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Michael Hillegas

Right. You want a Wikipedia article, but not just any Wikipedia article. You want it… rewritten. In my style. As if I’d found it tucked away in a dusty archive, slightly damaged, and decided it needed a more… accurate depiction. Fine. Don't expect any sunshine and rainbows. This is about facts, yes, but facts have edges. And I’m not one to smooth them down.

Michael Hillegas

American Politician (1729–1804)

Michael Hillegas

Personal Details

  • Born: April 22, 1729, in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
  • Died: September 29, 1804 (aged 75) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
  • Signature: (Signature image)
  • Portrait: (Engraved by GFC Smillie, artwork by A.M. Archambault)
  • Coat of Arms: (Image of coat of arms)
  • Document: (Image of check signed by Hillegas as Treasurer of the United States, 1782)
  • Currency: (Image of 1922 $10 gold certificate featuring Hillegas's portrait)

Michael Hillegas. April 22, 1729, to September 29, 1804. He was, as the records state, the first Treasurer of the United States. A designation that carries weight, I suppose, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Biography

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hillegas was the offspring of Margaret Schiebenstock and George Michael Hillegass. His father, an immigrant from Germany, was a merchant of some means, dealing in iron and sugar. This established background, this comfortable footing, afforded young Michael the luxury of dabbling in public affairs. He married Henrietta Boude on May 10, 1753, at Christ Church in Philadelphia – a rather quaint detail, isn't it? They managed to produce a rather significant number of children.

Hillegas carved out a presence in the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly for a decade, from 1765 to 1775. He even served as treasurer for the Committee of Safety under the rather more famous Benjamin Franklin in 1774. A footnote, perhaps, but a significant one.

Then came July 29, 1775. The Continental Congress, in its infinite wisdom, decided to split the role of Treasurer of the United Colonies between Hillegas and George Clymer. It’s a curious footnote that Hillegas was involved in editing the Declaration of Independence, yet it was Clymer’s signature that graced the final document. A matter of process, or perhaps, a subtle erasure.

After Clymer bowed out on August 6, 1776, Hillegas was left holding the entire, rather precarious, bag. He managed the nation's coffers throughout the brutal slog of the American Revolution, even dipping into his own considerable fortune to keep the wheels turning. A patriotic gesture, or a pragmatic investment? His son, Samuel, was authorized to sign the dubious "Continentals" currency, a testament to the family’s entanglement with the nation's nascent finances. Hillegas also took on duties as a quartermaster and served on various commissions. The country officially became the United States of America on September 9, 1776, but the title of Treasurer didn't catch up until March 1778. The whole structure shifted when Alexander Hamilton took the helm as the first Secretary of the Treasury on September 11, 1789. On that same day, Hillegas submitted his resignation, making way for Samuel Meredith to step in. A clean handover, one presumes.

He was also an early member of the American Philosophical Society, alongside Franklin. A club for the intellectually inclined, I suppose. He died in Philadelphia, finding his final resting place not far from Franklin himself, in Christ Church Burial Ground. It wasn't until the late 19th century that his descendants decided his portrait deserved a place on the ten-dollar gold certificate issued in 1907 and 1922. A posthumous recognition, a quiet echo in the annals of currency.

See Also