Editing Timothy Matlack (section)

==Career==
[[File:USA declaration independence.jpg|thumb|upright|Matlack's original [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], now faded, is on public view in the [[Charters of Freedom]] rotunda of the [[National Archives Building]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
In 1760, Matlack opened a store called the Case Knife, and he and Owen Biddle purchased a steel furnace in [[Trenton, New Jersey]], in 1762. His shop failed in 1765, and he was disowned by the [[Quakers]] who complained that he had been "frequenting company in such a manner as to spend too much of his time from home". He was confined to debtors' prison in 1768 and 1769.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

By 1769, Matlack set up a new business selling bottled beer and opened his own brewery near [[Independence Hall]] in [[Philadelphia]].{{fact|date=December 2023}}

In 1774, Matlack was hired by [[Charles Thomson]], Secretary of the [[First Continental Congress]], to engross (transcribe) an address to the King of England.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

In May 1775, he became clerk to the [[Second Continental Congress]] and, in June, he composed [[George Washington]]'s commission as commander-in-chief of the [[Continental Army]] of the United Colonies. Congress elevated him to Storekeeper of Military Supplies. He was also a member of Philadelphia's Committee of Inspection and Secretary of the Committee of Officers of the city's three militia battalions.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

In January 1776, Philadelphia added two more battalions to its militia brigade, and Matlack was elected Colonel of the Fifth Battalion of Rifle Rangers. He was a delegate to the Conference of Committees, which met in June to plan a new constitution for Pennsylvania. Later that month, he engrossed the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] on parchment, and the 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress began signing it on August 2, 1776; it was unanimously adopted by all 56 delegates on July 4, 1776.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

Matlack was instrumental in drafting the [[Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776]], which he ardently defended against critics, including [[Benjamin Rush]], [[James Wilson (Founding Father)|James Wilson]], and [[John Dickinson (Pennsylvania and Delaware)|John Dickinson]]. Newspapers were his primary medium and he signed a number of articles with the pseudonym Tiberius Gracchus.<ref>Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth, (ed. Millegrand Pencak, W., the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, PA, 2002, p. 117)</ref> As Secretary to the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, Matlack was one of the most powerful men in the new state during the [[American Revolutionary War]]. In 1780, his government passed an Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery.

The Philadelphia and Pennsylvania militia crossed the [[Delaware River]] with Washington on December 27, 1776, and Colonel Matlack and his 5th Rifle Battalion were part of the expedition. Washington credited the Pennsylvania militia for their timely service in this campaign, and other officers commended the force for its manliness and spirit. Following the British occupation of Philadelphia, Washington assigned [[Benedict Arnold]] to the post of Commandant of Philadelphia, and Matlack came to despise Arnold's presence. He led an investigation of Arnold's wrongdoing, which triggered a court martial, and the court sentenced Arnold to be reprimanded by the Commander-in-Chief. Washington said that his officer's behavior had been "reprehensible"; Arnold's treason was discovered five months later.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

Matlack was named a trustee of the [[University of Pennsylvania|University of the State of Pennsylvania]] in 1779. In 1780, he was elected a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] and served as its secretary from 1781 to 1783.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=timothy+matlack&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2020-12-07|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> 

In 1781, Matlack was among the founders of [[The Religious Society of Free Quakers]], [[Quakers]] who were "disowned" because of their support of the American war for independence. He was also one of the earliest opponents of slavery in America, and he felt that the Quakers were not moving quickly enough to abolish it.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

Along with [[Benjamin Franklin]] and [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]], Matlack helped raise a substantial sum of money to construct the Free Quaker Meeting House at the corner of Fifth and [[Arch Street (Philadelphia)|Arch]] Streets in [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City Philadelphia]].{{fact|date=December 2023}}

In 1790, Matlack was commissioned to survey the "headwaters of the [[Susquehanna River]] and the streams of the [[New Purchase (1768)|New Purchase]]," the northwestern portion of the state purchased from the American Indians.  They were also charged with exploring a route for a passageway to connect the [[West Branch Susquehanna River|West Branch]] with the [[Allegheny River]].<ref>Storey, Henry Wilson. "History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania." New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.</ref> He lived in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], from 1799 until 1808 when Lancaster was the capital of Pennsylvania,<ref name=lnp/> and he worked as a clerk of the [[Pennsylvania State Senate]].<ref name=lnp/> 

Matlack was known for his household garden, which included 28 types of peach tree.<ref name=lnp/>