Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-03-15
THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD.

Henry O. Conrad of Wilmington before
the Sons Of Delaware of Philadelphia.
on the evening of February 9th.
Through the coui tesy of j. Lowbet
Temple, president, and w. ". Smithers,
historian of the society, Every Evening
Is enabled to present the following re.
port Of the address:
Mr.. President, Ladies and Gentle
men: l appreciated very fully the
compliment of the invitation OK.
tended by the president of your
society to prepare and deliver this
address, and yet / have had very
serious misgivings as regards myself
ever since gave my consent to
do 1t. 1t does seem to me that some
one older In years and some one more
sketch could have done the subject
itself and this society much better
service In this direction. But hope
tonight that the greatness of the sub
ject will screen the shortcomings of
the speaker.
When the invitation came to me it
struck me that it was particularly
appropriate that the Sons OF Delaware,
located here in Philadelphia, should
in this way give tribute to the memory
OF departed son of Delaware, whose
greatness is recognized everywhere
In the history of Delaware. every
generation has had some individual
who stood out as the first citizen. In
the Revolutionary period we have
Thomas Mexican, Caesar Rodney and
George Read, the three men who
signed the Declaration of Independence
on behalf of Della ware, and they are
recognized by us all as being the
leading citizens of that period of
time. Following Immediately after
them was the wise and scholarly
John Dickinson, who not only was
leading citizen of Delaware but after
wards came and acted as your governor
here in Pennsylvania, and possibly to
Dickinson's writing more than to any
other one factcr, the solution of the
problem Of the formation OF this
government is due. Following after
Dickinson came James A. Bsyard, the
elder, at the beginning of this century
and immediately following him was
John M. Clayton, who for 80 years
preceding 1850 was undoubtedly the
Delaware. Then after him was James
A. Bayard the younger, the father of
Thomas F. Bayard, and then Thomas
Il. Bayard himself, who since 1870 was
pre-eminently the first citizen of the
State Of Delaware.
The Bayards are French family,
but some of the older heads we're
driven out Of France by religious per-
seoution and early in the seventeenth
century sought refuge in Holland,
where Samuel Bayard married Anneke
Stuyvesapt, a sister of Gov. Peter
Stuyvesant, and she came to America,
q widow, with her brother, the
governor, in the year i647. And from
her three boys, whom she brought with
her at that time, have sprung the
Bayards of America This gives, as
you see, the Bayards some good Dutch
blood, and the Dutch blood, neIther
Judge Pennypacker or myself ever fail
to speak of as being good blood.
Laughter and applause.
The youngest of these three sons,
whose name was Petrus, settled on the
Delaware Maryland peninsula, in what
is known as Bohemia Manor, in Cecil
county, Maryland. He Joined pecu-
liar religious sect, who in the year 1854
settled in that county on 1000 acres Of
ground, and were called the Labadists,
they formed what was called the Laba-
dist Colony. Peter Bayard--it became
Aoeoi a5 ~ boShilo
Bayard being one of the members OF
that peculiar religious sect. The
grandson of Peter Bayard. named James,
married Mary Asheton of Virginia, and
of that marriage there were two sons,
John, who was colonel in the Reyo-
lutionary War, and James Asheton, who
was medical doctor, and they drifted
to and settled in Philadelphia. John
Bayaid was a gallant soldier. James
Asheton Bayard-and this was the first
of the james Asheton Bayards, and you
see how the name came through the
marriage of Bayard with the Virginia
lady, named Asheton, aud this, the
fret James Asheton Bayard, settled in
Philadelphia prior to or about the time
of the Revolution. He had son James
Ashton Bayard, too, and this james
Asheton was James A. Bayard, the
elder, as he is always called, who
Inquired in public life about the BE-
M'nning Of this century. This first
Games A. Bayard-because we don't
ordinarily go back of him in speaking
,.Sf thu Bayards-this first James A.
Bayard resided with his uncle, Col.
John Bayard, here IN PHILADELPHIA,
went to Princeton College and gradu.
ated, and after that settled in Della,
WoAO " WhOic NO was ddullbl6u W lu6 Ddl
in 1887. This was James A. Bayard the
slider, and that was the beginning o.
the Delaware Bayards.
Soon after this settlement in Della
ware he married Anne Bassetk who wa:
the daughter of Richard Bassett, ant
Richard Bassett was governor of Della.
ware, afterwards United States Sena
tor, and after that Judge on the
bench of Delaware. After practicIns
law nine years in Delaware, he wal
elected in 1796 to Congress, at the earl,
age of 20, and served eight years. A
the expiration of that time lie was
elected to the Senate and served unit
1913. He was leading Federalist a
the time and on that account wa
opposed to Thomas Jefferson's ambi
ton to be President, and vet
when the contest came between
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
and the election was thrown in tn
House Of Representatives, of whicl
Mr.. Bayard was a member, it SCENE,
to him, or he was convinced that ther
4 was grave danger of the country goin
to destruction by reason of the higi
party feeling existing at that time. an
1t was through the efforts of Mr.. Bayar
and some other of the loyal and patriot
Federalists of that day that Burr wa
not elected, but Thomas Jefferson was
he was a leading Federalist, an
recognized as such, and it was largel
through his aid that Thomas Jefferso
became President of the United States
He was appointed Minister to England
Minister to France, and Minister I