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William Maclay | |
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| United States Senator fromPennsylvania | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1791 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Albert Gallatin |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office 1795–1797 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1737-07-20)July 20, 1737 |
| Died | April 16, 1804(1804-04-16) (aged 66) Dauphin,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Party | Anti-Administration Party |
| Spouse(s) | Mary McClure Maclay (née Harris, daughter ofJohn Harris, Jr.)[1] |
| Residence | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Lawyer, surveyor, Pennsylvania Legislature, U.S. Senator |
William Maclay (July 20, 1737 – April 16, 1804) was a politician fromPennsylvania during the eighteenth century. Maclay, along withRobert Morris, was a member of Pennsylvania's first two-member delegation to theUnited States Senate. He assistedJohn Harris Jr. with the planning the layout ofHarrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1785, where Maclay Street is named for him.[2] Following his tenure in the Senate, he served in thePennsylvania House of Representatives on two occasions, as a county judge, and as a presidential elector. He is known for hisjournal providing historical information on the1st United States Congress.
Maclay was born inChester County, Pennsylvania, his parents werePresbyterian immigrants ofScottish descent fromPortadown, Ireland in what has since becomeNorthern Ireland.[3] Maclay pursuedclassical studies and then served as amilitia lieutenant in theBattle of Fort Duquesne in 1758. He went on to serve in other expeditions in theFrench and Indian War.[4]
He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1760. After a period of practicing law, he became a surveyor in the employ of thePenn family, and then aprothonotary andclerk of the courts ofNorthumberland County in the 1770s. During theAmerican Revolution, he served in theContinental Army as a commissary. He was also a frequent member of thePennsylvania General Assembly in the 1780s. During that period, he was also the Indian commissioner, a judge of thecourt of common pleas, and a member of the executive council.
After theratification of the Constitution Maclay waselected to theUnited States Senate and served in the1st United States Congress from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791. He received a two-year term instead of the usual six-year term for senators after he lost a lottery with the other Pennsylvania senator,Robert Morris. In the Senate, Maclay was one of the most radical members of theAnti-Administration faction.
He constantly feuded with Vice PresidentJohn Adams in the Senate after Adams rejected Maclay's political deal to support his vice-presidential candidacy during the1789 presidential election. In July 1789 he issued a resolution requiring thepresident to request the Senate's permission to dismissCabinet members, but it was defeated by Vice President Adams's tiebreaking vote when Adams convincedTristram Dalton andRichard Bassett to withdraw their support. During Senate debates over theResidence Act establishing the site of the U.S. permanentnational capital andseat of government Vice President Adams worked with Morris, who preferredPhiladelphia as the capital, to defeat Maclay's motion placing it near his landholdings on theSusquehanna River.[5]
In hisjournal, which is the only diary and one of the most important records of theFirst United States Congress, he criticizes Vice President Adams and PresidentGeorge Washington. He also criticized many of their supporters who ran the Senate and included particular senators, believing that their ways of running the Senate were inefficient. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to be re-elected by the state legislature of Pennsylvania. His diary expresses his dry wit and commitment to democratic principles.[6]
Following his retirement from national politics, he was also a member of thePennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1795, 1796, and 1797. In addition, he was apresidential elector in the1796 presidential election (voting for Jefferson), a county judge from 1801 to 1803, and a member again of the state House of Representatives in 1803. He died in 1804 and was interred inOld Paxton Church Cemetery in Harrisburg. Several of his relatives were also politicians, including his brother,Samuel Maclay, and his nephew,William Plunkett Maclay.
Maclay retired to his farm inDauphin, Pennsylvania in 1791, where he built a limestone mansion just north of the northernHarrisburg boundary at the time on Front Street and (ironically) South Street.[7] In 1908, the home was purchased by William E. Bailey, a descendant of an early Harrisburg iron and steel industrialist family, who made renovations created by city architect Miller Kast to aGeorgian Revival style. Presently, the building is occupied and maintained by thePennsylvania Bar Association.[8]
The area east of Maclay's Mansion came to be known as "Maclaysburg" (present dayDowntown) and extended out to what would become thePennsylvania State Capitol Complex.[9] Because it was undeveloped and within the floodplain, it was also sometimes referred to as "Maclay's Swamp" between North and South streets and Second and Third Streets; in the winter, it was popular for ice skating.[10] Previously trying to encourage the relocation of the capital to Harrisburg while in the U.S. Senate, Maclay sold ten acres of land to the Commonwealth prior to his death. In 1811, using that land, architectStephen Hills began to construct the Capitol building and state office buildings after GovernorSimon Snyder agreed to relocate centrally within Pennsylvania.[11]
He married Mary McClure Harris (1750-1809), daughter ofJohn Harris Jr. and granddaughter ofJohn Harris Sr., who were both the namesakes of Harrisburg. William and Mary had several children, including Eleanor, who married William Wallace and had a daughter named Mary Elizabeth Wallace DeWitt. Her relatives are Brigadier General Wallace DeWitt, GeneralJohn L. DeWitt, and Brigadier GeneralCalvin DeWitt Jr.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by None | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Pennsylvania 1789 – 1791 Served alongside:Robert Morris | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| Notes | † Never officially seated | |
