Joseph Hewes was an American businessman and statesman. He was also the first executive head of the United States Navy.
Background
Joseph Hewes was born on January 23, 1730, in Kingston, New Jersey, United States. His parents, Aaron and Providence (Worth) Hewes, were Quakers, and the son grew up in their faith, but he gradually drifted away from it in North Carolina and definitely abandoned it at the outbreak of the Revolution.
Education
After finishing school Joseph was apprenticed to a Philadelphia merchant. He also attended Princeton but there is no evidence that he actually graduated.
Career
At age 25, Joseph Hewes moved to Edenton, North Carolina, where he became a successful merchant.
For the ten years prior to the Revolution, Joseph served in North Carolina’s legislature, and in 1774, he was elected to the First Continental Congress. He served in the First and Second Continental Congresses, from 1774 to 1777, and again in 1779. A workaholic, he was often found laboring at his desk, from dawn to dusk, often without pausing to eat or drink.
Because of his experience with shipping, he was made Chairman of the committee that helped establish the US Navy. Hewes became the first executive head of the United States Navy, although he did not have this official title at that time. In December 1775, he appointed John Paul Jones a Navy officer, and provided him with his first ship; John Paul Jones would become one of America’s greatest naval heroes.
Hewes himself was torn by the thought of independence. Even after several battles and after helping to establish the Navy, Hewes still had reservations about declaring independence. On the critical day of the vote for independence, he suddenly cried out that he would vote for independence. Illness forced Hewes to leave the Congress on October 29, 1779, and twelve days later, he died at the age of 49.
Achievements
Views
Quotations:
"State the rights of the colonies in general, the several instances in which these rights are violated or infringed, and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration of them. "
Connections
The girl Joseph Hewes loved had died a few days before their wedding and he never married leaving no children to inherit his money and estates.