Izard

twice married previously; first, to John Bannis-
ter, and second, to Thomas Lee Shippen. They
had three sons.

[Official Correspondence with the Dept. of War
Relative to the Military Operations of the Am. Army
Under the Command of Maj.-Gen. Isard (1816); "Of-
ficial Correspondence of Governor Izard," Ark. Hist.
Asso. Pubs., vol. I (1906); G. E. Manigault, "Military
Career of General George Izard," Mag. of Am. Hist.,
June 1888; W. E. Birkhimer, Hist. Sketch . . . of the
Artillery, U. S. Army (1889) J J- H. Shinn, Pioneers
and Makers of Ark. (1908) ; "Izard of South Carolina,"
S. C. Hist, and Geneal. Mag., July 1901; Roberdeau
Buchanan, Geneal. of the Descendants of Dr. Wm. Ship-
pen (1877) ; Paulson's Am. Daily Advertiser (Phila.;,
Dec. 24,1828.] D.Y.T.

IZARD, RALPH (Jan. 23, i74i/2-May 30,
1804), Revolutionary patriot, diplomat, senator,
was born at "The Elms," his father's beautiful
estate near Charleston, S. C. His family, found-
ed in America by Ralph Izard who came from
England in 1682, was one of the oldest and
wealthiest in the province, having large holdings
devoted to the cultivation of rice and indigo. His
father w'as Henry Izard, who died when Ralph
was only seven; his mother, Margaret Johnson,
daughter of Robert Johnson [q.v."], who had been
governor of Carolina under the proprietors and
was the first governor of South Carolina under
the Crown. Ralph Izard, as the only surviving
son, inherited his father's estates. At the age of
twelve he was sent to school at Hackney, Eng-
land. Returning to Carolina in 1764 to take
charge of his plantations, he married, May i,
1767, Alice De Lancey, daughter of Peter and
niece of James De Lancey [#.#.], formerly chief
justice and lieutenant-governor of New York.
In 1771 he went back to London, where he pur-
chased a house in Berners Street with the inten-
tion of remaining. He w'as fond of literature
and music and a patron of art; his house in Lon-
don reflected his tastes. According to his daugh-
ter, he declined to be presented at Court because
he would never "bow the knee ... to mortal
man" (Deas, post, p. vi). In 1774, with his wife
and his friend, Arthur Lee [<?.#.], he made a tour
of the Continent—sending back to South Caro-
lina, among other observations, notes on mul-
berry culture—and passed some time at Rome,
where, with Mrs. Izard, he sat for his portrait
to John Singleton Copley. In May 1775 he re-
turned to England and used such influence as he
had to avert the coming conflict with the colo-
nies; but finding it impossible for one of his
sympathies to remain there, he removed with his
family to Paris after October 1776, intending to
sail for. America.

While in Paris he was elected by Congress,
May 7, 1777, commissioner to Tuscany, but he
was never received by that government and so re-

Izard

mained in France. He considered that as a dip-
lomatic representative of the United States he
had a right to take part in the consultations be-
tween the French court and the ministers com-
missioned to that court, but this right was not
recognized by Benjamin Franklin [q.v.], toward
whom Izard developed a bitter antagonism. The
latter also contended that his goods should be ex-
empt from duties, and that out of funds collected
in France his salary as minister to Tuscany
should be paid. These claims, also rejected by
Franklin, led to further alienation. With Arthur
Lee, Izard was on friendly terms, and John
Adams [g.z/.] in part upheld him. Meantime, his
estates had been sequestered in South Carolina
and his wife's brother, James, and her uncle
Oliver De Lancey [qq.v.~\ had become notorious
as Loyalist leaders in New York. Tormented by
anxiety, in financial straits, nervous, irritable,
subject to attacks of gout, mistaken in his atti-
tude toward the other commissioners of the
United States, he was nevertheless undoubtedly
devoted to the American cause. While in Paris,
he opened negotiations with Tuscany, aided
Alexander Gillon [q.v.~\ in securing funds for
ships of war, and cooperated with Lee in his
efforts toward obtaining the French treaty. The
delay in Paris and the controversies with Frank-
lin led to Izard's recall in 1779, before his resig-
nation had been received, but after his dispatches
explaining his position reached Congress, a reso-
lution was passed approving his conduct (Aug.
9, 1780). Arriving in Philadelphia in August
1780, he repaired to Washington's headquarters,
where he influenced the Commander-in-Chief to
send General Greene to take command of the
southern army. In 1782 he was chosen a dele-
gate from South Carolina to Congress, serving
until peace was declared. Subsequently he de-
clined to become a candidate for governor of the
state, but served in the legislature and on the
adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1789 was
chosen United States senator. He stood high in
the friendship and confidence of Washington, of
whose administration he was a stanch supporter.
He w'as president pro tempore of the Senate dur-
ing the sessions of the Third Congress. In I79S
he retired from public life to the care of his prop-
erty; and two years later a stroke of paralysis
made him an invalid for the rest of his days.

Although prior to the Revolution Izard had
hotly resented the "Royal Tyranny," he had no
sympathy for democracy. Tall, fine-looking, in
his youth an adept at outdoor sports, he was a
frequent sufferer from gout in his later years
and developed a notorious irascibility. He died
near Charleston, at the age of sixty-two, and was

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