Deane, Silas, 1738-1789

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Silas Deane (January 4, 1738 [O.S. December 24, 1737] – September 23, 1789) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became the first foreign diplomat from the United States to France.

Born in Groton in the Colony of Connecticut, he received a classical training before graduating from Yale College and studying law. After being admitted to the bar, Deane practiced law for a short time outside of Hartford before moving to Wethersfield, Connecticut, and establishing a thriving business as a merchant. In 1768, Deane was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives; in 1769, he was appointed to the Wethersfield Committee of Correspondence; and from 1774 to 1776, he served as a delegate from Connecticut to the Continental Congress. On March 2, 1776, Congress appointed Deane as a secret envoy to France with the mission of inducing the French government to grant financial aid to the colonies. Deane's position was officially recognized after Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee arrived in Paris in December 1776, with orders from Congress appointing the trio as the diplomatic delegation to France. For a variety of reasons, many of the foreign officers Deane recruited to help with the American cause for independence were unpopular in America, and many in Congress blamed Deane for their behavior, leading them to recall him on December 8, 1777. On February 6, 1778, Deane and the other commissioners signed the Treaties of Amity and Commerce and of Alliance, officially creating the alliance between France and the American colonies.

On March 4, 1778, Deane received a letter from James Lovell containing the recall order from Congress. Deane arrived in Philadelphia on July 14, 1778, and was shocked when Congress accused him of financial impropriety on the basis of reports by his fellow commissioner Arthur Lee. Because Deane had left his account books in Paris, he was neither able to properly defend himself nor seek reimbursement for money he had spent procuring supplies in France. Deane ultimately returned to Paris to assemble the records in dispute. In March 1781, King George III approved a request from Lord North to bribe Deane in an attempt to recruit him as a spy and to influence Congress. However, in mid-July they cancelled their plan after the king read intercepted letters in which Deane described the military situation of the Colonies as hopeless and suggested a rapprochement with Britain. Deane was then accused of being a traitor by his fellow colonists.

In October 1781, Deane moved to Ghent where he could live more cheaply than in Paris. Then in March 1783, he moved to London, hoping to find investors for manufacturing ventures that he planned to pursue after he returned to North America. In the fall of 1787, Deane became bedridden from an unknown illness and did not fully recover until April 1789. His condition depleted his remaining money and forced him to depend on the charity of friends. In 1789, Deane planned to return to North America in an attempt to recoup his lost fortune and reputation. After boarding the ship Boston Packet, he became ill and died on September 23 while the ship was awaiting repairs after turning back following damage from fierce winds. Deane was buried in St. Leonard's Churchyard in Deal, Kent, United Kingdom.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Page, Mann, 1718-1781. Letter to Francis Lightfoot Lee [manuscript], 1779 February 8. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Webb, Samuel Blachley, 1753-1807. Samuel Blachley Webb papers, 1756-1819 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Autograph letter signed : Philadelphia, to The committee of Correspondence, Wethersfield, 1774 Sept. 19. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Duer, William, 1747-1799. Papers, 1774-1802. New-York Historical Society
referencedIn Law, Ernest, b. 1858. Ernest Law collection of Jonathan and Richard Law correspondence, ca. 1916. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Johnson, William Samuel, 1727-1819. William Samuel Johnson papers, 1658-1830 (inclusive), 1744-1817 (bulk), [microform]. Yale University Library
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Letterbooks of Silas Deane, 1777-1784. Library of Congress
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. ALS, 1774 October 16, Philadelphia, to Thomas Mumford. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Wyllys family. Wyllys family papers, 1633-1829. Connecticut Historical Society
creatorOf NORTH (SHEFFIELD PARK) PAPERS. Vol. V (ff. 152). Letters and papers of Lord North relating to American affairs; 1775-1785, n.d. Partly French. Partly printed.1. ff. 1-50. Letters and petitions mostly from American loyalists, British army officers; 17..., 1758-1785 British Library
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Silas Deane papers, 1775-1784. Library of Congress
referencedIn Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. Jared Sparks collection of American manuscripts, 1582-1843 Houghton Library
referencedIn Hall-Pogson manuscripts collection, 1775-1921. Library of Congress
referencedIn Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. Collection of documents concerning the American Revolution, 1740-1866 Houghton Library
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 14 -- Materials held at the University of Pennsylvania, 1705-1788 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Franklin-Bache Papers, 1707-1799 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790. LS, (retained draft), 1779 October 25, Passy, to his sister. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Johnson family. Johnson family papers, 1769-1886 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Lee, Arthur, 1740-1792. Letters to Arthur Lee [manuscript], 1777-1780. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Johnson family. Johnson family papers, 1631-1987 (inclusive), 1631-1918 (bulk). Yale University Library
referencedIn Revolutionary War collection, 1775-1783. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de, 1732-1799. Je reconnais : note, 1780, September 12, [Paris?]. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 13 -- Miscellaneous Franklin Materials, 1640-1791 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Autograph letter signed, 1779 July 20. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
referencedIn Thomas Addis Emmet collection, 1483-1876 (bulk:1700-1800) New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 4 -- Letters to Franklin, 1779 January-November American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Autograph letter signed : Wethd. [Wethersfield], to Sally Webb, 1769 Apr. 1. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Revolutionary War letter and document extracts 1781-[1856] 1781-1782 Revolutionary War letter and document extracts William L. Clements Library
referencedIn W. B. O. Field portrait collection, ca. 1600-1900. Houghton Library
referencedIn Verstille, Peter. Peter Verstille papers, 1770-1772. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Webb, Joseph, 1749-1791. Joseph Webb accounts with Silas Deane, 1765-1775, 1799-1803. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 5 -- Letters to Franklin, 1779 December-1780 December American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Letter [1762?, n.p.], to Samuel Eliot [n.p.]. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Transcript of letters, 1775 April 25. Rosenbach Museum & Library
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Nourse Family Papers [manuscript], 1792-1936. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Page, Mann, 1718-1781. Letter : Mannsfield, to Francis Lightfoot Lee, 1779 February 8. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Johnson, William Samuel, 1727-1819. William Samuel Johnson personal, political and legal papers, 1658-1817. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790. Forged pay voucher, 1787 Sept. 5. Temple University Libraries, Paley Library
referencedIn Boudinot, Elias, 1740-1821. Papers of the Nourse family [manuscript], 1760-1862. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Van Vlack, Milton C. A Survey of Writings Concerning the Controversial Envoy Silas Deane, 1776-1789, 1958. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Whipple, William, 1730-1785. AM, 1778 December 9 : [s.l.]. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Winthrop, John, 1606-1676. John Winthrop, Jr., papers, 1644-1848. New London County Historical Society
creatorOf Morris, Robert, 1734-1806. Robert Morris papers, 1751-1802. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Washington, George, 1732-1799. LS : White Plains, N.Y., to Silas Deane, 1778 Sept. 2. Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Seymour, Thomas. Account book, [1756-1774]. Yale University, Law School Library
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Papers, 1740-1842. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Johnson, William Samuel, 1727-1819. Papers, 1753-1802. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Lestarjette, Louis. ALS, 1776 Nov. 16, Nantes, to Silas Deane. Rosenbach Museum & Library
creatorOf Morris, Robert, 1734-1806. [Letter] : October 23rd 1776, Philad[elphi]a, [to] Silas Deane, Paris. Haverford College Library
referencedIn Eardley-Wilmot correspondence, 1768-1817 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Kite, Elizabeth Sarah, 1864-1954. Papers, 1840-1962 (inclusive). Rutgers University
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Autograph note signed : to Peyton Randolph, 1773 Nov. 4. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801. Letter to Silas Deane, 1780. Boston Athenaeum
referencedIn Burch, Samuel. Papers of Samuel Burch, 1775-1865. Library of Congress
referencedIn Robert Morris papers, 1751-1802 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Humphreys, David, 1752-1818. Humphreys-Marvin-Olmstead collection, 1776-1867 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Samuel Blachley Webb papers, 1756-1819 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. ALS, 1779 Jan. 2, Philadelphia, to Nathanael Greene. Rosenbach Museum & Library
creatorOf Kellock, Katherine Amend, 1924-1967. Katherine Kellock collection, 1752-1963; bulk: 1752-1781. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Vol. iii. (ff. 574). June-Dec. 1777.Paul Wentworth: Letters to W. Eden, etc.: 1776-1789.British America, and United States: Papers, etc., relating to the war and public affairs: 1776-1781.includes:ff. 1, 34, 382, 385, 406, 422, 443 Captain Joseph Hyn... British Library
creatorOf Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908. Huntington-Wolcott papers, 1698-1911, bulk: 1750-1895. Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. ALS, [n.d.], Paris, to Robert Morris. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 2 -- Letters to Franklin, 1777 January-1778 March American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. ALS, 1776 Dec. 1, Paris, to Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes. Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-1794. Letter, 1778 December 27, Chantilly, [Fairfax County, Va.], to Patrick Henry, n.p. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library
referencedIn William Duer Papers, 1752-1836 (bulk, 1770-1800) New-York Historical Society
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 1 -- Letters to Franklin, 1730-1776 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Humphreys-Marvin-Olmstead collection, 1776-1867 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 6 -- Letters to Franklin, 1781-1782 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Autograph letter signed : Wethersfield, to Capt. Wm. Deming, 1768 Sept. 19. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-1794. Letter to Arthur Lee [manuscript], 1779 August 12. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790. Letter, 1779 Mar. 19, Passy, France, to Jonathan Williams. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Caldwell, Charles, 1731-1801. Account book, 1757-1769. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Vol. ii. (ff. 480). 1776-May, 1777.Louis XVI of France: Negotiations with America, during the war: 1777.British America, and United States: Papers, etc., relating to the war and public affairs: 1776-1781.includes:ff. 1, 5, 18, 102, 141, 288, 289 Fred..., 1776-1777 British Library
referencedIn Vol. I, 1764 – 1777.William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland: Correspondence and papers: 1764-1813, n.d.Eden family; Barons and Earl of Auckland: Correspondence and papers of and rel. to: 1688-1879, n.d.includes:f. 1 Sir James Macdonald, 8th Baronet; mathe..., 1764-1777 British Library
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. ALS, 1780 August 28, Paris, to Thomas Mumford. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-1794. Letters of Richard Henry Lee [manuscript] 1776-79. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Lee, Arthur, 1740-1792. Arthur Lee papers, 1741-1882 (inclusive), 1766-1787 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Parsons, Samuel Holden, 1737-1789. Samuel Parsons and Parsons family papers, 1703-1865. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Sydney, Thomas Townshend, Viscount, 1733-1800. Papers of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount of Sydney, 1765-1787. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn American Philosophical Society Library. Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection. 1668-1983. American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Bulkley, Jonathan, 1719-1777. Account book, 1758-1777. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de, 1719-1787. Letter, 1779 Feb. 13, Versailles, to John Adams. Boston Athenaeum
referencedIn William Temple Franklin Papers, 1775-1819 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Deane, Silas, 1737-1789. Letter to the free and virtuous citizens of America [manuscript], 1778 November. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von, 1730-1794. AM, [n.d., late 1780's?] : [s.l.]. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Historical manuscripts collection, 1347-1969, bulk: 1775-1885 Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department
referencedIn Trumbull, John, 1750-1831. John Trumbull correspondence, 1772 January 8. Library of Congress
referencedIn Nourse Family Papers, 1760-1838 University of Virginia. Library. Special Collections Dept.
referencedIn Connecticut. Governor's Foot Guard. Hamden celebrations collection, 1736-1936. Hamden Historical Society
referencedIn Benjamin Franklin Papers Part 3 -- Letters to Franklin, 1778 April-December American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Silas Deane letters, 1767-1785 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Roux Frères (Firm) papers concerning the loss of ships, 1778-1781. Houghton Library
referencedIn Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-1794. Letter, 12 August 1779. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn United States. Joint Commissioners for Negotiating Treaties with France and Great Britain. Journal of cash for the Commission at the Court of France : account book, 1776-1779. Library of Congress
Role Title Holding Repository
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Place Name Admin Code Country
Wethersfield CT US
Paris A8 FR
London ENG GB
New Haven CT US
North Atlantic Ocean 00
Hartford CT US
Gent VLG BE
Groton CT US
Subject
Diplomatic and consular service, American
Occupation
Delegates, U.S. Continental Congress
Diplomats
Lawyers
Merchants
State Representative
Activity

Person

Birth 1738-01-04

Death 1789-09-23

Male

Britons,

Americans

English

Information

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