Joseph Hewes

Joseph Hewes (July 9, 1730 – November 10, 1779), was a native of Princeton, New Jersey, where he was born in 1730. Hewes’s parents were part of the Quaker Society of Friends.They married at Stony Brook Quaker Meeting in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Hewes attended schools various private schools close to home and then about 1749 was apprenticed to a merchant in Philadelphia. After finishing his apprenticeship he set up a store and engaged in business in Philadelphia. That business failed and about 1754 he moved to Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina where he set up a store. After a few years as a successful merchant, in 1757 he was elected Justice of the Peace and served as the Inspector of the Port at Edenton. In 1758 he served on committees creating a secondary school in Edenton and a new courthouse and jail. By 1760 Hewes was Edenton’s leading merchant. Hewes was elected to the North Carolina Assembly in 1760 and served one term.  In 1766 he was re-elected and served except for a one year absence in 1777 until his death in 1779.  

Category:1730 births
Category:1779 deaths
Category:People from Princeton, New Jersey
Category:Politicians from New Jersey
Category:Politicians from North Carolina
Category:Princeton University alumni
Category:Signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence