Nicholas Ridgely (1762-1830), a Dover lawyer, at the age of 25 became a member of the Delaware convention that ratified the federal constitution in 1787. In 1791 he was a member of the state constitutional convention. Frequently he served in the General Assembly. After serving as Attorney-General for ten years, in 1801 he became Chancellor. He was an extensive land owner, his property being assessed at £15 in 1788. (The Delaware Register 1838, 1: 38-42; Scharf, History of Delaware: 1: 270, 548, 549; 2: 1048; de Valinger and Shaw, A Calendar of Ridgely Family Letters, 2: 63-67.)

Richard E. Smith, a farmer of Dover and Murderkill Hundreds, was a member of the Delaware convention that ratified the federal constitution in 1787. Smith served as a justice of the peace in 1775 and as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1777 and 1786. One of his farms called Smith’s Outlet was located near the Maryland border in West Dover Hundred. His property was assessed at £45 in 1789. (Scharf, History of Delaware: 1: 523, 563; 2: 1147; KC Probate Records; Kent County Assessment List, 1789; Governor’s Register, 1: 23.)

George Truitt (1756-1818) of North Murderkill Hundred was a member of the House of Assembly in 1788, 1789, 1790 and 1791, of the Delaware convention that ratified the federal constitution in 1787 and a member of the state Senate for one term. From 1808 to 1811 he served as Governor of Delaware. A well-to-do farmer, he owned several plantations, owing a poundage rate of £23 in 1789. His executors posted a bond of $5,000 in settling his estate. He was a Methodist. (Scharf, History of Delaware, 1: 276, 278, 528; 2: 1132, 1140, 1147, 1163; Martin, A History of Delaware through its Governors, 107-112; KC Probate Records, DSA.)

Richard Bassett (1745-1815) of Murderkill Hundred was a member of the constitutional convention of 1776 and of 1791, and of the House of Assembly in 1780, 1781 and 1786. He owned a farm of 400 acres in Murderkill Hundred assessed at £25 in 1775. Through inheritance he had acquired 6,000 acres of land in Bohemia Manor in Maryland, and in later years he also owned a house in Wilmington. In 1774 he was a member of the Boston Relief Committee in Kent County. In the following year he served on the county Committee of Correspondence and also on the Council of Safety. He opposed the formation of a new government for the colony in June, 1776 and was one of the ringleaders of the so-called Black Monday insurrection at Dover in that month. After the Revolution, he became one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia. He was also a member of the Delaware convention that ratified the federal Constitution in 1787. He was one of the state’s first U.S. Senators, a chief justice and Governor. A prominent Methodist, he paid half of the cost of construction of a church in Dover in 1780. (Scharf, History of Delaware, 1: 527; Robert E. Pattison, “The Life and Character of Richard Bassett,” Historical Society of Delaware Papers, 19 (1900): 1-19; Hancock, The Loyalists of Revolutionary Delaware, 43; Martin, A History of Delaware through its Gpvernors, 80-89.)

James Sykes (1725-1791), a Dover lawyer, was a member of the Assembly in 1773, of the constitutional conventions of 1776 and 1791, and of the Delaware convention that ratified the federal constitution in 1787. At the beginning of the Revolution, he served on the Kent County Boston Relief Committee, Council of Safety and Levy Court. In 1776 he became a member of the Legislative Council and the following year he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress. Later he became a member of the Privy Council. The owner of several farms totaling more than 500 acres, in 1768 his poundage rate was £40. He belonged to the Anglican Christ Church in Dover. (Scharf, History of Delaware, 1: 218, 225, 242, 271, 482; KC Probate Records; KC Levy Court Assessment List, 1768, DSA.)

Allen McLane of Duck Creek Hundred served in the House of Assembly from Kent County in 1785 and 1789. He was a hero of the American Revolution, participating in numerous battles and working closely with General George Washington at Valley Forge. He was a member of the Delaware Convention that ratified the federal Constitution. Later in life he moved from Kent County to Wilmington, serving as Collector of the Customs for many years. He belonged to the Society of the Cincinnati, the Masonic order, and Wilmington Union Colonization Society, which encouraged the emigration of free blacks to Africa. He was a member of the Methodist Church. His will began with the sentence, “I, Allen McLane, of the Borough of Wilmington, in the State of Delaware, Collector of the Customs of the United States for the Delaware District, and a friend and soldier of the American Revolution. . .” He was well-to-do, owning $3,000 in U.S. Bonds and several rental properties. His son, Louis McLane, became a U.S. Representative, Senator, Secretary of the Treasury and Minister to England. (NCC Probate Records; Scharf, History of Delaware, 1: 186, 208, 209, 247, 248, 249, 280, 415, 2: 827.)

Daniel Cummins, Sr. (d. 1736-1797) of Duck Creek Cross Roads was a member of the Delaware convention that ratified the federal constitution in 1787. A landowner and innkeeper, he was also active as a commission merchant in shipping grain. He was a member of St. Peter’s Anglican Church. His assessment rate in 1785 was £15. (Scharf, History of Delaware, 2: 1097; KC Levy Court Assessment List, 1785, DSA.)

Joseph Barker (d. 1825) of East Dover and Mispillion Hundreds was a member of the House of Assembly in 1791 and of the Delaware convention that ratified the federal constitution in 1787. At Barker’s Landing on St. Jones’ Creek in East Dover Hundred he owned a 500-acre farm, warehouse and wharf. He married Mary Collins, daughter of President Thomas Collins. During the American Revolution, he was captain of a 14-gun boat. He belonged to the Methodist Church, but is buried in the graveyard of Old Swedes in Wilmington. The inventory of his possessions totaled $1,565 and included pictures of Washington and Jefferson and 108 ounces of silverplate. (Scharf, History of Delaware 1: 153; 2, 1079, 1153, 1155, 1207; Delaware Gazette, Sept. 12, 1826; KC Probate Records; Runk, History of the State of Delaware, 1: 163.)

Edward White (d. 1795) of Mispillion Hundred was a member of the House of Assembly in 1781, 1782, 1783 and 1790 of the Delaware Convention that ratified the federal Constitution in 1787. In the biography of his brother, Judge Thomas White, he is referred to as “Dr. Edward White.” Edward White served as a Justice of the Peace in 1778. He belonged to the Methodist Church. The inventory of his possessions totaled $937 and included many books. His poundage in 1785 amounted to £22. (Probate Records; KC Levy Court Assessment List, 1785, DSA; Conrad, “Smith White and his Father Judge Thomas White,” Historical Society of Delaware Papers, 40 (1903): 4.)

George Manlove (d. 1799) of Mispillion Hundred was a member of the Delaware Convention that ratified the Constitution of 1787. A well-to-do farmer, he owned five slaves. His property was assessed at £12 in 1785 and brought $1,699 when sold. (Probate Records; KC Levy Court Assessment List, 1785, DSA.)