George Read
George Read was the son of John Read, a wealthy and respectable planter from Dublin, Ireland, located in Cecil County, Maryland, where George was born in 1734. The father subsequently moved to Newcastle County, Delaware, and placed his son in a school in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he received his primary tuition. From there, he entered the seminary of Rev. Dr. Allison, who was eminently qualified to mold the mind for usefulness by imparting correct and liberal principles, practical knowledge, and general intelligence fit for everyday use, combining the whole with refined classics and polite literature. Under this accomplished teacher, Mr. Read completed his education and, at seventeen, commenced law study under John Moland, a distinguished member of the Philadelphia Bar.He started a successful practice at Newcastle in 1754 and grappled with old and experienced counselors. On April 13, 1763, George Read was appointed Attorney General for the three lower counties of Delaware. The same year, he was married to a daughter of Rev. George Ross of Newcastle.
In 1765, Read was elected a member of the Delaware Assembly and was instrumental in laying deep the foundations of the superstructure of Liberty. On August 17, 1769, Read published an appeal to his constituents, calling upon them to resist the encroachments of tyranny. Its language was bold and forcible, portraying in colors deep and robust their rights and wrongs, pointing out the path of duty so plain that a Tory need not have erred therein. This talismanic production sealed the fate of British power in patriotic Delaware,small in size but a giant in action. The hirelings of the crown saw the writing upon many walls. They were suddenly attacked with a Belshazzar tremor and found no balance in America to restore equilibrium.
Mr. Read sanctioned the various non-importation resolutions passed by his own and other Colonies. This was the first measure adopted to negative the designs of ministers by refraining from using all taxable articles, whether for luxuries or daily consumption. Had the colonists not presented so bold a front at the onset, the non-importation resolutions would have probably been paralyzed by an Act of Parliament compelling them to use the taxable articles in quantities so large that the accruing revenue would have enabled the cabinet to revel in profligacy.
Read was chairman of the committee of twelve appointed by the people of Newcastle on June 24, 1774, to obtain subscriptions for the Boston sufferers, then writhing under the lash of the infamous Port Bill passed by Parliament to chastise the refractory rebels of that patriotic city. In February following, he had the exquisite pleasure of remitting nine hundred dollars to them.
Mr. Read was a member of the Congress of 1774 and President of the Convention that formed the first Constitution of Delaware in 1776. He was a member of the Delaware Assembly for twelve years and, for a portion of that time, Vice President of the state.
George Read's Boat Stuck in the Mud
In the autumn of 1777, President McKinley fell into the hands of the enemy, which compelled Mr. Read to leave Congress for a season and perform the duties of Chief Magistrate of his state. On his way home with his family, he was compelled to pass through Jersey. In crossing the Delaware River from Salem, his boat was discovered they a British armed barge. Mr. Read's ship became stuck in the Mud. By effacing the marks upon his baggage before he was boarded and having his wife and children with him, he convinced those from the fleet he was a country gentleman on his way to his farm and solicited their assistance to put him and his family on shore. They cheerfully complied with his request and landed him and his precious charge safely on the Delaware side of the river.When the Declaration of Independence was under discussion, Read believed the measure premature, but when adopted, he cheerfully placed his name on this monument of fame. In 1779, he became ill and had to retire from his legislative duties for a year. In 1782, he was appointed a judge of appeals in the Court of Admiralty, and in 1785, he was one of the commissioners to settle the boundary line between New York and Massachusetts. The following year, he was a delegate to the convention of states convened at Annapolis to regulate the Commerce of the Union. In 1787, he was one of the talented conventions that framed the Federal Constitution. He served six years as a Senator in the first Congress convened under that Constitution. He was Chief Justice of Delaware from 1793 to his death.