Pennsylvania: Clement Biddle 

Born on May 10, 1740 in Philadelphia, PA, to a devout Quaker family, 

Clement Biddle appeared to be destined for life as a successful 

businessman working in his father’s shipping business. 89 However in 

the early 1760s, despite his Quaker upbringing, Biddle raised a 

Pennsylvania militia unit called the “Quaker Blues.” Biddle and his 

unit fought a series of battles to defend a group of friendly Native 

Americans from the “Paxton Boys”, a vigilante group of Western 

Pennsylvania settlers that emerged in response to Chief Pontiac’s 

Revolt. When the threat posed by this group ended, Biddle returned 

to his father’s shipping business.90

Almost a year after the American Revolution began, Biddle raised a 

second company of Quaker soldiers and was rewarded by being given 

the position of Deputy Quartermaster of “the flying army”, a mobile 

reserve unit that consisted of soldiers from Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. 91 92 As an 

officer in the regiment, Biddle participated in many of the major battles during Washington’s 

1776 New York Campaign. Additionally, Biddle was present at some of the major battles 

around Philadelphia in 1777, the encampment at Valley Forge (where he was the Commissary 

General), and the battle of Monmouth. After briefly retiring from the army, Biddle ended the 

war as the quartermaster general for the Pennsylvania militia with the rank of colonel.93

 

89 “History - The First Generation of United States Marshals/The First Marshal of Pennsylvania: Clement Biddle,” 

U.S. marshals Service, last estimated release October 21, 2019, 

https://www.usmarshals.gov/history/firstmarshals/biddle.htm. (Accessed October 21, 2019).

90Rossiter Johnson, "Clement Biddle," in The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans

(Boston: American Biographic Society, 1906), pg. 308. 

91 Johnson, The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, 308.

92 John Allen Miller, “The Flying Camp Battalion,” Emmetsburg Area Historical Society, last estimated release 

November 1, 2019, http://www.emmitsburg.net/archive_list/articles/history/rev_war/flying_camp_battalion.htm. 

(Accessed November 1, 2019). 

93 Johnson, The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, 308. 

After the battle of Trenton, 

Clement Biddle was the American 

officer who accepted the swords 

from the defeated Hessian officers

Courtesy of the Library of Congress
In the years immediately following the American Revolution, Biddle 

sought to grow his own personal wealth, while also working as the 

marshal of the Admiralty Courts. The Admiralty Courts were in the 

judicial branch of government created by the Continental Congress prior 

to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.94 In this position, Biddle gained 

experience that helped him as a U.S. marshal.

95

 In addition to his 

national duties, Biddle worked as local notary and in a few other different 

capacities for Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas.96 Finally, Biddle 

pursued various private business opportunities, including the opportunity 

to act as George Washington’s personal business manager in the 

Northern part of the United States.97 Collectively, Biddle’s legal 

experience and personal connection to President Washington likely 

factored into his appointment as the first U.S. marshal of Pennsylvania.98 

As such, Biddle led the enumeration of Pennsylvania’s population for the 

1790 census. In an effort to complete the 1790 census, within the 

deadline set by Congress, Biddle deputized 32 people to serve as his 

assistants.

99

 Despite this large work force, Biddle did not complete his enumeration of 

Pennsylvania’s population for more than a year, finally submitting their results on August 19, 

1791.100 Much like in New York, Biddle strayed from the instructions and his team collected 

occupation data on heads of household in Philadelphia, if the individual spoke to the 

enumerator or had a permanent job within the city limits.

101 102 It is unclear why Biddle’s 

deputies included a limited amount of economic data in Pennsylvania’s 1790 census schedule. 

Perhaps, Biddle was following a special set of instructions from Pennsylvania’s Governor

Thomas Mifflin (December 21, 1790 - December 17, 1799), although there is no contemporary

 

94 “History - The First Generation of United States Marshals/The First Marshal of Pennsylvania: Clement Biddle.”

95 Ibid.

96 Ibid.

97 “From George Washington to Clement Biddle, 3 December 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, 

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-05-02-0423. (Accessed October 21, 2019).

98 “History - The First Generation of United States Marshals/The First Marshal of Pennsylvania: Clement Biddle.” 

99 "Assistant marshals for the state [Pennsylvania]]: 1790," in Heads of Families/1790/A Century of Population 

Growth New York & Pennsylvania, 3:9.

100 “Pennsylvania”. Return of the whole number of persons within the several districts of the United States: 

according to "An act providing for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States," passed March the first, 

one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, pg. 45. PDF. Retrieved from Retrieved from 

https://www.census.gov/content/census/en/library/publications/1793/dec/number-of-persons.htm. (Accessed 

October 21, 2019).

101 "Head of Family [Pennsylvania]: 1790/Philadelphia County continued," in Heads of Families/1790/A Century of 

Population Growth New York & Pennsylvania, pgs. 208-245.

102

 Alexander, John K. “Poverty, Fear, and Continuity,” in The Peoples of Philadelphia: A History of Ethnic Groups 

and Lower-Class Life, 1790-1940, ed. Allen F. Davis & Mark H. Haller (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 

1998), 16-17. Retrieved from 

https://books.google.com/books?id=EUcxD_lHa38C&pg=PA13&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

(Accessed October 21, 2019). 

Transcription of the 1790 

census schedule with 

Clement Biddle’s name and 

profession at the bottom
evidence supporting this theory.

103

 Alternatively, Biddle may have hoped to utilize the 

economic data he collected and his position a U.S. marshal to further his private business 

interests.104 Regardless of Biddle’s motivations for including the economic data, Pennsylvania’s 

1790 census schedule is unique because the census did not begin collecting economic data 

nationwide until 1810.

The final 1790 census tabulation noted that Philadelphia was the second largest city in the 

country, behind New York City, with a population of 28,522 people.105 Also, Pennsylvania was 

the second most populous state, behind Virginia, with a total population of 434,373 people.106 

After the census, Biddle had developed gout, which prevented him from chasing two fugitives 

at the behest of the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson in 1792.107 Furthermore, he was 

unimpressed with the minuscule compensation he received as a marshal. For these reasons, 

Biddle did not ask President Washington to renew his appointment when his four years expired. 

Instead, he returned to working in the private sector and spending time with his family.108 

Clement Biddle died in Philadelphia on July 14, 1814, when he was 74 years-old. 

 

103 W.S. Rossiter, “The First Census of the United States,” pgs. 44-45. 

104“To George Washington from Clement Biddle, 23 August 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives, last 

estimated release September 29, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-13-02-0351.

(Accessed October 21, 2019). [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 13, 1 

June–31 August 1793, ed. Christine Sternberg Patrick. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2007, p. 529.] 

105 “Pennsylvania”, Return of the whole number of persons within the several districts of the United States: 

according to "An act providing for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States," passed March the first, 

one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, pg. 45.

106 Ibid.

107 “History - The First Generation of United States Marshals/The First Marshal of Pennsylvania: Clement Biddle.”

108 Ibid.