Week 4 - Overlooked

Note: As we make ready to celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary in 2026, I plan to incorporate as many stories about the Revolutionary Patriots in my family tree as possible. The following is about my fifth great-grandfather. He's already been mentioned in week 1, but he is worthy of mention again.

I'm pretty sure that everyone reading this could spout off at least a few names of the movers and shakers of the American Revolution. Even those of you who aren't in DAR or SAR, or those not interested in the least bit about history, know these names - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, John and Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin. These are just a few of our founding fathers. Each of these men served during the earliest days of our nation - as delegates to Continental Congress held in Philadelphia. Before you met me, had you ever heard of Michael Hillegas?

While Michael Hillegas did not serve as a delegate, he was there. On July 29, 1775, Michael and fellow patriot George Clymer were elected to share the office of the Treasurer of the United Colonies. When the Declaration of Independence was written, Michael Hillegas edited the document before it was signed, therefore it was George Clymer (as Treasurer) whose signature was included on the document. Shortly thereafter, on August 6, 1776, George Clymer resigned as co-treasurer to serve as a delegate, leaving Michael Hillegas, alone, to serve as Treasurer of the United States. He held this office until Congress created the Department of the Treasury on September 11, 1789, and Alexander Hamilton became the Secretary of the Treasury, for more than fourteen years.

Michael Hillegas was a native-born Philadelphian. His father, also Michael, immigrated from Germany prior to 1724 and became a successful merchant dealing in both the iron and sugar industries. Michael Sr. wanted to ensure that his son had the knowledge to carry on the family business, so Michael was given the best educational advantages through parochial schools and academies, as well as at his father's side. The estate of Michael Sr. was apparently massive, as it required an administrators bond of 40,000 pounds, which would equate to $50,000 at that time (1749).

In the words of Rev. Michael Reed Minnich, when writing about Michael Hillegas, "Possessed of ample means, his devotion to the interest of his country stamps him as a pure patriot. He early took an active interest in political affairs." Michael was appointed as one of the commissions to erect a fort for the protection of Philadelphia (Fort Mifflin). Then from 1765-1775, he was a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, where he served as treasurer. During that same time, he was a member of the Board of Commissioners to improve navigation of the Delaware River. In 1774, he was a member of the Committee of Observation of Philadelphia and in 1775, a member of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety. It was at that time his duties as Treasurer began.

There is no question that Michael Hillegas generously gave to the cause of independence. There are numerous transactions in the Treasury accounts recording money he gave or advanced his own funds. In 1780, a "subscription" was started where the signers pledged their property and credit to form a bank for furnishing a supply of provisions to the United State Army. Michael Hillegas was one of the first subscribers which resulted in the Pennsylvania Bank. His service was not only comprised of finance. A muster roll of the 7th Company, 3d Battalion, Philadelphia City Militia shows that Michael enrolled as a member of Captain Andrew Geyer's Company. Although he was reported as delinquent in 1782, his absence was noted due tot his duties as Treasurer of the United States.

Michael Hillegas' obscurity in the history of our nation remained almost completely overlooked until the 1890s when some of his descendants petitioned the government for his inclusion, with the aid of Rev. Minnich who penned, "A Memoir of the First Treasurer of the United States" in 1905.

Several exceprts from Reverend Minnich's book -

"Michael Hillegas, under the several titles of Provincial, Continental and United States Treasurer, performed the duties of an office that required the greatest possible skill, method and integrity, and faithfully and commendably executed the trust during the first fourteen years of the life of the United State of America. That no public recognition has been made in commemoration of such patriot, long-continued, faithful execution of a trust of so great responsibility by the city of his birth, his education, his service and his death is a perversion of civic instincts."

"The time is at hand when no history of the United States will be considered complete without mention of the service of this patriot. The force of this statement is augmented when the liberal contribution of money he made by gift and loan to the support of the army during the struggle for independence are recalled."

"During the crucial part of this nation's life and the formative period of its organizations, when the services of a patriot more than a politician were required, the steady hand of Hillegas at the helm kept the finances of the Ship of State within control."

"The failure to place the portrait of Michael Hillegas, the first treasurer of the United States, upon the paper currency of the Country or to give him other fitting recognition, is an illustration of the official and historical neglect that has persistently followed this genleman."

In 1907, and again in 1922, the Department of the Treasury finally placed the portrait of Michael Hillegas on the $10 gold certificates.

To read Rev. Minnich's book in its entirety - visit the Library of Congress website:

https://www.loc.gov/item/05032453/