James Finley (minister) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

James Finley was an American Presbyterian minister and politician who was a pioneer resident of western Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. Either he or his wife owned the house in which Thomas Jefferson began his first attempt to draft the United States Declaration of Independence

United States Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

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James Finley was born on February 4, 1725 in County Armagh

County Armagh

-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

, Ireland, the son of Michael Finley and Anne daughter of Samuel O'Neill. He immigrated to America at the age of nine, and studied under Samuel Blair at Faggs Manor Academy, in what is now Londonderry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Londonderry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Londonderry Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,149 at the 2010 census.-History:Londonderry Township was officially created in 1734. It is named after the city of Londonderry then in Ireland but in present-day Northern Ireland...

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In 1752, Finley married Hannah Evans (1715-April 1, 1795), daughter of Robert Evans.