New Thomas Barclay Book Unveiled

From the BCCT.

Barclay book to be unveiled
Priscilla and Dick Roberts will unveil the book at the wealthy merchant’s former summer home, historic Summerseat.
BY DANNY ADLER

Thomas Barclay, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant whose summer home in the late 18th century was historic Summerseat in Morrisville, is not particularly well known.

The Irish immigrant left no diaries or personal papers, so information is scarce and scattered, Morrisville’s historical society says. This led two historians from Denver on a search through several U.S. states and to places as far away as Lisbon, Moscow, Tangier and New Zealand in an attempt to discover more about Barclay, a successful diplomat.

Priscilla and Dick Roberts will unveil their new book, “Thomas Barclay 1728-1793: Consul in France, Diplomat in Barbary,” Friday at Summerseat, where they’ll tell tales of Barclay’s life in Revolutionary Pennsylvania, France and Morocco. The 407-page book was published in October by Lehigh University Press with a list price of $62.50.

Standing at Hillcrest and Legion avenues, the home was originally 220 acres. Much of that land has given way to streets, homes, a nearby school and apartment complex. Formed in 1976 to preserve and restore the Georgian mansion, the Historic Morrisville Society calls Summerseat home.

It was built in the 1770s for Barclay’s father-in-law, Adam Hoops. With Barclay as its owner, Gen. George Washington stayed there from Dec. 8-14, 1776, before the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River for the Battle of Trenton, a pivotal turning point of the Revolutionary War.

Later owners would include Robert Morris, the financier of the American Revolution, and George Clymer, both of whom signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.