General source spells her last name Heligas.
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Henrietta Hillegas as were both her parents, was Baptized at Christ Church, in the same church she would marry Joseph Anthony, II on Dec. 29, 1785.

A writing by Henrietta in the possession of one of her 4th Great-granddaughters reads as follows:

"Big happenings around Philadelphia. I lived in a big house on Second St. near Elfreth's Alley. One more block and we were down on the busy water front, two blocks to the south and we were at William Penn's Landing. I was almost 10.

I had a big brother, Samuuel - who was 22, a sister Margaret - age 6. Deborah, my friend and sister age 3. Then I was born. Five years after that my brother Henry was born. I had another sister, Deborah, as my older sister Deborah had died. And then there was Mary Ann. Mother and father had lost Michael, William, Deborah, Suzannah. Henry and Mary Ann never married. [All the data in this paragraph was consistent with the names and dates entered previously].

Our name was carried on by Samuel only. Sam had only Maria who married Jacob Rheem and she had only one child. Margaret, Deborah 2nd and I were the only ones who had children with children.

When I was 19, I married Joseph Anthony, Jr. Married in Christ Church. Joseph was 23. He was a successful merchant and silver smith."

Henrietta and Joseph would have 11 children:

Joseph b. Sept. 27th, 1786 d. Aug. 26th, 1804
Michael b. Apr. 14th, 1788 d. Aug. 15th, 1832
Eliza b. Aug. 12th, 1789 d. Mar. 16th, 1809 She married William Rudolph Smith
Thomas b. Sept. 16th, 1791 d. 1832
Henrietta Hillegas Anthony b. June 8th, 1793 d. Dec. 23rd, 1795
William Nicolls b. Feb. 7th, 1795 d. July 25th, 1802
Caroline b. Oct. 24th, 1796 d. Oct. 24th, 1796
Henrietta Hillegas (II) b. June 6th, 1798 d. Jan. 7th, 1868 She married 1) William Patton 2) Samuel Clement
Caroline (II) b. Mar. 13th, 1800 d. Oct. 10th, 1812
Joseph Hewes b. Apr. 12th, 1802 d. Jan. 5th, 1806
Josephine b. Sept. 27th, 1807 d. Feb. 2nd, 1808


THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY Judy (Powers) Ditmore

You will rarely find the name of Michael Hillegas on any list of the "Treasurer's of the United States". But my 5th Great-grandfather most certainly was. "That Michael Hillegas's fame should have been obscured so long is explainable only on the grounds that he was of German-Franch ancestry, and that the principal historians of the day were Quakers who preferred to have it appear that the followers of William Penn were the principal actors in the history of Philadelphia".

That is the explanation indicated by the president of a Quaker college, who wrote a history of Pennsylvania, and who explained his omission of all references of Mr. Hillegas by saying that it was an 'oversight', adding that he found Mr. Hillegas's name hundred of times in his investigation."

Like many wealthy men who lived during the Revolutionary War, he gave generously to the cause. As [a] business man, philanthropist, statesman and patriot he served the new nation mightily. He accepted the position of Treasurer of the Province and once that occured, he disqualified himself to serve in any capacity such as the Continental Congress or the Supreme Executive Council. He served without regard to his personal and business interests.

In a letter written in 1786, Charles Thomson of New York commented: "I wonder what Hillegas will do. His salary will not support him here, and he will not like to quit his office." And this true patriot did not quit. He attended to his difficult duties until September 2, 1789, when congress created the Treasury Department and the now celebrated Alexander Hamilton became the Secretary of the Treasury.

The position of Treasurer demanded absolute honesty and he was never touched by even so much as a hint of scandal. So after many years, one of his descendants petitioned to have his name resurrected from obscurity. His portrait was finally placed on the 1907 and 1922 $10 Gold Certificates. 1430