Thomas Hartley | |
|---|---|
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – December 21, 1800 | |
| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | John Stewart |
| Constituency | at-large district (1789–1795) 8th district (1795–1800) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1748-09-07)September 7, 1748 |
| Died | December 21, 1800(1800-12-21) (aged 52) York, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Pro-Administration Federalist |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  Continental Army |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War |
Thomas Hartley (September 7, 1748 – December 21, 1800) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician fromYork, Pennsylvania.
Hartley was born inColebrookdale Township in theProvince of Pennsylvania. At 18 years of age, he moved toYork, where he studied law under Samuel Johnson and was admitted to practice law inYork County, Pennsylvania, and the courts inPhiladelphia in 1769.[1][2] He owned slaves.[3]
In 1774, Hartley was appointed first lieutenant of a company of soldiers in York and the following summer was appointed lieutenant colonel of the First Battalion of York County Associators. In the fall of 1775, he served on an expedition to Canada and upon return was chosen as lieutenant-colonel of the Seventh Pennsylvania Regiment.[1] He served as a member of the 1775 provincial convention at Philadelphia and commanded a 1778 Indian expedition. During theAmerican Revolutionary War Hartley was second in command of the6th Pennsylvania Regiment in theContinental Army. Beginning in January 1777, he raised and commandedHartley's Additional Continental Regiment and commanded it ascolonel during the major battles of thePhiladelphia campaign, includingBrandywine,Paoli, andGermantown. In 1778 the unit guarded the Pennsylvania frontier and, on September 24, 1778, mounted a two-week foray against hostile Indians, including the destruction of Queen Esther's Town on September 27.[4] The regiment merged with other units in January 1779 to become the "new"11th Pennsylvania Regiment and went with theSullivan Expedition that summer. However, Harley was elected to thePennsylvania General Assembly in October 1778 and resigned from his military in February 1779.[2]
Hartley served in the Pennsylvania legislature in 1779 and returned to practice law in York.[1] Hartley was a member of the Pennsylvania convention that ratified the federal constitution in 1787.[2] He then representedPennsylvania in theU.S. House from 1789 until his death in 1800. On February 5, 1791, Hartley became the first Pennsylvanian to join the bar of theSupreme Court of the United States when he took the oath in New York, where the court was then located.[2] Hartley frequently attended social and official functions of President Washington and the First Lady. On July 2, 1791, Hartley greeted President Washington on the President's journey through York and hosted tea for the President at his house.[2]
Hartley was among the original members of theSociety of the Cincinnati and a trustee ofDickinson College.[2] On April 28, 1800, he was appointed by Governor McKean as Major General of the Fifth Division of the state militia.[1] Hartley was also a land prospector and purchased land in present-dayUnion County, Pennsylvania, which was previously part ofNorthumberland County. He helped lay out a town, nowHartleton, Pennsylvania, and adjoiningHartley Township was named for him.
Hartley died December 21, 1800, inYork, Pennsylvania, shortly before the end of his sixth term in Congress,[1] and was buried in St. John’s churchyard in York.[5]
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