AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT
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| Henry Toomer |
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Contact information on HOME page Direct descendant is highlighted in red
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Born: Abt. 1738 Charleston, SC
Married: 1st to Mary Nesbit or Mary Vanderhorst b, Abt. 1742 SC
2nd to Mary Grainger
3rd. to Mary Magdalene De Rosset m. Abt. 1780 in Wilmington, NC
| Will Proved: 19 Mar 1799 Wilmington, New Hanover Co., NC |
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FATHER
MOTHER
CHILDREN with Mary Nesbit or Mary Vanderhorst
1. Anthony Bonneau Toomer
CHILDREN with Mary Grainger
1. Mary Jane Toomer
m. James H. Walker
CHILDREN with Magdalene Mary De Rosset
1. Elizabeth Ann Toomer b. 1786
2. Lewis Henry Toomer b. 1780
3. Honorable John DeRosset Toomer
4. Mary Fullerton Toomer
m. 1st John Bradley Lord
m 2nd William Freeman Tredwell
Henry Toomer was one of the largest property owners of his time in Wilmington, NC. Toomer's Alley between Market and Princess and running from Front to Second was named for this family having been formed from a portion of Henry Toomer's large lot.
Source: Dictionary of North Carolina Biography by William S. Powell, 1996
"Toomer, Henry (7 Aug. 1738 - <between 22 Dec. 1798 and 19 Mar> 1799) Wilmington
Safety Committee member, army commissary, financier and bail bondsman, and
merchant, was born in Charleston, S. C., the second son of Joshua and Mary
Bonneau Toomer. Following his wife's death Joshua moved in 1747 with his
son Henry to Wilmington. There Henry Toomer achieved considerable
financial success; in 1790 he owned fifty-one slaves.
In 1752 Toomer was a member of George Merrick's militia company. His first
appearance in court was as a juror in 1761. He posted his first security
bonds in the court in December 1765 and posted at least another thirty-three by
the time of his last recorded action in August 1793. His activities in the
real estate market were first documented in 1765; by 1798 the records show at
least thirty-five such transactions, many of which were for land that he held
for only a few years. In 1766 Toomer was among those who signed letters relating
to the Stamp Act rejection by the citizens of Wilmington, and he was a signer of
the letter to Governor William Tryon in July 1766.
Named inspector for Wilmington in 1767, Toomer was reappointed in 1768, 1772,
1773, and 1785. He ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 1774. On 3 July
1775 he was elected to the Wilmington Safety committee, of which he remained a
member through its last recorded meeting on 9 Feb. 1776. He also served on
the committee to take a census of all white male and free mulatto inhabitants of
the town of Wilmington between the ages of sixteen and sixty.
His first recorded action as a commissary during the Revolutionary War was in
August 1775, when he furnished beef. By January 1776 Toomer was
responsible for providing a barracks for regulars to use as a hospital as well
as the nurses for the hospital. In March 1776 the Provincial Council
officially designated him a commissioner for the district of Wilmington, and in
June the Council of Safety appointed him commissary to the detachment of militia
from the Halifax Brigade. During this time he was also a captain in
command of militia companies. In April 1777 the senate named him a marshal for
the Port of Brunswick.
That July he was selected one of the commissioners to take possession of estates
of those opposing the Revolution, but in May 1780 he joined other Wilmington
merchants in protesting to the Assembly that the canceling of debts owed to the
English would lead to the loss of future credit to North Carolina merchants. In
August 1777 Toomer was named a commissioner for the ship Washington, and later
that year he was appointed with William Hooper to sell the ship. The next
year he was assigned to the commission to regulate the pilot fees at Cape Fear
bar. In May 1779 he was designated deputy quartermaster by the senate.
His final recorded commissary action was in April 1780.
In 1784 Toomer was named both to a committee to purchase land for a jail in
Wilmington and to a commission to lay out a town adjoining Fort Johnston on the
Cape Fear River. From 1786 until his death he apparently served as coroner in
Wilmington, a post his father had filled soon after his arrival. He also
provided funds for other traders when money was scarce or unavailable from other
sources.
Toomer married three times. His first wife was Mary Vanderhorst, of
Charleston, S.C., by whom he had a son, Anthony B. He next wed Mary
Grainger, of Wilmington, and they had a daughter, Mary J. He and his third
wife, Magdalene Mary De Rosett (b. 2 Feb. 1762) of Wilmington, were the parents
of Eliza, Anthony, John De Rossett, Lewis D. and Mary Fullerton."
Source; State Records of North Carolina Vol XI
Letter from Francis Brice to Gov. Caswell from Executive Letter Book,
Wilmington, July 25, 1777
"Sir: In the death of Mr. John Forster the public have lost a warm friend to
American liberty, and the privateer Gen'l Washington is left without any one to
procure the necessary articles for the ship's use, except the Captain who must
purchase every material at a much larger price than a person particularly
appointed for that purpose, as, if one was nominated, he might get a quantity of
necessaries together, which would come much more reasonable than buying out of
the retail shops.
I was at a loss who to mention to your Excellency as a proper person for the
undertaking, 'till I recollected Mr. Robert Ellis, to whom I mentioned the
circumstance, and he will readily accept the appointment, should your Excellency
and the Council confer it on him. Mr. Ellis has been accustomed to the sea from
his youth, & consequently pretty well acquainted with maritime affairs. I
could wish your Excellency could order whoever is appointed, to replace the
money advanced by Mr. Forster since his settlement at Newbern: if you should, I
shall take care to have the acc'ts properly attested: The warrant your
Excellency sent him by me I have in my possession.
I am your Excellency's h'ble servant, Francis Brice
P. S.
I am told Mr. Toomer will also act as Commissioner for the Washington,
provided he was appointed. Mr. Toomer is a very active stirring man, he
also knows something of shipping, and I make no doubt but he would fill that
vacancy with much credit to himself and benefit to the public. I don't
presume to recommend either of those Gent. to your Excellency, I only mention
them as the only two who would undertake the business. Your Excellency's
H'ble servant, F. Brice.
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Source: Wilmington-New Hanover Safety Committee Minutes 1774-1776
"Toomer, Henry: Safety Committee 1775, 1776: commissary for various North
Carolina units during the Revolution; came from South Carolina with his father
Joshua Toomer 1747; inspector for Wilmington 1761-1768; coroner for New Hanover
County 1786; died 1799 leaving a large estate including the 'mansion' and other
property on Toomer's Alley, Barn and Meadow plantations, Dorsey's Hotel which
was the Tavern where President Washington is said to have dined 1794."
Source: The Wilmington Town Book 1743-1778 edited by Donald R. Lennon
and Ida Brooks Kellam 1973
"Henry Toomer came from South Carolina in 1747 with his father, Joshua. He
was an inspector for Wilmington (1761-1786), a member of the Wilmington
Committee of Safety (1775-1776), the commissary for various North Carolina units
during the American Revolution, and coroner for New Hanover County (1786).
In 1777 when the position of commissioner for the armed brigantine Washington
became vacant, William Hooper wrote to Governor Caswell recommending Toomer for
the position. 'His character in point of industry and integrity is unsullied,
and his capacity in the common affairs of life good; he is not a seaman by
profession, but upon the whole with his other good qualities, has the best
pretension, to it of any I know here who will accept the charge.' (Clark, State
Records, XI, 528). Upon his death in 1799, Toomer left a large estate, including
the 'mansion' and other property on Toomer's Alley in Wilmington, the Barn and
Meadow plantations, between forty and fifty slaves, Dorsey's Hotel - the tavern
where President Washington dined in 1794 - and a variety of other properties.."
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