Library Company share #23 was first issued to Alexander Paxton on November 22, 1731.
By 1731, Paxton was obviously acquainted with Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and his fellow Junto members. That group drew up “Articles of Agreement” on July 1, 1731 to found a library, and Paxton 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.”[i]
Paxton was a saddler, according to newspaper advertisements from 1736. Fellow Library Company shareholder Nicholas Reddish (share #13) announced an end to their partnership that year, with Reddish planning to continue business at the same shop.[ii]
The share next passed to Andrew Hamilton on January 18, 1742, but this transfer was not recorded in a Library Company share book. Instead, the only mention of the transaction is in the minutes from a Directors meeting held on February 8, 1742.
Image: Detail from February 8, 1742 minutes, Directors Minutes Volume 1, volume 163, Library Company of Philadelphia records (MSS00270).
Unfortunately, it is unclear which “Andrew Hamilton” may have owned the share, other than it is certainly not Andrew Trent Hamilton (1665-1741), a notable colonial lawyer and politician who helped found Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The share remained in the name of either Hamilton or his estate until 1828. Library Company records note that executor Thomas Parke sold share #23 to John Livezey (1798-1878) on February 11, 1828.
The 1828 Philadelphia directory lists him as a merchant based at the southeast corner of Library and 5th Streets, placing him directly across the street from the Library Company’s building at that time. He maintained the share for the rest of his life.
Livezey was clearly a supporter of libraries. His 1878 will included a $10,000 bequest to the Athenaeum and a $5,000 bequest to the Apprentices’ Library, which had been founded in 1820 for the free use of young tradesmen. Despite his long association with the Library Company, Livezey envisioned his personal library would eventually be gifted to the Friends’ Free Library of Germantown.[iii]
After Livezey’s death, his executors Israel H. Johnson, Samuel Mason, and William Biddle sold the share to Alexis P. Turner on December 2, 1880.
He didn’t keep the share long. Library Company records show that Alexis sold the share to Mrs. Charlotte S. Engles (1808-1888) about a month later on January 6, 1881.
Engles lived at 1906 Rittenhouse Square South and was the widow of Rev. William M. Engles (1797-1867). Rev. Engles had served for thirty-three years as editor of The Presbyterian newspaper, and headed the Presbyterian Board of Publication.[iv]
A few months before she died, Engles sold the share to A. Sydney Biddle (1847-1891) on February 2, 1888.
Biddle was a lawyer and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. After his death, a professorship was endowed in his name at the University of Pennsylvania.[v]
Biddle’s widow and executrix Frances Biddle sold the share to James M. Rhodes (1848-1925) on November 5, 1891.
Rhodes was a banker. He was the founder and first president of the Merion Title and Trust Company of Ardmore, and also served for many years as a director of the Girard National Bank of Philadelphia.[vi]
He maintained his share in the Library Company for fifteen years before selling it to Caroline E. Walton (1860-1931) on April 5, 1906.
Library Company records provide no further details about Walton.
Eight years after she acquired this share in the Library Company, she sold it to her daughter Emily J. Robins (1884-1977) on February 5, 1914.
Share History:
- Alexander Paxton, acquired share #23 on November 22, 1731
- Andrew Hamilton, acquired on January 18, 1742
- John Livezey (1798- 1878), acquired on February 11, 1828
- Alexis P. Turner, acquired on December 2, 1880
- Charlotte S. Engles (1808-1888), acquired on January 6, 1881
- A. Sydney Biddle (1847-1891), acquired on February 2, 1888
- James M. Rhodes (1848-1925), acquired on November 5, 1891
- Caroline E. Walton (1860-1931), acquired on April 5, 1906
- Emily J. Robins (1884-1977), acquired on February 5, 1914
Shareholders who acquired this share after 1950 are not displayed for privacy reasons.
Learn more about Library Company shareholding today.
[i] “At the Instance of Benjamin Franklin”: A Brief History of the Library Company of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 2015), 5.
[ii] Advertisement, The American Weekly Mercury, May 13, 1736.
[iii] “Public Bequests,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 30, 1878.
[iv] “November 27: Rev. William M. Engles,” This Day in Presbyterian History https://thisday.pcahistory.org/2013/11/november-27/ (accessed August 1, 2024).
[v] George Wharton Pepper (1867-1961) served as the Algernon Sydney Biddle professor of Law from 1893 to 1910 according to “Senator George Wharton Pepper (H. T.),” The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 22, 1922.
[vi] “James M. Rhodes Dead,” The New York Times, April 6, 1925.