Theophylact Bache (1735-1807)
Privateer & President of the New York Chamber of Commerce
His surname is pronounced 'Baysh' and he was the brother of Richard who married the only daughter of Benjamin Franklin. He was born at Settle in Yorkshire and emigrated to New York in 1751. After the death of Paul Richard in 1756 he became the owner of several merchant vessels and engaged in privateering. He was identified with American resistance to England in 1765 and in 1770 was one of the committee to carry out the resolutions of non-intercourse. In 1774, he was appointed to the Committee of Correspondence when the Port of Boston was closed. He supported the first Continental Congress but when the American Revolutionary War began he remained neutral so much as to arouse the suspicions of the Committee of Safety. He remained in New York during the British occupation and befriended American officers held prisoners there. In 1777, he was elected the 5th President of the New York Chamber of Commerce. In 1760, he married Ann Dorothy Barclay, daughter of Andrew and Helen (Roosevelt) Barclay and through her he counted among his brothers-in-law Augustus Van Cortlandt, Anthony Lispenard and Frederick Jay. They had 14-children and ten (listed above) survived infancy.
