William Rudolph, b. Aug. 31, 1787, at La Trappe, Montgomery co.. Pa., d. in Wis., Aug. 22, 1868; m. (first) Eliza Anthony, and (second) Mary H. Vandyke; of whom presently; ...
... William Rudolph Smith, eldest son of William Moore and Ann (Rudolph) Smith, born at La Trappe, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1787, was educated under the care of his father and at the College of Philadelphia, and later travelled with him in Europe, acting as his secretary when one of the Commissioners of Jay's treaty. He studied law under Thomas Kearsly of the Middle Temple, London, and returning to Philadelphia was admitted to the bar in 1808, and a year later located in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and began the practice of his profession. He was District Attorney of Cambria county. He had served as a member of the Third Troop of Philadelphia Light Horse while a resident of that city, and on the outbreak of the second war with Great Britain, became Colonel of the Sixty-second Regiment of Pennsylvania Militia, and served in the expedition against Canada, participating in the battle of Lundy's Lane.
In 1827, he removed to Bedford county and in 1837 was appointed commissioner to treat with the Chippewa Indians for the purchase of their lands on the Mississippi River. Strongly impressed with the possibilities of the newly acquired territory, he removed in 1838, to Wisconsin territory of which he was appointed Adjutant General. He was active in the Convention that adopted the first constitution of the State in 1848, was Clerk of the State Senate, 1849-50, and Attorney General, 1856-8. He published, 1854, a history of Wisconsin. He died August 22, 1868.
William Rudolph Smith married March 16, 1809, Eliza, daughter of Joseph and Henrietta (Hillegas) Anthony, of Philadelphia. She was born in Philadelphia, August 12, 1789, and died January 10, 1821. Her father, Joseph Anthony, was born in Philadelphia, January 15, 1762, and died August 4, 1814. He was married by Bishop William White, December 29, 1785, to Henrietta Hillegas, born in Philadelphia, September 23, 1766, died October 3, 1812, daughter of Michael and Henrietta (Boude) Hillegas, and granddaughter of Michael Hillegas, who with wife, Margaret, emigrated from Germany and located in Philadelphia in 1747. Michael Hillegas, Jr., born in Germany, April 22, 1729, came to Philadelphia with his parents, when a youth, and became prominently identified with the institutions of that city, representing the city in the Provincial Assembly 1765-76; was one of the committee appointed to audit the accounts of the General Loan Office, and in 1771 was one of the Commissioners appointed to improve the navigation in the Delaware. He was a member of the Committee of Observation for Philadelphia in 1774; on June 31, 1776, was made Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, and on May 31, 1776, was named, jointly with George Clymer, Treasurer of the United Colonies, and from August 6, 1776, to September 11, 1789, was sole Treasurer of the United States. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, April 8, 1768, and was one of the most active of its members as evidenced by his correspondence with Dr. Franklin on various scientific subjects. He died in Philadelphia, September 29, 1804.
He married at Christ Church, May 10, 1753, Henrietta Boude, born January 17, 1731-2, died January 25, 1792, daughter of Samuel Boude, who had married Deborah, daughter of Peter Coxe ; and granddaughter of (Irimstone Boude of a distinguished and noble English family. ...
