Oswald Eve
Encyclopedia
Oswald Eve (c. 1715 – 1793, New Providence Island, the Bahamas) was a mariner, ship chandler
, gunpowder
manufacturer and member of the American Philosophical Society
, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. He attended the College of Philadelphia and was an associate of Dr. Benjamin Rush
, later signer of the Declaration of Independence.
descent.
Eve was a sea captain, and owned and commanded the brigantine
Roebuck and the ship George. At the same time, he was occupied as a shipping merchant, becoming so prosperous that he part-owned some twenty-five other vessels as well. In 1756 he served as a lieutenant in Samuel Mifflin's company of Philadelphia Associators.
Birth of the Frankford Powder-Mill
In 1774, Eve built a water-powered factory for producing gunpowder on Frankford Creek
in Frankford
, which was then a village outside Philadelphia.
Silas Deane
writes:
Prior to the American Revolutionary War
, Eve's powder mill at Wingohocking Street and Adams Avenue, was the only one in operation in the colonies:
The Massachusetts Provincial Congress sent Paul Revere
to Philadelphia to study the inner workings of Eve's mill. Upon his arrival, he met with Continental Congressmen Robert Morris and John Dickinson
who provided the following letter of introduction to present to Oswald Eve:
On January 11, 1776, Eve signed a contract with Committee of Secrecy of the Continental Congress
to supply gunpowder at $8 per hundredweight, with Congress supplying the niter
. Because Eve had complied with the request of Congress and allowed Revere to pass through his powder manufactory, thus allowing him to obtain sufficient information that enabled him to set up a powder mill at Canton
, Eve petitioned Congress for a reward:
The Powder-Mill on Frankford Creek became the working model that was studied by all the other colonies for building their own mills in the production of gunpowder.
When the British occupied Philadelphia in September 1777, they took over the mill, and it was rumored that Eve cooperated.
On March 6, 1778, the Supreme Executive Council
found Eve found guilty of treason for trading with the British
, but he was allowed to leave the city when the British evacuated in Spring 1778, leaving his son Oswell Jr. in charge of the mill. However, on July 6, 1778, all his property, including the powder mills and 202 acre (0.81746572 km²), were confiscated.
At the outbreak of the Revolution, Eve fled with his wife to Nassau, Bahamas
, where he died in his son Joseph's house in New Providence
in 1793.
on June 2, 1744. The couple had thirteen children, of whom seven died in infancy.
One daughter, Sarah Eve, was an intimate friend of the family of Dr. Benjamin Rush
, with whom she was eventually engaged to be married. However, In September 1774, she came down with a lingering illness, believed to have been tuberculosis
, and died just three weeks before their wedding was to take place on Christmas of that year.
Another of Eve's sons, Joseph, came under the tutelage of Dr. Rush and became a medical doctor.
Chandler
A chandler was the head of the chandlery in medieval households, responsible for wax, candles, and soap.Chandler may also refer to:- People :* Chandler , the surname of various people...
, gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
manufacturer and member of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, in Philadelphia, 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...
. He attended the College of Philadelphia and was an associate of Dr. Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
, later signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Early life
Eve was born, circa 1715, possibly in Bermondsey, Surrey, England, of QuakerReligious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
descent.
Eve was a sea captain, and owned and commanded the brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
Roebuck and the ship George. At the same time, he was occupied as a shipping merchant, becoming so prosperous that he part-owned some twenty-five other vessels as well. In 1756 he served as a lieutenant in Samuel Mifflin's company of Philadelphia Associators.
Birth of the Frankford Powder-MillFrankford Powder-MillThe Frankford Powder-Mill is a historic gunpowder factory in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.At the time it was built in 1774 by Oswald Eve, it was the only such mill in the American colonies...
In 1774, Eve built a water-powered factory for producing gunpowder on Frankford CreekFrankford Creek
Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. The stream originates as Tookany Creek at Hill Crest in Cheltenham Township and meanders eastward, then southeastward, throughout Cheltenham Township, until a sharp bend near the Philadelphia border at Lawncrest,...
in Frankford
Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Frankford is a large and important neighborhood in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia situated about six miles northeast of Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is bounded roughly by the original course of Frankford Creek, now roughly Adams to Aramingo...
, which was then a village outside Philadelphia.
Silas Deane
Silas Deane
Silas Deane was an American merchant, politician and diplomat. Originally a supporter of American independence Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and then as the United States' first foreign diplomat when he travelled to France to lobby the French government for aid...
writes:
Sir
Philadelphia July 24th. 1775
Yours of the 6th I received Yesterday, and wish it were possible to obtain the Article of Powder, but it is more scarce, & more sought after than Gold.
Prior to 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...
, Eve's powder mill at Wingohocking Street and Adams Avenue, was the only one in operation in the colonies:
In the fall of 1775 it became very difficult to get sufficient powder for the Continental army. There was only one powder mill, and that near Philadelphia. So the leaders of the cause in New England thought it would be a good plan for Revere...
The Massachusetts Provincial Congress sent Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
to Philadelphia to study the inner workings of Eve's mill. Upon his arrival, he met with Continental Congressmen Robert Morris and John Dickinson
John Dickinson (delegate)
John Dickinson was an American lawyer and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of...
who provided the following letter of introduction to present to Oswald Eve:
Sir
Philada. Novr. 21st 1775
I am requested by some Honorable Members of the Congress to recommend the bearer hereof Mr. Paul Revere to you. He is just arrived from New England where it is discovered they can manufacture a good deal of Salt Petre in Consequence of which they desire to Erect a Powder Mill & Mr. Revere has been pitched upon to gain instruction & Knowledge in this branch. A Powder Mill in New England cannot in the least degree affect your Manufacture nor be of any disadvantage to you. Therefore these Gentn & myself hope You will Chearfully & from Public Spirited Motives give Mr. Revere such information as will inable him to Conduct the business on his return home. I shall be glad of any opportunity to approve myself.
Sir
Your very Obed Servt.
Robt Morris
P.S. Mr. Revere will desire to see the Construction of your Mill & I hope you will gratify him in that point.
Sir, I heartily join with Mr. Morris in his Request; and am with great Respect, Your very hble Servt. John Dickinson
On January 11, 1776, Eve signed a contract with Committee of Secrecy of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
to supply gunpowder at $8 per hundredweight, with Congress supplying the niter
Niter
Niter or nitre is the mineral form of potassium nitrate, KNO3, also known as saltpeter or saltpetre . Historically, the term "niter" – cognate with "natrium", a Latin word for sodium – has been very vaguely defined, and it has been applied to a variety of other minerals and chemical compounds,...
. Because Eve had complied with the request of Congress and allowed Revere to pass through his powder manufactory, thus allowing him to obtain sufficient information that enabled him to set up a powder mill at Canton
Canton, Massachusetts
Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,561 at the 2010 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Boston.- History :...
, Eve petitioned Congress for a reward:
In Committee of Safety, Philadelphia, May 3, 1776.
SIR: This Committee having considered the petition of Mr. Oswell Eve, are of opinion it should be laid before the honourable Congress; and they take the liberty of sending it to you for that purpose; at the same time, they certify that Mr. Eve has at different times, upon the recommendation of this Board, shown his works and improvements to such gentlemen as were appointed from this and the neighbouring Colonies to view the same.
I am, sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
JOHN NIXONJohn Nixon (financier)John Nixon was a financier and official from Philadelphia who served as a militia officer in the American Revolutionary War.He was born in Philadelphia, the son of a shipping merchant...
, Chairman.
To the Honourable John HancockJohn HancockJohn Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
, Esq.
The Powder-Mill on Frankford Creek became the working model that was studied by all the other colonies for building their own mills in the production of gunpowder.
When the British occupied Philadelphia in September 1777, they took over the mill, and it was rumored that Eve cooperated.
On March 6, 1778, the Supreme Executive Council
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...
found Eve found guilty of treason for trading with the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, but he was allowed to leave the city when the British evacuated in Spring 1778, leaving his son Oswell Jr. in charge of the mill. However, on July 6, 1778, all his property, including the powder mills and 202 acre (0.81746572 km²), were confiscated.
At the outbreak of the Revolution, Eve fled with his wife to Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, where he died in his son Joseph's house in New Providence
New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It also houses the national capital city, Nassau.The island was originally under Spanish control following Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World, but the Spanish government showed...
in 1793.
Family
Eve was married to Anne Moore in Christ Church, PhiladelphiaChrist Church, Philadelphia
Christ Church is an Episcopal church located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1695 by members of the Church of England, who built a small wooden church on the site by the next year. When the congregation outgrew this structure some twenty years later, they decided to erect a new...
on June 2, 1744. The couple had thirteen children, of whom seven died in infancy.
One daughter, Sarah Eve, was an intimate friend of the family of Dr. Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
, with whom she was eventually engaged to be married. However, In September 1774, she came down with a lingering illness, believed to have been tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and died just three weeks before their wedding was to take place on Christmas of that year.
Another of Eve's sons, Joseph, came under the tutelage of Dr. Rush and became a medical doctor.