Humphreys, James

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Gertrude Tratt, “HUMPHREYS, JAMES,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/humphreys_james_5E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Printer, publisher, merchant, and politician; b. 15 Jan. 1748/49 in Philadelphia, Pa, son of James Humphreys and Susanna Assheton; m. Mary Yorke, probably of Philadelphia; d. there 2 Feb. 1810.
    • Apprenticed to William Bradford, a well-known Philadelphia printer who remained a strong supporter of the British crown until the passage of the Stamp Act of 1765. Under Bradford, Humphreys learned the printing trade and possibly some of his loyalist political philosophy. By 1770 his apprenticeship was completed, and two years later he established his own business.
    • ” and ” Humphreys stated several years later that he had become unpopular amongst Philadelphia rebels because of his paper’s commitment to the British cause. Refusing to renounce his allegiance to Britain after the outbreak of revolution in 1775, Humphreys was frequently denounced as a traitor by the local committee of correspondence.
    • At the end of the war he went to England to present a petition to the loyalist claims commission, a petition that was supported by testimonials from Joseph Galloway, one of Pennsylvania’s most prominent loyalists, and William Franklin, the last royal governor of New Jersey. Eventually, after he had moved to the new loyalist settlement of Shelburne, N.S., Humphreys was awarded the substantial sum of £800, two-thirds of the amount he had claimed, in compensation for his losses. 
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=13965
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11323158/james-humphreys