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Miers Fisher papers
Philadelphia lawyer and legislator, Miers Fisher played an active role in Philadelphia society during the Revolution and the Early Republic. Miers was born in 1748 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Quakers, Joshua and Sarah Rowland Fisher. He was involved in mercantile trade as his father was a pro...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Collection: | Miers Fisher Papers |
| Collection Number: | 0207 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
| Physical Description: |
0.4 Linear feet ; 1 box |
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| Access: |
The collection is open for research. |
| Summary: |
Philadelphia lawyer and legislator, Miers Fisher played an active role in Philadelphia society during the Revolution and the Early Republic. Miers was born in 1748 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Quakers, Joshua and Sarah Rowland Fisher. He was involved in mercantile trade as his father was a proprietor of Joshua Fisher & Sons, a large mercantile firm begun in the 1750s. Miers was also trained as a lawyer and admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1769.
In 1774 Miers married Sarah Redwood and had sixteen children, only five of which survived him. During the Revolution, Miers was among a group of prominent Quaker merchants, including his brothers and father, who were temporarily exiled to Winchester Virginia, where they were detained for nearly nine months. After his confinement, Miers returned to Philadelphia and entered into a mercantile partnership with his brothers, Thomas and Samuel. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, 1791-1792; the first counselor of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society; a Philadelphia Common Council member, 1789-1791; and a director of the Bank of North America, 1792-1800.
In 1805, he retired to his country estate in Fox Chase, where he and his wife were known to entertain and host many of the most prominent figures of early America. Miers Fisher died in Philadelphia on March 12, 1819.
The Miers Fisher papers are housed in one box and are comprised of miscellaneous letters and documents chiefly about the city government of Philadelphia, 1789-1791. They include the first ordinances, laws, minutes, and regulations of the city; the plans for the accommodation of Congress and the President; and a few miscellaneous letters written by Benjamin Franklin, Edmund Randolph, Lord North, Elias Boudinot, Tobias Lear, and others. This collection does not contain documentation of his family or personal life.
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