Thomas Barnsley (125)

Thomas Barnsley (c. 28 October 1726–11 November 1771) was a military officer and public officeholder, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Sheffield, England, he joined the army in young adulthood and by 1755 had become sergeant-major of the Thirtieth Regiment of Foot, then stationed in Ireland. He was then promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Royal American Regiment of Foot, a unique unit of the British army raised entirely in the colonies. Barnsely passed the next eight years in military posts along the New York and Pennsylvania frontiers. In 1758, he was wounded in a failed expedition against Fort Carillon (later renamed Ticonderoga) and was even falsely reported to have been scalped. Overall, however, his responsibilities were largely administrative: he served as regimental paymaster and deputy quartermaster general and made frequent trips to Philadelphia and New York City to coordinate supplies and settle accounts. In 1759 he purchased a captaincy, and by 1762 he was in command of Fort Pitt, where he established an impressive garden. When the fighting subsided, Barnsely chose to remain in Pennsylvania, purchasing land on Neshaminy Creek in Bensalem Township. In 1764 he was appointed a justice of the peace for Bucks County, a position he held for the rest of his life. (PI)