| 1 | Name: | John Reynell | |
| Year Elected: | |||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1708 | ||
| Death Date: | 9/3/1784 | ||
John Reynell (June 1708–3 September 1784) was a prominent Quaker merchant and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Devon, England, he voyaged to Jamaica at age nineteen to work in a relative’s counting-house. Within a year he had left Kingston for Philadelphia, and by 1756 he had established his own merchant business and became one of the wealthiest men in town. He later entered into a commercial partnership with his nephew Samuel Coates, whom he had adopted. Reynell’s religious ideals guided his business practices, especially his aversion to slavery, and he matched his energetic mercantile pursuits with active devotion to the Society of Friends. He served on numerous committees of the Friends Monthly and Yearly Meetings, organizing relief for those affected by the British occupation of Boston and serving as a trustee of a school for black children. He was the founding treasurer of the Pennsylvania Hospital and, later, one of its managers and the president of its board. In political affairs he opposed the move to make Pennsylvania a royal province and served as a founder and treasurer of the Friendly Association. He also led resistance to the Stamp Act and was among the first signers of the Non-Importation Agreement. Some Quakers objected to his views: for example, fellow APS member Israel Pemberton tried to have him censored by the Society of Friends for his outspoken support of a colonial embargo coordinated in response to the Townsend Act. Reynell showed greater moderation thereafter: although he vigorously defended colonial rights in private correspondence, he played no active role in the American Revolution and was permitted to remain in Philadelphia during the 1777-1778 British occupation. His nephews Isaac and Joseph Paschall were Young Junto members. (PI) | |||