Broom, Jacob

"Dr. Nicholas Way erected a large mansion at the southwest corner of Third and Shipley Streets. He began the practice of medicine in 1775, and was an eminent physician and preceptor. In 1793 he entertained nearly a hundred Philadelphians during the yellow fever epidemic. Monsieur Hammond, a wealthy Frenchman, bought the Way mansion and resided in it until 1802. Jacob Broom, one of the farmers of the Constitution of the United States, was its next owner, and died there. His son, Jacob M. Broom, was a Representative in Congress. John Wales, United States Senator from 1849 to 1851, lived here for many years."

Source: Scharf, Thomas J., History of Delaware, 1609-1888. IN TWO VOLUMES, ILLUSTRATED. PHILADELPHIA: L.J. RICHARDS & CO. 1888
Volume Two- pp. 629-663.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE CITY OF WILMINGTON.

Broom was born in 1752 at Wilmington, DE., the eldest son of a blacksmith who prospered in farming. The youth was educated at home and probably at the local Old Academy. Although he followed his father into farming and also studied surveying, he was to make his career primarily in mercantile pursuits, including shipping and the import trade, and in real estate.

In 1773 he married Rachel Pierce, who bore eight children.

Broom was responsible for the preparation of maps for George Washington before the Battle of Brandywine, PA. In 1776, at 24 years of age, Broom became assistant burgess of Wilmington. Over the next several decades, he held that office six times and that of chief burgess four times, as well as those of borough assessor, president of the city "street regulators," and justice of the peace for New Castle County.
Broom sat in the state legislature in the years 1784-86 and 1788, during which time he was chosen as a delegate to the Annapolis Convention, but he did not attend. At the Constitutional Convention, he never missed a session and spoke on several occasions, but his role was only a minor one.
After the convention, Broom returned to Wilmington, where in 1795 he erected a home near the Brandywine River on the outskirts of the city. He was its first postmaster (1790-92) and continued to hold various local offices and to participate in a variety of economic endeavors. For many years, he chaired the board of directors of Wilmington's Delaware Bank. He also operated a cotton mill, as well as a machine shop that produced and repaired mill machinery. He was involved, too, in an unsuccessful scheme to mine bog iron ore. A further interest was internal improvements: toll roads, canals, and bridges.
Broom also found time for philanthropic and religious activities. He served on the board of trustees of the College of Wilmington and as a lay leader at Old Swedes Church. He died at the age of 58 in 1810 while in Philadelphia on business and was buried there at Christ Church Burial Ground.