WILLIAM MACLAY , Un i e d S Se n a tor fr om Pe n n s l a n ia t ta te s y v , 1 - 1 1 789 79 . AT W S ANGEI E S Y , L E W I S '. H A 'L E Y H ' , P . , P r of essor H istor i n the C e nt r a l H i h S ch ool P a a . of y g , hil delphi 'e a a i h d t a M e e n of he C e e C . i l t g t st r oun ty, Pa , H sto rica i 'eb ua 18 1 0 . Soc e ty , r ry , 9 9 MP+ H 3' Wi l l i a m M a c l a U n ite d S ta te s S e n a tor y , f r o m P e n n s y l v a n i a . After the Federal Constitution had been ratified by a sufficient num ff ber of states , the di erent commonwealths proceeded to elect senators and representatives to the new Congress . Several interesting characters were thereby called into public li fe , amon g them being William Maclay , a n ative of Chester County . The subj ect of this sketch was but five t h e fa th e r - years old , when , led his fami ly to the Scotch Irish settlemen t in what is n ow Franklin County . Here youn g M aclay grew to man h ood and be came prominent in colonial aff airs . He was soon attracted to the upper S usquehann a region , and figured in the pioneer settlemen t of Sunbury . After the close of the Revolutionary War , probably in 1 86 b 7 , he changed his residence to H arris u rg , and from this place , he was called to the first senate of the United States . Although the pub lic career of William Maclay is identified with other portions of the as . State , Chester County claims hi m a son by birth It is , therefore , appropriate that the Historical S ociety should devote an evening to his achievements . This feelin g led me to accept the in vitation to prepare I f — the paper which now of er , not as a complete biography of Senator t Maclay , but merely an outline of the more impor an t facts of his life . 1 8 In Jan uary , 7 9, the Pennsylvani a Assembly chose Robert Mor ris , of Philadelphia , and William Maclay , of Harrisburg , to represent this State i n the United States Senate . As it was arranged that one third of the body should retire every two years , i t became necessary for s i the first Senators to draw their terms by lot . The long term of x years M fell to Robert orris , while William Maclay drew the short term o f two u years . M aclay grew p on the Scotch frontier of Pennsylvania , and had all the prej udices of the provincial settlers beyond the mountains . His friends have claimed for hi m the title of the first Democrat , for his ’ opposition to the Federal policies antedated Jefferson s , who was still i n Europe when Maclay took his seat as a senator . In the early days , the Sen ate was a secret body , bu t Maclay left a valuable contribution to political history in his Sketches of Debate in the First Senate of ” m the United States . This work throws uch interesting light upon the deliberations of the Senate , when it was in many instances evenly di v i d ed so , that it became necessary for the Vice President to cast the de n cidi g vote at least twenty times during the life of the first Congress . Morris and his colleague , Maclay , form an interesting study in prae o tical politics . They b th took an active part i n the debates of the Sen ate , and they disagreed on almost every subj ect . Maclay , natural ly a ma n of strong prej udices , distrusted Morris and often gave hi m a thrust about his unsettled accounts . He had a strong suspicion of John Adams . the Vice President , whom he accused of monarchical tenden e ' cies , ambitious to b come the American ing . He wrote of Adams I have really often looked at hi m with surprise mingled with con i s i n a b . tempt when he the ch ir , and no usiness is before the Senate ( 3 ) 579575 4 Instead of that sedate , easy air which I would have him possess , he will look on one side , then on the other , then down on the knees of his breeches , then dimple his visage with the most silly kind of half smile - which I cannot well express in English . The Scotch Irish have a word — x . that fits it e actly smudging God forgive me for the vile thought , but I cannot help thinking of a monkey j ust put into breeches , when I ” - i n see him betray such evident marks of self conceit . From this brief t r od uc ti on of our subj ect , we can at once draw the conclusion that Wil liam Maclay was no passive figure in politics . He had previously faced the dangers of border war in Pennsylvania , while as a young man , he ’ had been inured to hardship by the surveyor s life on the frontier . Com ba ti ve by nature , and trained in the school of experience , he became the - natural leader of his fellow countrymen from central Pennsylvania , in opposing the measures of the new Federal administration . The Maclay family is traced back to the seventeenth century in w Ireland , here a Charles Maclay is mentioned , who married , name of w ffi wife unknown . By this marriage , he had three sons , O en , an o cer i n the army of James II , remained a bachelor , and died in France ; f Charles , an o ficer in the same army , who was killed in a duel with a ffi i n French soldier in Dublin and Henry , also an o cer the royal army , 1 6 0 . who fell in the Battle of the Boyne , in 9 Charles Maclay , by a second wife , Jean Hami lton , had one son , John , who was the ancestor . 1 6 80 of the family in America This John Maclay was born in , and c ' . had the following hildren Charles , Eleanor , and John Charles 1 1 0 Maclay , of the third generation , was born in 7 , in county Antrim , 0 1 on Ireland . On May 3 , 73 4 , he sailed for America , and located a t . un farm in New Garden township , Ches er County He remained here 1 2 til 74 , when he settled in Hopewell township , Lancaster County , now 1 Lurgan township , Franklin County . In 73 3 , Charles Maclay married Eleanor 'uery , daughter of William 'uery , of county Antrim , Ireland . 1 1 o Eleanor 'uery was born in 7 4 , and died in Lurgan t wnship , Frank 2 1 8 . 1 lin County , July 7, 7 9 Her husband died in September , 753 , and e both are interred at Middle Spring Church graveyard . Th i r children ' 1 0 1 were John , born May , 73 4 ; William , the subj ect of this paper , 20 1 8 1 born July , 73 7 Charles , born August , 73 9 ; Samuel , born Janu 1 1 20 1 0 ary 7, 74 and Eleanor , born September , 75 . At the outbreak of the French and Indian War , William Maclay was a pupil in the classical academy of Rev . John Blair , Chester County . He decided to enter the military service , and his tutor gave ” him a recommendation as a j udicious young man and scholar , which secured him the appointment of ensign in the Pennsylvania Battalion . 1 8 In 75 , the expedition against Fort Duquesne was planned , and M ac - lay enlisted a company of twenty one men for Captain Montgomery . He was i mmediately promoted to lieutenant in the third battalion com ma n d e d by Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Mercer . The Pennsylvania forces j oined the British army under General Joseph Forbes at Carlisle . The colonial regiments from the South also gathered here , those from Virginia under the command of Washington . Indeed , Bancroft says , i f it had not been for Washington , Forbes would never have reached . ffi the Ohio On the di cult march , the enemy were encountered at Loyal d i s Hanna , where a spirited battle was fought , in which Maclay t i n ui sh ed g himself, Before the end of November , the army reached Fort Duquesne , and the place , at the suggestion of Forbes , was called i P ttsburg . t 1 6 After the reaty of peace i n 7 3 , the tide of settlement moved west ward , and Pontiac organized the Indian tribes from Lake Ontario to v Georgi a in a great cons piracy to repel the English . Fort Pitt was se a n d ered from communication with the East , General Amherst sen t Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bouquet to the relief of this i mportant post . W illiam Maclay served i n this expedi tion a s lieutenant with the third 2 1 1 6 Pennsylvani a Battalion . On Ju ly , 7 3 , the army started from Carlisle and proceeded by way of Fort Bed ford and Fort Li gonier . On ’ August 5, at Bushy Run , near Braddock s field , the Indians made a e .