Page:History of the University of Pennsylvania - Montgomery (1900).djvu/297

Rh Jackson, A. M.; he was the first to receive a degree in the College of Philadelphia; a man of virtue, worth and knowledge; died 1767, aged 36 years." l

JACOB DUCHE, jr, was born in Philadelphia in 1737, the son of Col. Jacob Duche, an eminent citizen of that city and a vestryman of Christ Church. We have already known him as a pupil of the Academy, where also for fifteen months, from May 1753 to August 1754, he served as Tutor. In the month of July following his graduation he accompanied Governor Denny as a clerk on his visit to Easton in pursuit of an Indian treaty, Richard Peters being of the party. Intending to seek orders in the Church of England, he crossed the ocean and entered Clare Hall, Cambridge, and was ordained by the Bishop of London II March, 1759, returned home the following September, and on 1 1 December was unanimously appointed Professor of Oratory in the College and Academy, and was made an Assistant Minister at Christ Church. In 1762 he was again in England, and received Priest's Orders on 12 September. When Dr. Peters resigned in 1775 the Rectorship of Christ Church, in which he had succeeded Dr. Jenney, Mr. Duche was unanimously chosen Rector of the united churches of Christ Church and St. Peter's. He was an eloquent preacher, and a fervent reader of the liturgy. His interest in local politics was second only to that of his former Provost, and at the outbreak of the Revolution he took part with the patriots, and on 7 September, 1774, was called upon to open the Continental Congress, meeting in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, with prayers, an event 1 " Little is known of his early life except that he was a close student, a deep thinker and a man of great natural ability. He became prominent as a physician, soldier and linguist, and was Chief Burgess of Chester at the time of his death. He was made Professor of Languages in the College the year of his graduation, and subsequently became one of the most distinguished scholars of the colonies. His Latin compositions which were published gave him a wide reputation. His studious application impaired his health, and when General Forbes led the expedition against Fort Duquesne, he was appointed on May n, 1756, captain of the 3rd battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment. The rugged life of a soldier restored his general health, and after the return of his regiment he attended the ' Royal Hospital,' and acquired his knowledge of medicine. He could not have received a regular degree as there were none conferred in the Colonies until 1768." Dr. J. L. Forwood in Proceedings Delaware County Historical Society, J May, 1896.