Library Company share #18 was first issued to John Nichols/Nicholas on November 22, 1731.
The Library Company’s chronological register of shares and directors lists him as “Nichols,” but the records of the share transactions list him as “Nicholas.” John Nicholas (d. 1756) was a carpenter. He was the architect and master builder for James Logan (1674-1751) at Stenton, and one of the carpenters hired to finish Christ Church in Philadelphia.[i]
By 1731, he was obviously acquainted with Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and his fellow Junto members, and he signed the “Articles of Agreement” drawn up by that group on July 1, 1731 to found a library. Nicholas was among the first group of shares issued four months later. These subscribers each invested forty shillings and “promised to pay ten shillings a year thereafter to buy books and maintain a shareholder’s library.”[ii]
After Nicholas’ death, his widow Jane Nicholas sold the share to John Biddle, innkeeper, on May 1, 1762. Though the Library Company did not yet list any women as shareholders, Jane’s sale of her husband’s share was “sealed and delivered” in the presence of two other women: Elizabeth Bringhurst and Jane Roberts.
Image: The May 1, 1762 share transfer from Jane Nicholas to John Biddle is recorded in Share Record Book A, volume 171, Library Company of Philadelphia records (MSS00270).
The share next passed to another John Biddle on July 7, 1779. The Library Company’s Share Record Book A notes that the transaction is from John Biddle to “grand son John Biddle, son of my son Owen Biddle,” thereby identifying the next shareholder as John Biddle (1763-1815).
According to the 1794 and 1800 Philadelphia directories, this John Biddle was a druggist.The share remained in his name for the next fifty-three years.
After his death, his brother and executor Clement Biddle (1778-1856) sold the share to John’s son, Edward C. Biddle (1808-1893), on June 8, 1832.
Edward was a print and book publisher, according to the Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers. At the time he acquired this Library Company share, his office was located at the southwest corner of Fifth and Minor (now known as Ludlow) Streets, which would have been very close to the Library Company’s building on Fifth Street just below Chestnut Street.
He maintained the share for the rest of his life. The share next passed to Edward’s daughter, Hetty F. Biddle (1833-1909), on June 2, 1898.
After her death, the share passed to Edward B. Clay on November 2, 1911.
Share History:
- John Nichols/Nicholas, acquired share #18 on November 22, 1731.
- John Biddle, acquired on May 1, 1762.
- John Biddle (1763-1815), acquired on July 7, 1779.
- Edward C. Biddle (1808-1893), acquired on June 8, 1832.
- Hetty F. Biddle (1833-1909), acquired on June 2, 1898.
- Edward B. Clay, acquired on November 2, 1911.
Shareholders who acquired this share after 1950 are not displayed for privacy reasons.
Learn more about Library Company shareholding today.
[i] Roger W. Moss, “Nicholas, John (d. 1756),” Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/100825 (accessed May 16, 2024).
[ii] “At the Instance of Benjamin Franklin”: A Brief History of the Library Company of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 2015), 5.