Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Beginning of the Colden Family in America

Cadwallader Colden came to America in 1710 and settled in Philadelphia to make his fortune. He had been born in Ireland on February 7, 1688 while his mother, Janet Hughes Colden, was visiting relatives. He spent most of his childhood in Dunse, Scotland, where his father, the Reverend Alexander Colden, was a Presbyterian minister.

Cadwallader had always been intended to follow in his father's footsteps but the younger Colden had different plans for himself. After his graduation from the University of Edinburgh in 1705, he took off for London where he studied medicine. The Colden family had spent all it had on his education and when he became a doctor, the family did not have the means to set him up in practice. At the invitation of his mother's sister, Elizabeth Hill, who was a wealthy widow in Philadelphia, Cadwallader left England to join his aunt in the new world.

When the twenty-two-year-old Cadwallader arrived in Philadelphia it was a thriving port. He found that the fastest way to make a good living was to start a mercantile business.

1 comment:

Odyssey 24/7 said...

Evelyn,

With the magic of your words you have brought the Coldens back to life. I love the pictues! Keep up the good work - I'll be peeking in in anticiption of future instalments!

Bye for now,
SAB