Portrait of Captain Charles Thomson

Charles Thomson (1729-1824) was born in Ireland and came to the American colonies recently orphaned at the age of ten. Through the assistance of Benjamin Franklin, Thomson's early career was as teacher in the Philadelphia area (1757-1760), and subsequently as a merchant. Because of his reputation for personal integrity developed during his years as a teacher, Thomson was requested by the Delaware Indians to act as secretary to the negotiations that resulted in the Treaty of Easton (1757), an appointment that initiated his career in Pennsylvania politics. In 1774, Thomson was selected by the Continental Congress to act as its secretary, a position he held throughout the American Revolution and which he resigned only shortly after George Washington was inaugurated as President in April 1789. Thomson retired to his estate, "Harriton," located outside Philadelphia, where he published academic and liturgical translations.

Born in Dijon in 1770, Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de St. Memin came to the United States arriving in New York City in 1793 to escape the violence of the French Revolution. By 1796, St. Memin had taught himself engraving and learned to draw profile portraits. Working in all the major port cities along the east coast from New York to Charleston, St. Memin completed approximately 900 bust-length profile portraits between 1796 and 1810, including many of the leading American and Native American figures of the day. St. Memin's technique for executing these drawings inspired numerous copy artists. For further information on St. Memin and his portrait technique, see Ellen G. Miles, "Charles B. F. J. de St. Memin," https://www.groveart.com/tdaonline/search/index.asp?quicksearch=St.+Memi n