Hugh Shiell (died November 1785?) was an Irish physician who became a financier and patriot of the American Revolution. [1]

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Shiell studied at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated with his M.D. and emigrated to Philadelphia where he opened a medical practice. By this point he had amassed a substantial fortune and became familiar with the wealthy elite of his new city; he became close friends with banker and financier of the American Revolution, Robert Morris.[2] In 1780, Shiell invested a large sum of money in Morris’ Bank of North America, which was the first bank in the United States and which supplied the American troops with provisions.[3] John Adams alluded to Shiell in a letter to James Lovell.[4] James Armstrong Sr recommended him to George Washington.[5] Through his friendship with Morris, Shiell met his wife, Ann Harris; they had one child, Catherine.[1][6] Alongside his medical practice, Shiell ran a shipping business, records of which are held in the archive of the Kentucky Historical Society.[7] He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1781.[8]

In 1783 or 1784, he retired from city life and relocated with his family to Lincoln County, Kentucky, where, among other activities, he operated a distillery.[9] He died not long thereafter, attempting to cross a stream; he either drowned or caught pneumonia and died later.[1] His widow subsequently married Harry Innes.[6]

His name is inscribed on a plaque at the American Revolution Memorial in Danville, Kentucky. The memorial was erected "to honor and commemorate the men who fought in the American Revolution and sleep in Boyle County Kentucky."[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Kentuchy Historical Society. 1914.
  2. ↑ Harris, Joseph Smith (1 January 1903). Record of the Harris family descended from John Harris, born in 1680 in Wiltshire, England. Dalcassian Publishing Company.
  3. ↑ Haltigan, James (1908). The Irish in the American Revolution: And Their Early Influence in the Colonies. Washington, DC: Patrick J. Haltigan. p. 192.
  4. ↑ "Founders Online: From John Adams to James Lovell, 24 June 1780". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Founders Online: To George Washington from John Armstrong, Sr., 15 October 1779". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 Davis, William Watts Hart (1905). History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania: From the Discovery of the Delaware to the Present Time. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 209.
  7. ↑ "Hugh Shiell papers, 1780-1785". Kentucky Historical Society on WorldCat. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Crowgey, Henry G. (6 April 2013). Kentucky Bourbon: The Early Years of Whiskeymaking. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 28, 38. ISBN 978-0-8131-4416-0.
  10. ↑ "American Revolution Memorial, a War Memorial". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
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