Background
Biddle, Clement was born on May 10, 1740 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of John and Sarah (Owen) Biddle.
Biddle, Clement was born on May 10, 1740 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of John and Sarah (Owen) Biddle.
13 children, including Clement Cornell. Signed Philadelphia Non-Importation Agreement, 1765. Partner father’s shipping house, 1771.
Appointed quartermaster general with rank of colonel for militias of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, by 2d Continental Congress, 1776. Participated in battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Portsmouth. Aide-de-camp to General Greene, 1776.
Commissary general of forage, 1777. Quartermaster general (colonel) Pennsylvania Militia, 1781. Justice Pennsylvania Court Common Pleas, 1788.
Appointed United States marshall Pennsylvania by President.
He was the younger brother of Owen Biddle, Sr. (1737–1799). Biddle was a part of the Society of Friends and helped organize the "Quaker Blues," a company of volunteers. Biddle's first marriage was to Mary Richardson on June 6, 1764.
They had one child, Francis, who died at childbirth. They had four children: Frances (died at infancy), Thomas (born June 4, 1776), George Washington (February 21, 1779 – 1812), and Mary (born January 12, 1781). During the American Revolutionary War, Biddle fought in the Battle of Princeton, the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle of Germantown and the Battle of Monmouth.
He was the Commissary General at Valley Forge under George Washington, and his headquarters was at Moore Hall. Biddle resigned from the Army in 1780. In 1781, Biddle was made quarter-master general of the Pennsylvanian troops.
After the Revolutionary War, he was the first U.S. Marshal (1789–1793) for Pennsylvania. In the 1790 census, Biddle's jobs were "Notary, Scrivener, and Broker," which made him a rich man. He died in Philadelphia on July 14, 1814, and is buried at Christ Church in Philadelphia.
Married Mary Richardson. Married second, Rebekah Cornell.