James Worrell (279)

James Worrell (c. 1731–c. March 1797) was a carpenter and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Worrell left the earliest record of his life by carving his name into the woodwork in the State House, his worksite as journeyman carpenter in 1751-52. He went on to be active in the Carpenters Company of Philadelphia where he acted as a manager and joined the committee to fix prices on carpentry work. Other buildings in Philadelphia that saw Worrell’s craftsmanship included Carpenters Hall (where he was also an original subscriber) as well as Charles Norris’s Mansion on Chestnut Street. Though Worrell’s involvement with the APS was limited and brief, he was a member of the Silk Society. During the American Revolution, the Committee of Safety put his skills to use when they appointed him to construct defenses on Mud Island (later Fort Mifflin). In 1777, he joined the committee to remove lead spouting from roofs to recycle into bullets for Pennsylvania soldiers. Worrell married twice, the first time to Hannah Parsons in 1749 at Christ Church, the second time to Mary Stuart in 1757. Together, he and Mary moved to a farm in Blockley township after the Revolution and it was there that his son became a farmer. (PI)