Brinton, Jasper Yeates, 1878-

Jasper Yeates Brinton (1878-1973), a successful lawyer who worked for many years at the American Embassy in Egypt, traced his lineage back to the Smith and Steinmetz families of eighteenth-century Philadelphia. Brinton's paternal great-great grandfather, John Steinmetz (1740-1803), left Germany in 1751 and soon established a successful shipping business in Philadelphia. He became a fervent supporter of the colonial cause in the American Revolution. Steinmetz eventually owned a small fleet of ships, which carried out his trade with Europe and the West Indies. His son, John Henry Steinmetz (1766-1793) went out to St. Eustatia during the 1780s to manage that end of the business. Brinton also traced his ancestry back through his paternal grandmother to William Smith, one of the primary founders and first Provost of the College of Philadelphia (a forerunner to the University of Pennsylvania), and an associate, if not always a compatriot, of Benjamin Franklin. The Scots-born Smith was well-known in Philadelphia in the 1760s and 1770s as an Anglican clergyman and an advocate for education. His support for the Proprietors of the Pennsylvania colony made him so unpopular during the revolution that he left Philadelphia for Maryland, but he was later invited back to resume his position as Provost.

From the description of Jasper Yeates Brinton collection, 1696-1916, bulk 1765-1820. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 62156241