (Pennsylvania statesman)

George Ross was a Pennsylvania politician of the late 18th century. He was elected Vice-President of Pennsylvania on 5 November 1788. He was reelected unanimously on 11 November 1789 and served until 21 December 1790...

. His was the second-shortest tenure as Vice-President, and the third-shortest of any Pennsylvania Governor or Lieutenant Governor. Although his time in office was brief he was the first state-wide officer from Pennsylvania's western frontier. All of the Presidents of Pennsylvania had been elected to Council from either the City

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 or County of Philadelphia

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

-History:Tribes of Lenape were the first known occupants in the area which became Philadelphia County. The first European settlers were Swedes and Finns who arrived in 1638. The Netherlands seized the area in 1655, but permanently lost control to England in 1674...

, and the other Vice-Presidents had represented counties of southeastern Pennsylvania, none farther west than York

York County, Pennsylvania

York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....

. The county Redick represented hadn't even existed when the Supreme Executive Council was established less than twelve years earlier.

Perhaps due to his abilities as a surveyor, in 1787 Redick was appointed an agent for the Commonwealth

Commonwealth (United States)

Four of the constituent states of the United States officially designate themselves Commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia....

 for communicating with the Governor of New York

Governor of New York

The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...

 regarding Connecticut's

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 claims to land in Pennsylvania. He was a member of Pennsylvania's 1790 Constitutional Convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

 and was a signer of the new charter. In 1791 he became prothonotary

Prothonotary

The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. prothonotarius , from Greek protonotarios "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the Byzantine Empire, from Greek protos "first" + Latin notarius ; the -h-...

 and clerk of courts

Court clerk

A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors...

 of Washington County.

Redick was involved in the Whiskey Rebellion

Whiskey Rebellion

The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...

—not on the side of the rebels but, rather, "in defense of law, order, and the constitution." With William Findley

William Findley

William Findley was an Irish-born farmer and politician from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He served in both houses of the state legislature and represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House from 1791 until 1799 and from 1803 to 1817.-Early years:William Findley was born in Ulster, Ireland and...

, he presented the document representing the rebels' surrender to President Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 and Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...

 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...

 in October 1794.

During his brief period as Vice-President of Pennsylvania Redick was an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

.

Death

David Redick died on 28 September 1805 in Washington, Pennsylvania. He was buried with Masonic

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 honors. His grave

Grave (burial)

A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....

 site is in the Old Washington Cemetery in downtown Washington.

Personal life

Redick and his wife had at least three children. A son became a lawyer and died at a young age. His daughter, Nancy, and her husband inherited the Redick home in Washington and lived there until their own deaths. Another daughter married and settled in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.