City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

Theophylact Bache, a merchant, was born January 17, 1735, in Settle, Yorkshire, England. He settled in New York City in 1751 and worked for his uncle Paul Richard, a merchant who had been mayor of the city (Lurie). He was later partners with his brother Richard in the underwriting agency Theophylact & Richard Bache, owned a store in Hanover Square that sold imported goods, and co-owned the ship Grace with Leonard Lispenard (Wheatley 508). He was initially opposed to British policies to tax the colonies; however, by the time of the Revolutionary War he was considered a Loyalist (Lurie). He remained in Flatbush and New York City during and after the war, and in 1881 his son Andrew joined him in business under the name Theophylact & Andrew Bache (Lurie). He was one of the original organizers of the New York Chamber of Commerce in 1768 and held various offices there, including president in 1773 (Lurie). He served as president of the St. George's Society of New York from 1788 to 1799. He was instrumental in the incorporation of the Marine Society, was president of Society of the New-York Hospital from 1794-1797, governor of the New York Hospital in 1771, and a vestryman of Trinity Church ("Charter" 90; White 496; Lurie). 

Bache married Ann Dorothy Barclay in 1760; they had fifteen children, eight of whom survived to adulthood. Bache’s sister-in-law was Sarah Franklin Bache, Benjamin Franklin's daughter.

Bache was regarded as a Loyalist by patriots during the Revolution, and in a June 1778 raid on the town of Flatbush, he and his brother-in-law, British major Thomas Moncrieff, were seized in the middle of the night and carried off to Morristown, New Jersey. He and Moncrieff were later exchanged for American prisoners (Lurie). 

Bache died in New York City on October 30, 1807.