George Read

                    George Read was an attorney and a politician from New Castle, New Castle County, Delaware.  He was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence as well as the United States Constitution.  In addition, he was President of Delaware, the first U.S. Senator from Delaware, and the Chief Justice of Delaware.

                    Read was born on September 18, 1733, in Cecil County, Maryland, one of six sons of John (from Ireland) and Mary Howell Read (from Wales).  The family moved to New Castle County, Delaware, when he was just an infant, and settled near a village named Christiana.  He studied at the Rev. Francis Allison's Academy at New London, Pennsylvania, with Thomas McKean and then studied law in Philadelphia with John Moland.  George was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1753; the next year he established a law practice in his home town of New Castle, Delaware.

                    George married Gertrude Ross Till in 1763. Gertrude was the daughter of the Rev. George Ross, the Anglican rector of Immanuel Church in New Castle, as well as the widowed sister of George Ross, a future signer of the Declaration of Independence.  George and Gertrude became parents of five children:  John, George Jr., William, John, and Mary.  (Mary married Matthew Pearce and was often confused with her aunt Mary Read who in 1769 married Gunning Bedford, Sr., a future Governor of Delaware.)  The Read family lived on The Strand in New Castle, and their house at that time was in what became the garden of the present Read House and Gardens, owned by the Delaware Historical Society.  The Reads were members of Immanuel Episcopal Church.

                    In 1763 Read was appointed by John Penn, the Proprietary Governor, to the office of Crown Attorney for the three Delaware counties; he served in that position until he left for the Continental Congress in 1774.  Read also served in the Colonial Assembly of the Lower Counties for twelve sessions, from 1764/65 through 1775/76.  On June 15, 1776, the General Assembly of the Lower Counties declared its separation from the British government in anticipation of the Declaration of Independence.  After the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Read was elected as a delegate to a Delaware constitutional convention called to draft a constitution for the new state of Delaware.  George was elected/appointed as President of the convention and led in the passage of the Delaware Constitution of 1776; his associate Thomas McKean had drafted the document.

                    George Read was elected as a representative to the first Legislative Council of the Delaware General Assembly and was then chosen as the Speaker in both the 1776/77 and the 1777/78 sessions.  "At the time of the capture of President John McKinly, Read was in Philadelphia attending Congress, and after narrowly escaping capture himself while returning home, he became President on October 20, 1777, serving until March 31, 1778."  At that time British soldiers occupied Philadelphia and controlled the Delaware River.  Read tried to recruit more soldiers to protect Delaware but was not very successful. 

                    Caesar Rodney replaced Read as President of the Assembly, but Read continued to serve in the Legislative Council until 1788 except for one year of ill health and two years of service in the House of Assembly (1780-1782).  Read was appointed in 1782 as Judge of the Court of Appeals in admiralty cases.

                    In 1786 George Read was again called to national service when he represented Delaware at the Annapolis Convention.  Due to the small number of states represented, the sole business conducted was "a report calling for a broader convention to be held in Philadelphia the next year."  Read represented Delaware the next year in Philadelphia at the meeting we know as the Constitutional Convention. 

                    The following quote comes from Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution written by Wright and Morris:  "Read immediately argued for a new national government under a new Constitution, saying `to amend the Articles was simply putting old cloth on a new garment.'  He was a leader in the fight for a strong central government, advocating, at one time, the abolition of the states altogether and the consolidation of the country under one powerful national government.  `Let no one fear the states, the people are with us,' he declared to a Convention shocked by this radical proposal.  With no one to support his motion, he settled for protecting the rights of the small states against the infringements of their larger, more populous neighbors who, he feared, would `probably combine to swallow up the smaller ones by addition, division or impoverishment.'  He warned that Delaware `would become at once a cipher in the union' if the principle of equal representation embodied in the New Jersey (small-state) Plan was not adopted and if the method of amendment in the Articles was not retained.  He favored giving Congress the right to vote state laws, making the federal legislature immune to popular whims by having senators hold office for nine years or during good behavior, and granting the U.S. President broad appointive powers.  Outspoken, he threatened to lead the Delaware delegation out of the Convention if the rights of the small states were not specifically guaranteed in the new Constitution."

                    When Read was assured that the small states were guaranteed these rights, Read led the ratification movement in Delaware, resulting in Delaware becoming the first state to ratify the new Constitution.

                    After the new Constitution was adopted, the Delaware General Assembly elected George Read as one of the state's two U.S. Senators.  His term in the Senate began March 4, 1789; he was reelected in 1791 and resigned on September 18, 1793, to accept an appointment as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.  He served in that position until his death on September 21, 1798, at New Castle.  He is buried in the Immanuel Episcopal Church Cemetery in New Castle.

                    George Read was described as "tall, slightly and gracefully formed, with pleasing features and lustrous brown eyes.  His manners were dignified, bordering upon austerity, but courteous, and at times captivating.  He commanded entire confidence, not only from his profound legal knowledge, sound judgment, and impartial decisions, but from his severe integrity and the purity of his private character" (Life and Correspondence by William T. Reid).

                    Read was also described by a fellow delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as follows:  "his legal abilities are said to be very great, but his powers of oratory are fatiguing and tiresome to the last degree; his voice is feeble and his articulation so bad that few can have patience to attend him."

                    "Historians like John Munroe have generally recognized that all in all, Read was the dominating figure in Delaware politics during his career, directly or indirectly providing consistent and reliable leadership to the new state."

                    Stonum, the home of George Read, is now a historic landmark.  His son, George Read II, built the house that is currently on The Strand in New Castle.  This house is owned by the Delaware Historical Society, restored and opened to the public.  His legacy includes a school in New Castle and a dorm at the University of Delaware named for him.

                    The following is written on the tombstone of George Read:  "George Read born A.D. 1732, Died 21 Sept. 1798, Member of the Congress of the Revolution, the Convention that framed the Constitution of the U.S. and of the first Senate under it, Judge of the Admiralty, President and Chief Justice of Delaware, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence…."

Thomas Stone

Thomas Stone, signer of the Declaration of Independence, apparently lived an obscure life except when duty to the cause of liberty called. He had an unassuming manner and applied his time and energy to his domestic life. He apparently did not keep a journal or other personal records. What little we know about him came from fragments of information scattered among the public records and testimonies of surviving family members, friends and other patriots.

Stone was born in 1743 at the Pointoin Manor in Maryland. He received a good education according to English standards, including some knowledge about the classics, before embarking on a study of the law at age twenty-one. There is no record of the place where he first practiced law, but it is assumed that he started in Annapolis.

Even though Thomas did not have much personal fame, he readily joined the patriots' cause of liberty and was very active in the movement even before he was elected to the General Congress in 1774 as one of Maryland's first five delegates. After performing his duties in the Congress, which lasted fifty-two days, he went home to retire from public life. His fellow citizens apparently liked what they saw in 1774 because Thomas was elected to the General Congress of 1775.

The majority of residents of Maryland opposed even the thought of political independence from England and instructed their delegates to vote against any petitions calling for independence. When the restriction was finally removed six weeks later in June, 1776, Thomas Stone and other delegates from Maryland were ready to vote for and sign the Declaration of Independence. An important note: Stone and other delegates from Maryland were unanimously re-elected to the Congress on July 4, 1776, the very day that the Declaration of Independence was accepted.

Stone did not become a prominent member of Congress, but he was very useful to that body of patriots because of his good common sense and his unrelenting willingness to labor for the cause of liberty. He was a member of the committee with the responsibility to write the Articles of Confederation, adopted in November, 1777. He was elected to Congress again in 1777 but retired from it in 1778 in order to become a member of the Maryland Legislature. Maryland, with strong principles for state rights and independence, did not accept the idea of a general political union with Congress as the head until 1781 when it accepted the Articles of Confederation.

Thomas returned to the General Congress in 1783 and was present when General George Washington resigned his military commission and returned military power to the Congress. Thomas was appointed President of Congress, pro tempore, in 1784 and might have remained in that important position, the highest office attained through the vote of the people, except his personal modesty stopped him. When Congress adjourned, he returned to his home and law profession at Port Tobacco where he died on October 5, 1787, at age 45.

Facts are from Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, pp. 151-153.

Sarah Franklin Bache

Sarah Franklin, daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read Franklin, was born in 1774, and she was "carefully educated by her father." She was apparently plain in looks but had a delightful sense of humor and wit; these qualities along with her "good nature and kindliness" made her one of the most popular women in Philadelphia.

There is little written about her childhood and youth. She was 20 years old when Benjamin was sent to England to represent the Province of Pennsylvania. Some people from Pennsylvania disagreed about Benjamin's appointment and apparently made some statements about him in Christ Church, which the Franklin family attended. Sarah "was indignant and made no attempt to hide here feelings at this `outrage against decency and the feelings of her family,' and threatened to leave the church and the congregation.

Her father was on his way to England and wrote to her from Reedy Island in November 1764: "Go constantly to the church, whoever preaches. The act of devotion in the common prayer book is your principal business there; and if properly attended to will do more toward amending the heart than sermons can do; for they were composed by men of much greater piety and wisdom than our common composers of sermons pretend to be; and therefore I prefer you would never miss the prayer days. Yet I do not mean that you should despise sermons, even of preachers you dislike, for the discourse is often much sweeter than the man, as sweet and clear waters come through very dirty earth. I am more particular on this head, as you seemed to express, a little before I left, some inclination to leave our church, which I would not have you do."

There was a "delightful yet respectful affection and intimacy" between Sarah Franklin and her father. She wrote many letters to him while he served his country in England and later in France.

Sarah - or Sally as she referred to herself - married Richard Bache, a merchant in Philadelphia, in October 1767. Bache moved from Yorkshire, England, to the Colony several years before the wedding. Sarah and Richard lived with her mother until Mrs. Franklin's death. Sarah and Richard were parents of eight children, one of which died in childhood.

When Benjamin Franklin was appointed as Minister to France in October 1775, he took his eldest grandson, Temple Bache, to France with him to begin his education. Sarah wrote to her father on February 23, 1777, "We have been impatiently waiting to hear of your arrival for some time. It was seventeen weeks yesterday since you left us - a day I shall never forget. How happy we shall all be to hear you are all safe arrived and well…."

Soon after Benjamin and Temple left Philadelphia, the Bache family had to leave town because the British army had marched through New Jersey and was approaching Philadelphia. The family were able to move back home a short time after she wrote to her father but had to leave town again later. She wrote to her father on July 14, 1778, "Once more I have the happiness of addressing you from this dearly loved city, after having been kept out of it more than nine months. … I found your house and furniture in much better order than I had reason to expect from such a rapacious crew…." Major Andre' was quartered in Franklin's home during the British occupation of the city and apparently took a number of items when he left.

Depreciation in Continental currency was prevalent. Sarah wrote to her father in a "spirit of amused levity" that "she has to send her servant to market `with two baskets, one to hold her purchases and the other to carry the money with which to pay for them.'"

Sarah belong to a "movement of the patriotic ladies of Philadelphia in 1780" who furnished "food and clothing for destitute soldiers." They would collect contributions and then distribute the funds. They considered the idea of giving each soldier "a hard dollar," but General George Washington suggested that the men needed clothing, particularly shirts, more than money. The women used the money to buy fabric from which they made 2200 shirts. The shirts were cut out at Sarah's home.

A M. de Marbois wrote to Dr. Franklin the next year to share his feelings about Sarah: "If there are in Europe any women who need a model of attachment to domestic duties and love for their country, Mrs. Bache may be pointed out to them as such. She passed a part of last year in exertions to rouse the zeal of the Pennsylvania ladies, and she made on the occasion such a happy use of the eloquence which, you know, she possesses, that a large part of the American army was provided with shirts bought with their money or made by their hands. In her application for this purpose, she showed the most indefatigable zeal, the most unwearied perseverance, and a courage in asking, which surpassed even the obstinate reluctance of the Quakers in refusing."

After an absence of seven years, Benjamin returned from the Court of France in September 1785. He spent his remaining years with Sarah and her family. Sarah and her husband traveled to England in 1792 for about a year. Two years later, Richard retired from his business and bought a farm located on the Delaware River about 16 miles from Philadelphia. They lived on their farm for about 13 years before moving back to Philadelphia to obtain better medical care for Sarah. She was diagnosed as having cancer, and she passed away in October 1808 at age 64.

Facts and quotes are from Wives of the Signers: The women behind the Declaration of Independence, pp.179-192.

Oliver Wolcott

Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, on November 26, 1726. Oliver's father, Roger Wolcott, distinguished himself by becoming a major general, a judge, lieutenant governor, and finally governor of the state of Connecticut.

The family name of Wolcott was found among the early settlers of Connecticut. Oliver's English ancestor was Henry Wolcott, who arrived in America in 1630 and first settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He moved to Windsor, Connecticut, in 1636 with several associates to form a settlement there. He was one of the men involved in organizing the Connecticut government and obtaining a charter from King Charles II.

Oliver was 17 years old when he enrolled at Yale College. Four years later he graduated and was commissioned as a captain in the Army. He raised a company of soldiers for the French and Indian War and led them to confront the enemy in the northern frontier. He was regularly promoted from captain to major general and returned home after the hostilities ended.

Wolcott began a study of medicine under the direction of his uncle, Dr. Alexander Wolcott, but he interrupted his studies when he was appointed as sheriff for the newly-organized county of Litchfield.

Oliver married Laura Collins, daughter of Captain Daniel and Lois Cornwall Collins of Guilford, Connecticut, in January 1759. Roger was 33 years old at the time of the marriage, and Laura was 23 years old. Roger took his bride home to the town Litchfield. Five children were born to the couple, three sons and two daughters, with one son dying in infancy.

It appears that Oliver was meant to be in politics because he was elected as a member of the council of Connecticut in 1774 and was reelected annually until 1786. During the time that he served on the council, he also served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, Chief Justice of Litchfield County, and Judge of Probate for the district.

Oliver was appointed by the General Congress to be one of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs for the northern area. In this position he helped to bring about an amicable settlement between Connecticut and Pennsylvania concerning the Wyoming settlement.

Wolcott was elected as a delegate to the second General Congress near the end of 1775 and took his seat in January 1776. He took an active role in debating the independence of the Colonies; he then voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence.

Oliver returned home soon after signing the glorious document and was immediately appointed to the command of fourteen regiments of the Connecticut militia destined to defend New York. Following the battle of Long Island, he returned to Connecticut and resumed his seat in Congress in November. He was in Congress in Philadelphia when the congressional body was forced to flee to Baltimore by the approach of the British army.

Wolcott was active in recruiting soldiers during the summer of 1776 and sent several thousands of volunteers to General Putnam then camped on the Hudson River. He then took command of a group of volunteers and joined General Gates at Saratoga. He was there when Burgoyne and his army were captured in October, 1777.

Oliver soon was back in Congress - then meeting in York, Pennsylvania. George Washington and his army were at that time in Valley Forge. Oliver continued in the Congress until July, 1778. He took command of a militia division in the summer of 1779, and his company successfully defended the southwestern coast of Connecticut from the British army.

Wolcott alternated his service between civil and military duties in Connecticut until 1783 and occasionally served in Congress. He continued to serve as an Indian Agent and was one of the commissioners who issued terms of peace to the six Indian nations living in western New York.

General Wolcott was elected as the lieutenant governor of Connecticut in 1786 and was reelected every year until he was elected as governor in 1796. He was reelected as governor in 1797 and held that office when he died on December 1, 1797, at age 71. Governor Wolcott was a patriot, a statesman and a Christian; he was a man whose most prominent characteristics were virtue, piety, and integrity.

Facts for this article came from Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, pp 59-62.

Two Mrs. Hopkins

Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was married twice. He married Sarah Scott, daughter of Silvanus and Joanna Jenckes Scott, in 1726. They both descended from Quaker stock, and both of them were barely twenty years old. Sarah’s great-grandfather was Richard Scott, apparently the first man from Rhode Island to become a Quaker. Richard’s wife, Catharine Marbury, was whipped in Boston because of her stubborn resistance to religious authority. Her sister, Ann Hutchinson, was driven from Boston because of religious intolerance.

There is very little known about Sarah personally, but it is recorded that she was “a kindly, industrious, and frugal woman, a good mother and an affectionate wife” (Wives of the Signers – The women behind the Declaration of Independence, 87). She was the mother of seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood: Rufus, John, Lydia, Silvanus, and George. Her son, John, age 24, was the master of the ship Two Brothers when he died of smallpox in 1753 off the coast of Spain. His ship immediately put into port to bury him, but he was denied a Christian burial because he was a Protestant. That same year, Silvanus was a mate on a small schooner that wrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia. He attempted to return to Louisburg in an open boat but was surprised by Indians on the shore of St. Peter’s Island. His body was left on the beach. Sarah died the same year as her two sons after 27 years of marriage.

Stephen married a widow by the name of Anne Smith in 1755. The certificate bearing the signatures of the bride, groom, and witnesses is preserved in the collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society. An interesting note about Anne is that she was the daughter of Benjamin Smith of Providence and her first husband’s name was Benjamin Smith – no relation. She was also a descendant of John Smith, one of the four men who accompanied Roger Williams on his journey from Massachusetts in 1636. Anne was 38 years old when she married Stephen, and she brought three children with her – Benjamin, Ruth and Amery. Apparently, there was a wonderful relationship between Stephen and his step-children. There were a couple of marriages within the blended family: Anne’s daughter, Ruth Smith, married Sarah’s son, George Hopkins. Anne’s son, Benjamin, married Mary Tillinghast, a stepdaughter of Sarah’s daughter Lydia.

A few months after his marriage to Anne, Stephen was elected Governor of the Province. He continued serving in one political office after another until he died on July 19, 1785. Ann died about two years prior to his death.

Ann Thompson Gerry

Ann Thompson Gerry, the daughter of James Thompson, was born on August 12, 763. She was educated in Dublin, Ireland, while her two brothers were attending Edinburgh University in Scotland. Her brothers joined the British army but did not serve in America.

Ann was a young woman from a highly honored family in New York when she met Elbridge Gerry, the young delegate from Massachusetts at the Continental Congress. They married during the time he was a member in said Congress where he served almost continuously from 1776 until 1785. The couple was blessed with three sons and six daughters.

When Gerry returned to private life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and introduced his young wife, she became an instant social favorite. She did not have much time to enjoy the companionship of her husband because President John Adams sent Gerry to France to smooth relations between the two countries. Upon his return he was constantly in some office serving either his state or the nation. As he served in Congress, as governor of Massachusetts, or as Vice President of the United States, Mrs. Gerry gave cheerful and graceful support to him. A biographer for her husband wrote: “She possessed considerable force of character and a dignified and gentle manner and, although an invalid, she personally superintended the education and religious training of her children and inspired them with a strong affection and reverence for herself which was evidenced by their devotion to her in her later years in New Haven” (Wives of the Signers – The women behind the Declaration of Independence, p 84).

Elbridge Gerry died suddenly on November 23, 1814, while serving in the office of Vice President and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery. Elbridge had inherited a large fortune from his father but apparently sacrificed most of it in serving the cause of liberty. Ann disposed of the beautiful family home in Cambridge after the death of her husband. She settled in New Haven where she died on March 17, 1849 and was buried in the Old Cemetery. The inscription on her tombstone reads: “Born August 23, 1783; died March 17, 1849, Ann, the widow of Elbridge Gerry, Vice-President of the U.S. His name is immortalized on the Declaration of his country’s Independence, hers in the transcendent virtues of domestic life. Both are embalmed in the veneration of their children” (Wives, 86).

The Gerry’s youngest daughter, Emily Louise, died in New Haven on December 28, 1894, as the last surviving daughter of a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Elbridge Gerry

Elbridge Gerry, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born on July 17, 1744, in Marblehead, Massachusetts. His father was a merchant who resolved to give his son an excellent education. Elbridge completed his preparatory studies, entered Harvard College, and graduated in 1762. He entered the business world and became both rich and esteemed by fellow citizens. He was intelligent and of good character.

Elbridge watched as the oppressions by Great Britain rapidly grew and expressed his thoughts about it fearlessly. He was elected to be a member of the General Court of the province in 1773. He showed bold, energetic, and ingenious leadership while planning operations and executed them with zeal and judiciousness. He joined John Adams and others as they worked at removing Governor Hutchinson from office because he was so obnoxious. Some letters from Governor Hutchinson to the English Ministers were instead delivered to Benjamin Franklin while he was the Colonial Agent in England. Franklin sent the letters to the General Court of Massachusetts, and the Court adopted a petition to the Ministers asking that Hutchinson be removed from office.

Gerry was active in the leading political movements leading up to the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Provincial Congress when the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought. In fact, the night before the battle, he slept in the same bed as General Warren. The next morning they parted ways – Gerry went to Congress and Warren was killed on the battle field.

Elbridge was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in January 1776 and served on several committees needing his expertise in commercial business. He supported the idea of declaring the colonials as free and independent of England, and he signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.

While Elbridge was serving in the Continental Congress he met and married Ann Thompson, a young woman from New York. The couple was blessed with three sons and six daughters.

Gerry was on a committee assigned to visit General George Washington at his Valley Forge headquarters. The report from the committee brought about more efficient ways to bring relief and support to the army. He retired from Congress in 1780, was re-elected in 1783, and retired again in 1785.

President John Adams appointed Gerry to be an envoy to the Court of France to smooth the relationship between the two countries. Upon his return from France he was nominated for the office of governor of Massachusetts. He lost the first time, but was elected the next time around. He served as governor of Massachusetts from 1810-1812.

While he was governor, Gerry's political opponents accused his party of creating unfair voting districts. The Massachusetts legislature passed a bill in 1812 that divided the state into districts for the election of state senators. This division grouped certain counties together in such a way that the Federalist Party won only a few seats while the Republican Party won many more seats. One of the districts was shaped like a mythical animal that some people thought looked like a salamander. Someone suggested that it was a gerrymander. The word became popular with the Federalist Party and later became part of the American language. The word is still used today to describe redistricting.

Gerry served as Vice President of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until he became ill and died on November 23, 1814 at age 70. He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery and has a nice monument erected by Congress.
Gerry inherited a large fortune from his father, but he sacrificed most of it in the cause of liberty. Mrs. Gerry disposed of the beautiful home in Cambridge after his death.

Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776. Those fifty-six men are among about two hundred men who are considered to be Founders of our nation. I want to know more about these brave men and the women who shared their lives and will be sharing what I learn with you in future weeks. This post will be an overview of them as a group.

The Revolutionary War began more than a year before the Declaration of Independence was written. Revolutionary events such as the Battle of Lexington, the Battle of Concord, the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen and his “Green Mountain Boys,” and the Battle of Bunker Hill all took place in 1775. Why did these men feel the need to declare independence when they did? The colonists were all British subjects who were trying to be loyal to their king while at the same time petitioning Great Britain to ease their taxes. When the king continued to increase taxes and brought more and more troops to insure payment, the signers declared they had had enough of being British subjects and wanted independence.

Who were these men who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor when they signed the Declaration of Independence? They were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing trouble makers. They were well educated men of means who were leaders in their communities. They had security, but they wanted liberty. Twenty-four of them were lawyers and jurists. Eleven of them were farmers and large plantation owners. Some of them had backgrounds in Bible study and teaching. They all wanted liberty and independence.

Five signers of the Declaration of Independence were captured by the British during the Revolutionary War, but none of them died while a prisoner. Four of them were captured as prisoners of war while in active military actions against the British. George Walton was captured after being wounded in the Battle of Savannah in December 1778. Thomas Heyward, Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge were captured at the Siege of Charleston in May 1780. None of them were tortured or treated different as prisoners because they were signers, and all of them were eventually exchanged or released. If the British considered them to be traitors, they would have been hanged.

Richard Stockton was the only signer imprisoned simply because he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was also the only signer to violate his pledge when he secured a pardon and his release from prison by recanting his signature on the Declaration and signing an oath pledging allegiance to King George III.

Several of the signers saw their homes and properties occupied, ransacked, looted, and vandalized by the British and in some cases by the Americans. The signers’ homes were not targeted for destruction, but their property was seized because it was located along the path of a war.

Abraham Clark saw two of his sons captured by the British and imprisoned on the prison ship Jersey. John Witherspoon saw his eldest son, James, killed in the Battle of Germantown in October 1777.

Nine signers died during the Revolutionary War but not from wounds or hardships inflicted on them by the British. Button Gwinnett died of wounds received in a duel in May 1777.

During the Battle of Yorktown, British General Cornwallis used the home of signer Thomas Nelson, Jr., for his headquarters. There are numerous stories behind the fact that cannon balls – either American or French – were fired on Nelson’s home at his request. The cannon balls are still embedded in the walls of the home, which is now part of Colonial National Historical Park.

You can see pictures of the signers and/or dramatizations here (Fate of Our Fathers) and here (Signers of the Declaration of Independence)
Facts in this post were checked by Snopes.com.