Hugh Roberts (68)

Hugh Roberts (4 July 1706–23 July 1786) was a merchant and ironmonger and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of Edward Roberts, a prosperous merchant and mayor of the city. In young adulthood he became a close friend of Benjamin Franklin and a member of the Junto. His lifelong correspondence with Franklin became the staging ground for the pair’s skills at punning. Roberts was an early subscriber and director of the Library Company of Philadelphia and a founder of the Philadelphia Contributionship. He was also a manager of the Pennsylvania Hospital, a subscriber to the Silk Society, and because of his reputation for trustworthiness, the frequent executor of others’ wills. Roberts was twice elected to the provincial assembly and was active in the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. He signed the Philadelphia Non-Importation Agreement of 1765 but maintained his Quaker neutrality during the War of Independence, avoiding arrest for suspicion and focusing on charitable relief work and slave emancipation. His son George Roberts was a member of the Young Junto and American Society and his brother-in-law Thomas Bond, Sr., and nephew Thomas Bond, Jr., were APS members. (PI)