Declaration of Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Ann Borden Hopkinson

Nancy (Ann) Borden married Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence, in Christ Church, Bordentown, on September 1, 1768. She was the daughter of Judge Joseph Borden, a prominent and wealthy citizen of New Jersey who "was proprietor of a boat and stage line running from Philadelphia to New York. He was also an active patriot during the Revolutionary War and a member of the first Revolutionary Convention held in New Brunswick in 1774. Nancy's brother, Captain Joseph Borden, commanded a troop of light horse soldiers for Burlington County.

Nancy was a nice looking, vivacious girl who was well educated and highly accomplished. Nancy was considered to be a good match of the brilliant young Francis. Nancy and her sister Maria were considered to be the most beautiful women of New Jersey. Maria married Thomas McKean, another signer of the Declaration of Independence who later served as governor of Pennsylvania.

Nancy and Francis began their married life in Bordentown where Francis began to practice law. Francis was active in the cause of liberty and served as a member of the Provincial Convention at New Brunswick in 1774. He was elected to be a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress 1776 where he voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence. He later served as Chief Justice of New Jersey.

Francis and Nancy maintained a home in Philadelphia as well as a nice country home in Bordentown. The family lived in Bordentown until 1779 when Francis returned to Philadelphia to be Judge of the Court of Admiralty. Francis was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and appointed to be Judge of the United States District Court for Pennsylvania by President George Washington in 1789.

Francis and Nancy were parents of James, Joseph, Elizabeth, Maria, Thomas, Ann, a second Thomas, Francis, and Sarah Johnson. James and both Thomases died in infancy, but the others all grew to adulthood and married. Francis died in 1791 at age fifty-two, and Nancy died in 1827, surviving her husband for thirty-six years.

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