Most Important Family in America

-

My Ancestors are Part of this 

by 

Playing Major Roles

 During the American Revolution War 

 and 

in Westward Expansion

 of the United States

 -

Biddle Brothers, Sisters and Cousins

also

Three Biddle Brothers

Nicholas Biddle, Major Thomas Biddle and Major John Biddle

and other Biddle relatives

including

History along the Missouri River around Ft. Calhoun, Nebraska near where I live.

Please click Under-Lined items to select:

The William Biddle family including my ancestors played major roles in the American Revolution and in Westward Expansion of the United States and contributed more than any other family during the early years of this country.  I think this makes my Biddle family one of the most important families of the United States.

The following Biddle Tree is how some of the different family members are connected.  Those shown as 2 below in the Biddle Tree are brothers and sisters.  Those shown as 3 below in the Biddle Tree are either brothers and sisters or first cousins of other 3's.  Those shown as 4 below in the Biddle Tree are either brothers and sisters or second cousins of other 4's.

Biddle Tree

Descendants of William BIDDLE II and his wife Lydia Wardell

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This is how my family is connected to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Fort Atkinson and Long’s Expedition. My Grandmother Martha (Mattie) (Biddle) Picton along with her three sisters Lulu, Bessie and Mary are daughters of Henry Biddle (1841-1920). Joseph Biddle (there Great Great Great Grandfather) had a nephew Charles Biddle and two nieces who are sisters Ann Biddle and Sarah Biddle. Joseph Biddle also had many other nephews and nieces not listed. Three of the sons of nephew Charles  Biddle were Nicholas Biddle, Major Thomas Biddle and Major John Biddle. The husband of niece Ann Biddle was General James Wilkinson and son Captain James  Biddle Wilkinson. The husbands of niece Sarah Biddle were Rudolph Tillier and James Penrose and son Hon. Clement Biddle Penrose. See all the family connections above.

It is reported that Charles Biddle (nephew of Joseph Biddle and the father of the below three brothers) hid the setting United States Vice President Aaron Burr in his home after the famous Burr duel and death of Alexander Hamilton (each man claimed the other shot first). Aaron Burr some believe was later trying to set up a separate nation on land owned by the United States. General James Wilkinson (husband of Ann Biddle, niece of Joseph Biddle) was a friend of Aaron Burr. I have read hints that General James Wilkinson and his son Captain James Wilkinson may have been involved with plans of Aaron Burr, but it could not be proven. This my also be true when Captain James Wilkinson was on an expedition to Kansas. Could the influence General James Wilkinson have enabled Nicholas Biddle to obtain his appointment to go at the age of 18 to France to work on financial details of the Louisiana Purchase? What about the Major John Biddle and the Major Thomas Biddle appointments?


Lewis and Clark Expedition Journals

Nicholas Biddle was the editor of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Journals.  Example of how to search in the Lewis and Clark Journals at University of Nebraska in Lincoln:

Google Search:

"UNL and Lewis and Clark Journals"

Then select: Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Then enter: August 4, 1804 into search field, for the date they past Blair or July 27, 1804 for Council Bluffs.

Then page down to: Floyd

Floyd writes about Fish Creek Council on August 4, 1804 just before he dies.

Note: Spelling was not good

[Floyd]

  Satturday august 4th 1804    Set out erly this morning after the Rain was over    it Rained Last night with wind and thunder from the N. W.    it Lasted about an ouer    prossed on    the morning Clear    passed a Creek on the South Side 〈Colled〉 as it has no name and the Council was Held below it about 7 miles we Call it Fish Creek Council or Pond [13]    this Creek Comes out of a

Large Pond which Lays under the High prarie Hills    the wood Land is not plenty hear ondley along the River Banks in places, passed Som bad Sand bares    en[c]amt on the South Side    a Large prarie    that on the N. is prarie Land


Nicholas Biddle at the age of 18 went to France to work on financial details of the Louisiana Purchase and became friends with Lafayette. After returning to the United States, Nicholas Biddle took over duties of the editor of "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" (one of the more important publications of the 19th century - enter date to find location of Lewis and Clark during there expedition) where this effort which included his "Biddle Notes" were very important because these journals opened up the West). He  took over these duties of editor after Meriwether Lewis's death. Nicholas Biddle is one of the fathers of both the central banking system in the United States and developing a trading system which became our stock exchanges. He became the president of the Second Bank of the United States ("The Bank") at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which evolved into our current Federal Reserve System. "The Bank" was blamed for all financial problems of the United States at that time and he was hated by almost everyone in the United States, but now history may be rewriting how he is viewed.

More on information Nicholas Biddle worked with as editor related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition journal. This effort included his "Biddle Notes" and what the  members of the expedition did.  Lewis sailed the Missouri River with a Sextant just as one would sail the ocean. Clark has two writeup's for each day. The first are his notes and the second is his writeup for the book that was published. You can move through the journal by putting in other dates by going to the web site above. July 10, 1804 brings up the a writeup for the day they arrived at what is now the Nebraska - Kansas state line. Other members of the Expedition also have notes. Floyd was the only member of the Expedition to die. He died at what is now Sioux City, Iowa from what is believed was appendicitis.

lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-07-21 - "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on July 21, 1804" on the University of Nebraska website, talks about arriving at the mouth of the Plate River in what is now Nebraska.

"The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on July 27, 1804" is believed near the location of present Douglas Street in Omaha,Nebraska.

"The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on July 30, 1804" at the place they called Council Bluff at what is now Fort Calhoun, Washington County, Nebraska. They would hold council at this spot with the Indians. They prepared the pipe for peace on August 1, 1804. On August 3, 1804 Clark listed the known Indians Tribes in the area, which ones had similar languages and left on that afternoon. The Indians said they were 25 days travel from Santa Fe.

"The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on August 4, 1804" is where they passed the location where Blair, Nebraska is now located. Floyd (who died at what is now Sioux City, Iowa) wrote in his notes that they passed a stream called Fish Creek Council or Pond which must be the place we now call Fish Creek at Blair, Nebraska.  A man went back for his knife and by August 7, 1804 they realized that the man had deserted.  Clark then sent four men to bring him back and gave orders that if he did not give up peaceably, to put him to death. Now Nicholas Biddle left out of the journal the command "to put him to death" and someone, most likely Nicholas Biddle drew a red line through the command "to put him to death".

Major John Biddle was part of what became known as Long's Expedition.  J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War ordered an Expedition lying West of the Allegheny and East of the Rocky Mountains by going up the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains for the Years 1819, 1820 under the Command of Maj. S. H. Long. The expedition went up the Missouri River and setup a winter camp called "Engineer Cantonment" at a place a few miles South of a town we now call Fort Calhoun, Nebraska (town named after J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War). Major John Biddle was the official journalist of this expedition of 1819, but he withdrew from this assignment before the end of the year because of a situation that had happen to him. On the way up the Missouri River with the expedition, he and his party had gone ashore and were captured by the Indians. The steamboat "Western Engineer" (page down to the article on Western Engineer) of the expedition did not wait for them (as intended at the mouth of the Platte River) and continued on up the river to where they setup the winter camp at "Engineer Cantonment". The Indians robbed Major John Biddle and his party of their horses and equipment and then released them. Major John Biddle and his party had to then find their own way up the Missouri River (past the intended meeting place at the mouth of the Platte River) to the expedition winter camp and he was not a happy camper. Major John Biddle wrote a letter complaining about Maj. S. H. Long and then was discharged from the service in 1821 (One does not write such a complaint letter in the military).  He eventually was elected mayor of Detroit, Governor of Michigan and to the United States Senate. The steamboat "Western Engineer", had construction which was calculated to cause astonishment to the Indians. The bow of the boat was in the form of a giant sized serpent, having a carved head reared as high as the boat's deck. Smoke was forced out of the mouth of the monster causing a great roar heard for miles, and the craft was setup to appear as a huge serpent carrying the boat on its back with guns and canon pointing out the portholes. The expedition changed its plans after Major John Biddle left and went up the Platte River to explore to the Rocky Mountains then down the Arkansas River. This became known as Long's Expedition.

Major Thomas Biddle in 1820 was the paymaster at Fort Atkinson along the Missouri River located in the town now called Fort Calhoun, Nebraska (a few miles North of Omaha) at a place formally called Council Bluffs where Lewis and Clark had held council with the Indians.  After leaving Fort Atkinson a few years later, he loaned his two white horses to help pull a carriage around St. Louis, Missouri for Lafayette when Lafayette visited St. Louis.  He died in a duel fought at St. Louis, Missouri, in which he killed Spencer Pettis (a Missouri U.S. Congressman) in a duel on August 29,1831 over an argument about "The Bank" of his brother Nicholas Biddle who had "The Bank" of the United States of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The duel (which was against the law in both Missouri and Illinois) was fought on Bloody Island in the middle of the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri with hundreds looking on. As a result of Major Biddle's poor eyesight, they decided to fight the duel at a paced off distance of only five feet. The two killed each other on the first shot.

Book on General James Wilkinson - He was the husband of Ann Biddle, Ann Biddle is the niece of my ancestor Joseph Biddle. General James Wilkinson was a brother-in-law to Rudolph Tillier with Hon. Clement Biddle Penrose his nephew.  General James Wilkinson was in charge of all United States explorations in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Rudolph Tiller was in charge of the Camp Bellefontaine Army Post factory where goods were stored and sold to Indians and solders. The Hon. Clement Biddle Penrose was one of three Louisiana purchase land commissioners in St. Louis right after the Louisiana Purchase (so he had a lot of power related to the Louisiana Purchase). The book is also about Meriwether Lewis and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. General James Wilkinson was also the first appointed US Governor of Louisiana Territory.

PIKE-WILKINSON EXPEDITION - Time period 1806-1807.  General James Wilkinson ordered this expedition and the James Wilkinson on this expedition was his son James Biddle Wilkinson.  The Mother of James Biddle Wilkinson was Ann Biddle the niece of my ancestor Joseph Biddle.

The exploration of the Missouri River at Fort Atkinson located in the town now called Fort Calhoun, Nebraska (a few miles North of Omaha) had roles played by Nicholas Biddle, Major Thomas Biddle and Major John Biddle. The following three paragraphs relate stories how the three Biddle brothers (Nicholas Biddle, Major Thomas Biddle and Major John Biddle) are connected to exploration of the Missouri River.

Mythological Genealogy from Charlemagne to my Grandmother Martha Biddle- The genealogy of the three brothers listed above are shown under Charles Biddle.

Biddle Old Published Items- Example: Books published by Nicholas Biddle

E-Mail to Owen Picton

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Last Modified November 2023

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