I liked this so much for this weekend 'remembering'! I had thought George
Washington was a signer of the Document, but I must be wrong (or else he
became eliminated in copying this article).
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From: peg <mrschreiber(a)dmv.com
To: NJSOMER-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Fw: Happy 4th of July
Date: Friday, July 02, 1999 4:31 PM
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The Declaration of Independence
Few Americans are aware of the tremendous sacrifices made by the brave and
selfless men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Have you ever
wondered what happened to those men who signed the Declaration of
Independence?
Five signers were captured by British as traitors and were tortured before
they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked or burned. Two lost their sons
in the Revolutionary army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56
fought and died from wounds or the hardships of war.
What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants. Nine were farmers and large plantation owners-men of
means and well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence,
knowing full well the penalty would be death if they were captured. They
signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships
swept from the seas by British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay
his debts and died in rags.
Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his
family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay and his family
was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers or both looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge and Middleton. Francis Lewis had his
home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, after which she
died within a few months.
At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that British General
Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner
quickly urged General Washington to open fire on the dwelling. The home was
destroyed. Nelson died a bankrupt man.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13
children fled for their lives. His fields and grist mill were laid waste.
For more than a year, he lived in the forests and in caves, returning home
after the war to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks
later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Morris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.
These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians; they were soft-spoken men
of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.
They pledged: "For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on
the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other
our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."
Fifty-six members of the Continental Congress signed the Declaration. Most
members signed it on Aug. 2, 1776; the remainder on later dates.
Connecticut
Huntington, Samuel
Sherman, Roger
Williams, William
Wolcott, Oliver
Delaware
McKean, Thomas
Read, George
Rodney, Caesar
Georgia
Gwinnett, Button
Hall, Lyman
Walton, George
Maryland
Carroll, Charles
Chase, Samuel
Paca, William
Stone, Thomas
Massachusetts
Adams, John
Adams, Samuel
Gerry, Elbridge
Hancock, John
Paine, Robert T.
New Hampshire
Bartlett, Josiah
Thornton, Matthew
Whipple, William
New Jersey
Clark, Abraham
Hart, John
Hopkinson, Francis
Stockton, Richard
Witherspoon, John
New York
Floyd, William
Lewis, Francis
Livingston, Philip
Morris, Lewis
North Carolina
Hewes, Joseph
Hooper, William
Penn, John
Pennsylvania
Clymer, George
Franklin, Benjamin
Morris, Robert
Morton, John
Ross, George
Rush, Benjamin
Smith, James
Taylor, George
Wilson, James
Rhode Island
Ellery, William
Hopkins, Stephen
South Carolina
Heyward, Thomas, Jr.
Lynch, Thomas, Jr.
Middleton, Arthur
Rutledge, Edward
Virginia
Braxton, Carter
Harrison, Benjamin
Jefferson, Thomas
Lee, Francis Lightfoot
Lee, Richard Henry
Nelson, Thomas, Jr.
Wythe, George
Taken from Veteran of Foreign Wars Magazine dated June/July 1999
We should be truly grateful for men such these and hope that only those such
as these will be our leaders in the future. This Fourth of July tell someone
you know about one of these men.