Searle, James, c. 1730-1797

James Searle (c.1730 — August 7, 1797) was an American merchant, Patriot, and delegate to the Continental Congress.

Born in New York City, he completed preparatory studies before moving to Madeira, Portugal where he engaged in business with his brother John for 16 years. Searle relocated to Philadelphia in 1765 where he continued working as a merchant and an agent for his brother's firm, accumulating great wealth. He signed the 1765 Non-Importation Agreement in which merchants pledged not to buy goods from England to protest the Stamp Act. He was elected by Congress in 1776 a commissioner for a national lottery that partially funded the Revolutionary War from 1776 to 1778. He then represented Pennsylvania as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1778. While serving as a delegate, Searle started a cane fight with Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Congress, and claimed that Thomson had misquoted him in the official minutes. The altercation resulted in both men receiving slashes to the face.

Searle served as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia from 1779 to 1781 and as a commissioner to France and Holland to unsuccessfully negotiate a loan for the state of Pennsylvania between 1780 and 1782 before returning stateside, moving to New York City in 1784 to work as an agent for an importing house. Returning to Pennsylvania in 1785, he died in Philadelphia and was interred at St. Peter's Churchyard there.