John Kearsley Jr. (235)

John Kearsley, Jr. ( c. 7 July 1724-November 1777) was a physician and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Sedgefield in County Durham in England, Kearsley came to Pennsylvania as a young man, most likely to study medicine under his uncle and APS member, John Kearsley, Sr. By 1746, Kearsley, Jr. had established a medical practice and, while never the foremost doctor in Philadelphia, his business was prosperous. Chief among his curatives was therapeutic bathing, a practice he developed at the springs near his country home in Northern Liberties. In 1774 Kearsley joined a small number of local physicians who volunteered to fight the scourge of smallpox by offering free inoculations to the communities most in need of it. As a physician, he enjoyed the esteem of his peers and trained students, including future APS member William Currie. Outwardly, he appears to have established himself as a respected man in his professional and social circles: he subscribed to the Silk Society, he was an original member of Philadelphia’s Medical Society, and he joined a number of benevolent and fraternal organizations. And yet, Kearsley’s behavior suggests, at the very least, deep financial insecurities. He invested his time and money into a series of side ventures to raise additional funds and pursued two separate legal cases to win monetary claims, including contesting his uncle’s will. The American Revolution brought only outrage and violence for the doctor. While Kearsley did sign the Non-Importation Agreement in 1765, his loyalties were clearly with the Crown and he clearly expressed the sentiment. In the fall of 1775 local supporters of independence, intent on intimidating the described “violent Loyalist,” carted him through the streets while a mob pelted his home with stones, broke in, and destroyed furniture. Bloodied but unbowed, Kearsley conspired with others and wrote to ministers of state in England. In these letters, Kearsley and company urged parliament to send troops to Philadelphia and enclosed a map of the Delaware River and Bay, complete with the locations of military defenses. Acting on a tip, the Committee of Safety intercepted these letters on October 6, 1775 and arrested Kearsley the same day. He spent a year at the York County jail before the Council of Safety moved him to Carlisle in October of 1776. He died a year later in November of 1777. (PI)