Benjamin WEST, b. Springfield, Pa., October 10, 1738, d. Nov. 3, 1820, London England. He was the first American artist to achieve an international reputation. Young WEST was encouraged to draw, and it was said that he got his first paints from his Indian friends. When he was 16 his Quaker community approved art training for him. For a time WEST studied in Philadelphia and New York City. He also served as a militia captain in Indian campaigns in Pennsylvania. Born of a Quaker family, he moved to Philadelphia and at 18 years of age began painting portraits that show the influence of several local artists. In 1760 he left for Europe, and in Rome, where he remained until 1763, he was welcomed and praised as a prodigy from the wilderness. There he absorbed the teachings of Anton Raphael Mengs and Johan Winckelmann. He became imbued with their enthusiasm for classical art and was one of the earliest artists to work in the classical style that dominated European painting for the next half century. His Agrippina with the Ashes of Germanicus (1768; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.) caused King George III of England to commission The Departure of Regulus (Kensington Palace, London) soon after. WEST and the King became close friends, and the artist received many commissions from him, most notably The Progress of Revealed Religion, an uncompleted 36-part series, now destroyed, that was intended for the Royal Chapel. WEST hoped to combine those aspects of the old masters that he most admired into a perfect, eclectic style. Many art students were attracted to his London studio, especially students from America. In 1768 he helped organize the Royal Academy and four years later was named Historical Painter to the King. In 1792 he succeeded Sir Joshua REYNOLDS as president of the Royal Academy. His later large religious works, such as Christ Healing the Sick (1811; Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia) and Christ Rejected (1814; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia), find few admirers today. In London he also did portraits, but his fame now largely rests on his earlier scenes of contemporary history. In Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1772; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) he combined the rustic and the exotic in a grouping of almost classical nobility. In the same year, The Death of Wolfe (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa) showed the British general expiring on the battlefield of Quebec, surrounded by grieving Indians and loyal officers. Although consciously grand and derivative, they are still impressive and perhaps the most influential of all his works. Death on a Pale Horse (1802; Philadelphia Museum of Art), exhibited at the Paris Salon, is an impressive example of the remarkable romantic style that he adopted late in life. Howard Rodee Bibliography: Alberts, Robert C., Benjamin WEST (1978); Galt, John, The Life and Studies of Benjamin WEST (1816; repr. 1979); Von Erffa, H., and Staley, A., The Paintings of Benjamin WEST

 (VILLAGE RECORD, August 4, 1860) Biography: BENJAMIN WEST, son of John WEST, was born in the township of Springfield, Chester (now Delaware) County, October 10, 1738. His native place, (WEST-dale,) is in view, on the north side of the railroad, as you travel between Media and Philadelphia.
The family were members of the Society of Friends. John married in England, and removed to Pennsylvania. His wife, unable to make the voyage at the time, was left behind, gave birth to a son, and died. The boy was brought up by some English relatives, and settled at Reading as a watchmaker. The widower remained on this side of the Atlantic, and marrying again, had ten children, of whom Benjamin was the youngest.
In his seventh year, he gave the first indications of his propensity for the pencil. As he was watching the sleeping infant of his eldest sister, it smiled, and, struck with its beauty, he sought some paper, and drew its portrait in red and black ink. His talent, as usual, was cultivated under difficulties. From some Indians he obtained red and yellow, and his mother gave him a piece of indigo. A relative, however, having sent him a box of paints and pencils, he opened a studio in his mother's garret, where he forgot to go to school, and excited both surprise and admiration by his performances. His indulgent mother kissed him with rapture, on beholding them, and procured a pardon from his father and teacher, for the delinquencies of the truant. With the aid and countenance of various Patrons, he was encouraged to persevere in his art for several years, in his own country.
In 1760, by the kindness of some friends, he was enabled to proceed to Italy, and reached Rome, July 10th of that year. In 1763, he went to London, where the prospect of success induced him to establish himself as a historical painter. Benjamin was engaged to Miss SHEWELL, of Philadelphia, before he visited Europe, and in 1765, she went to England under the escort of his father. Tradition gives a pleasant account of the affair. We are told that the Lady's family was very much opposed to the match, and with a view to prevent it, her brother undertook to be her custodian, and kept her in her chamber, under lock and key. Being of age, Miss SHEWELL was not disposed to yield to such arbitrary treatment. She resolved to go to her betrothed, - inasmuch as he could not conveniently come for her. The gentlemen of her acquaintance sympathized with her, and determined to secure her passage in a ship, then about to sail for England. They verified the saying, that 'Love laughs at lock smiths;' and applied such apparatus as enabled the lady to descend from her prison by night, through the chamber window, in time to take her departure, under the auspices of Mr. WEST, senior - her intended husband's Father. - who sanctioned the procedure, and accompanied her to England. There the old gentleman first saw his eldest son - then past the meridian of life.
Among the liberators of Miss SHEWELL, it is said was a reverend gentleman, then very young, and subsequently known as the excellent Bishop WHITE, of this Diocese, - who, as the story goes, always justified the deed, and declared he would do so again, under the same circumstances. The artistic career of Benjamin WEST, in England, is too well known to require a detailed history, here. - He was somewhat of a favorite with George the Third, - though his political sympathies were always with his native land. In the time of the Fourth George, or Prince Regent, Benjamin was advised, as President of the Royal Academy, to be present at a public Exhibition, inasmuch as his Majesty was to be there, and would expect his attendance. He was assured that the Prince, out of regard for his age, and infirmities, would probably dispense with the usual etiquette, on such occasions. His reply indicated the feeling which influenced him, and the extent of his reliance on such promises. 'No,' said the old man; is now many years since I have had cause to know the wisdom of David advice - PUT NOT YOUR TRUST IN PRINCES. 'His valuable life was terminated on the 11th of March, 1820, in the eighty-second year of his age; and if the mother of GRACCHI, was excusable for the parade of her famous 'Jewels,' surely the ancient County of Chester may venture to present such a son as BENJAMIN WEST.

The story of the WEST family was thoroughly researched and made into a book. This is due to the fact that Benjamin WEST, a painter of some note, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest brother of Joseph WEST, our ancestor. An excerpt from Benjamin's biography----"The WESTs had lived in Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, England since the time of Richard III (1483-1485). They became Quakers in 1667. Colonel James WEST was the first WEST Quaker. William WEST of Long Crendon married Elizabeth ?--- Their son Thomas married Ann or Rachel GILPIN ca 1682. The older sons of this marriage came to Pennsylvania in about the year 1709 to join the Quaker settlement in Chester County. Our ancestor John WEST was the third son of Thomas and Ann. He was born 28 October 1690. He was married to Elizabeth BEISLEY in 1714 in a Friendly ceremony at Warburton Monthly Meeting \{England\}. In 1716 a son was born named Thomas. Shortly thereafter John followed his brothers to America with an eye to moving his family here. News came to him that his wife Elizabeth was dead so John stayed on in Chester County, Pennsylvania. In 1718 John married Sarah PEARSON. Sarah's parents were good Quakers, but Sarah was rebellious. She was disowned by the Society of Friends----" whereas Sarah PEARSON of Marple in the county of Chester, being a child of Believing Parents and Educated in the Way of Truth professed by the People called Quakers, etc, etc, .She has given way to a Libertine Spirit, etc, etc,--- 24 December 1717 ". John may have been attracted to her " spirit ", though he himself was a Quaker. It cannot be ascertained that any of their children except the 4th child, William ever belonged to the Quakers. Certainly their first child, Joseph was not, although he married our Jane OWEN, a sweet little Friend--- at least I think of her that way. She moved her membership to each place they settled. From Chester County they moved to Fairfax County, Virginia, possibly Hanover County, and finally to Pittsylvania County, Virginia where she died in the faith in 1791. John and Sarah Owen WEST had 10 children, but their lives seemed to be anything but stable. John owned a small bit of land in Upper Providence, but through the years moved to several different places. On August 30th 1743 he rented a " Commoudeous house and all Conveananses, belonging to a house of Entertainment on the Roade leading from Darby to Springfield and from thence to Conestoga which is much frequented of late by the Dutch Waggons in the number of 40 or 50 a day ".  At that time the Dutch were migrating to the rich lands around York and Lancaster Pennsylvania where their descendants still live. The next year John and Sarah moved farther WEST to Newtown. From 1733 until 1758 John was licensed to keep various houses of entertainment, occasionally losing his lease then regaining it. A house of entertainment meant a way station or tavern for accommodating travelers. Sarah died in 1756, and in 1759 John asked to be reunited with the Society of Friends. John and Sarah didn't entirely leave the Christian faith. There is a Bible in the WEST family that John asked to be handed down to the Johns in the family. According to the minutes of the Meeting of the Philadelphia Society of Friends, the 10th of October 1764, John visited his relatives in Virginia. He took the Bible which he gave to Joseph's son John who was 2 years old. The Bible was last known to be in the possession of John WEST, Cameron, Missouri. It is inscribed " John WEST, his Bible 1752 --- Isaac WEST 1753 --- John WEST 1779 ". Isaac was the first born of Joseph and Jane Owen WEST. For some reason, when they moved from Pennsylvania down to Fairfax County, Virginia in 1746 they left Isaac, who was born in 1741, with his grandparents. Over the next several years Jane's letters home to Pennsylvania tells how much she misses him. From the name Isaac in the Bible it would sees that he lived with his WEST grandparents. He was 12 years old when he wrote his name in the Bible. The painter, Benjamin WEST, was Joseph's youngest brother. He had gone to Rome in 1760 to study art. His sister Mary had married Dr. Jonathan MORRIS who took an interest in Benjamin, and financed his study. It may have been that John WEST visited all his children-- Joseph being the fartherest away in Virginia--because he was preparing to return to England, and would never see them again. On 24 June 1764 he sailed for England, accompanied by Elizabeth SHEWELL. She was to be married to Benjamin who had been gone for 4 years. After returning to England, John WEST lived with his son, Thomas WEST, whom he had deserted so many years before, and with his older sister. There he died 5 October 1776, when the Americans were just starting the Revolution. He was buried in the Friends Burying Ground at Warburton where he was born 86 years before. Benjamin remained neutral during the Revolution and was appointed official historical painter by King George III. Throughout the years Joseph WEST bought and sold various tracts of land in northern Virginia. There are copies of letters Jane sent home to Pennsylvania, begging her sisters to send the yearly amounts her grandfathers Owen and Maris had willed her. She may have had a difficult life with Joseph. After more that 30 years they finally settled in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, where Jane died in 1791. Joseph lived until 1802. Joseph WEST furnished provisions to the Militia in Virginia during the Revolutionary War. DAR Patriot Index, Page 730. Public Service Claims, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Virginia Court Booklet. Court Session of 22 September 1783. DAR Magazine, Vol. 64, March 1930. List of persons of Pittsylvania County, Virginia who furnished provisions for the Army.\par "Joseph WEST and Jane OWENS," by Celeste Terrell Barnhill, pages 31, 88, 90; "Compendium of American Genealogy," Volume VII, by Virkus, F. A., page 495;\par World Family Tree, Volume I, by Banner Blue Software, #4021

KIMMER'S NOTE:  Sara collected this information because of the family legend about Benjamin WEST, the painter who helped her ancestors elope. As far as she can tell it wasn't him but an nephew or grandson. These Bios of Benjamin were contributed by Sara H of Genealogy Trails.

Continuing her family story:

Jeremiah and Sarah Thompson Bader

From the Genealogy of Jeremiah and Sarah Thompson Bader written by their grandchildren {Henry Oscar's children}.