Theophylact Bache
Theophylact Bache was an American merchant and fifth president of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
Early life
Theophylact Bache was born on in Settle, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was the son of William Bache, a tax collector, and Mary Bache, who were married around 1720. His younger brother, Richard Bache, was the second Postmaster General of the United States and the son-in-law of Benjamin Franklin.Career
He landed in New York 17 September 1751, took charge of the business of Paul Richard a successful merchant and former mayor, whose wife was a Bache relative. Richard died in 1756, and Bache became the owner of merchant vessels, and engaged in privateering. He was identified with American resistance to England in 1765, and in 1770 was one of the committee to carry out the resolutions of non-intercourse.In 1774, he was one of the committee of correspondence appointed when the port of Boston was closed. He supported the first Continental Congress; but when the American Revolutionary War actually began he remained so far neutral as to incur the suspicions of the committee of safety. He remained in New York during the British occupation of the city, and befriended American officers held there as prisoners of war. In 1777 he was chosen the fifth president of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
Personal life
Bache was married to Ann Dorothea Barclay, one of eleven children of merchant Andrew Barclay and Helen Barclay. Among her siblings was Catherine Barclay, and Sarah Ann Barclay. Together, they were the parents of:- Elizabeth Garland Bache, who married James Noel Bleecker, the eldest son of Anthony Lispenard Bleecker.
- Mary Bache, who married Charles McEvers, Jr.
- Paul Richard Bache, who married his cousin, Helen Roosevelt Lispenard, a daughter of Anthony Lispenard.
- Andrew Barclay Bache, who married Charlotte Phillips.
- Anna Dorothea Bache, who married her cousin, Col. Leonard Lispenard, a son of Anthony Lispenard, in 1790.
- William Bache, who married Christina Cooper.
- Sarah Elizabeth Bache, who married James Noel Bleecker, after the death of her elder sister, in 1795.
- Catharine Thomas Bache, who married William Satterthwaite.
- Helena Bache, who died unmarried.