191^-] BALCH— SOME FORMER MEMBERS. 687 



Hosack of New York, William Short of Virginia, John Sargeant, 

 William Tilghman, Thomas McKean, Charles J. Ingersoll, Nicholas 

 Biddle and Caspar Wistar. Du Ponceau may therefore be consid- 

 ered to have been, with William Rawle and others, one of the 

 founders of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.^^ 



As a result of this committee, Du Ponceau prepared a work on 

 the " General Character and Forms of the Languages of the Amer- 

 ican Indians," that he read January 12, 1819, and which was printed 

 in the Transactions of the committee. This work added to the 

 author's reputation. On June 6, 1821, he delivered before the 

 American Philosophical Society the annual address, taking as his 

 subject the " Early History of Pennsylvania." Among many other 

 writings, he gave in 1834 an address before the Law Academy of 

 Philadelphia, of which he was then provost, on the " Constitution 

 of the United States," of which a French translation was published 

 three years afterwards at Paris. The next year the Institut Royal 

 of France crowned his work in French on the grammatical lan- 

 guages of the Lenni-Lenape and some other North American Indians 

 with the "Prix Volney."^* On the second of December, 1836, Du 



^In Du Ponceau's will this interesting passage occurs: 

 " The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is in danger of perishing for 

 want of support. While almost every other State has an historical society, 

 shall it be said that Pennsylvania wants one? Under the auspices of its 

 illustrious founder, William Rawle, it has produced interesting and valuable 

 memoirs : the honor of the State requires that the work should be continued. 

 I recommend to them to increase the number of their members, and, perhaps, 

 to raise the annual subscription to five dollars." A distinguished member of 

 the Bar and so accustomed to sift evidence, a scholar, an antiquary, himself 

 one of the principal participants in the foundation of the Historical Society 

 and its second President (1837-1844), Du Ponceau in writing the above 

 quotation probably knew whereof he wrote. Besides a man does not write 

 anything in his will without careful consideration. See Robley Dunglison: 

 " A Public Discourse in Commemoration of Peter S. Du Ponceau, LL.D., 

 late President of the American Philosophical Society, delivered before the 

 Society pursuant to appointment, on the 25th of October, 1844." Published 

 by the Society, Philadelphia, 1844, page. 23. 



" " Memoire sur le systeme grammatical des langues de quelques nations, 

 indiennes de I'Amerique du Nord ; ouvrage qui a la seance publique annuelle 

 de rinstitut Royal de France, le 2 mai, 1835, a remporte le prix fonde par M. 

 le comte de Volney : par M. P. — Et. Du Ponceau, LL.D.," Paris, 1838. 



