Matthias Aspden (268)

Matthias Aspden (21 November 1748–9 August 1824) was a merchant and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Philadelphia to parents in good standing with the city’s Monthly Meeting, Aspden attended the Academy of Philadelphia in 1762 but it was commercial pursuits that intrigued him most. The death of Aspdens’s father In 1765 provided the sizeable inheritance that propelled him into larger and more lucrative business ventures. By 1767, Aspden had launched his own trading vessel and was on his way to becoming one of the city’s wealthiest merchants with an astounding annual income of £2,000 sterling a year. Such wealth made it easy and expected for Aspden to support local institutions and ventures, though his contributions (in light of his wealth and lack of family responsibilities) were nominal. Active at the APS, Aspden subscribed to the City Tavern and donated a small amount to the College of Philadelphia while also contributing to the Silk Society and the Delaware-Chesapeake canal survey. With so much vested in trans-Atlantic trade, Aspden did not welcome the American Revolution. Throughout the conflict he cast an eye towards securing his finances and, as a result, inspired confidence from neither side. He dabbled with a few local militia drills but Pennsylvania authorities disarmed Aspden when he refused to take the oath of allegiance. After he saw APS Member Dr. John Kearsly, Jr. tarred and feathered, he had an expected change of heart which he demonstrated by selling powder to the Continental Congress. These days, however, marked the end of Aspden’s time in Philadelphia. In 1776 he secured a passage to England and, after the ship’s captain put him ashore for refusing to swear loyalty to the crown, he arrived in Dover. In 1780 Pennsylvania declared him a traitor and confiscated his property. Though not branded a traitor in England, authorities did not entirely trust him and all of Aspden’s claims for compensation—with the Loyalist Claims Commission, Parliament, and even the Privy Council—were denied. Though a pardon from Pennsylvania came through, Aspden’s eventual return to Philadelphia in 1791, which he described as an “almost unknown country,” was not the homecoming he imagined. Still, he knew a good business opportunity when he saw one and began purchasing US Bank stocks. He eventually returned to England where he struggled with debilitating mental health issues.  When he died, the combination of his large fortune and a vague will added up to a court case that saw more than two hundred relations attached to the case, dragged on for thirty years, and appeared before the Supreme Court three times. (PI)