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Meet the Signers of the Declaration of Independence: DELAWARE
- Jul 3, 2009 at 2:06 PM
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George Read
1733-1798
Representing Delaware at the Continental Congress
| Born: | September 18, 1733 |
| Birthplace: | North East, Maryland |
| Education: | Private school - Chester Pennsylvania, Philadelphia College, Law studies (Judge) |
| Work: | Admitted to Philadelphia Bar, 1753; Attorney General (in Delaware), 1761; Member of Delaware Committee of Correspondence, 1774; Elected to Continental Congress, 1774-1776; Member of Delaware Constitutional Convention, 1776; Acting Governor of Delaware, 1777; Judge, Court of Appeals, 1780; State Senator 1791, 92; Chief Justice of the State of Delaware, 1793-98. |
| Died: | September 21, 1798 |
George Read was born on his family farm near North East, Cecil County, Maryland in 1733. He attended a school in Chester, Pennsylvania then the Philadelphia Academy under Doctor Allison at New London. At fifteen he graduated and proceeded to study law at the office of John Moland in Philadelphia. He was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1753. He moved to New Castle Delaware to establish a new practice the following year. He established quite a reputation there and was appointed Attorney-general to three Delaware counties, an office which he resigned in 1774 when he was elected to the first Continental Congress. In 1764, the period leading up to the stamp act protests, Read had joined the Delaware Committee of Correspondence and was active in the patriot movement. At the Continental Congress he found Lee's Resolution for Independence to be too hasty and voted against it. When it was adopted, however, he joined the majority in working toward independence.
In 1776 Read was called upon to join the Constitutional Convention in Delaware, where he served as president of the committee that drafted the document. In 1777 the British captured Delaware governor John McKinly and Read took over as governor in the emergency. He lead the state through the crisis of the war, raising money, troops, and supplies for the defense of his state.
In 1779 he suffered a bout of poor health and had to retire from official duties. He recovered, however, and was appointed Judge in Court of Appeals in admiralty cases three years later. Read went on to be twice elected State Senator under the new constitution, and later still was appointed Chief Justice of the State of Delaware. He served in that office until his death in 1798.
Caesar Rodney
1728-1784
Representing Delaware at the Continental Congress
| Born: | October 7, 1728 |
| Birthplace: | Dover, Delaware |
| Education: | Informal (Judge) |
| Work: | Commissioned High Sheriff of Kent County, 1755; Elected to Colonial Assembly, 1758-70, 1771-76; Delegate to the Stamp Act Congress, 1765; Member of the Delaware Committee of Correspondence, 1765; Elected to Continental Congress, 1774-76, 77; Military Leader, 1774-77, Elected President of the State of Delaware, 1778-80; Member of the Upper House of the State Assembly, 1776-84; |
| Died: | June 29, 1784 |
Caesar Rodney was born on his father's farm near Dover, Delaware, in October of 1728. He was tutored by his parents and may have attended a local Parson's school, but received no formal education. His father died when Caesar was 17. He was placed in the guardianship of Nicholas Ridgely who was a clerk of the peace in Kent county, and this seems to be the root of Rodney's life in politics. In 1755, under the royal government, Rodney was commissioned High Sheriff of Kent County Delaware. This was quite a distinction for a man twenty-two years of age and he apparently honored the distinction, for in succeeding years his official capacities grew to include registrar of wills, recorder of deeds, clerk of the orphan's court, and justice of the peace. At age thirty he attained his first elected office as a representative in the colonial legislature at Newcastle. He served in that position, reelected each year except 1771, until the legislature was dissolved in 1776-and then resumed the seat as a representative to the Upper House of the State of Delaware until 1784.
Rodney was a leading patriot in his colony, a member of the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, a formative member of the Delaware Committee of Correspondence, a military leader in the colonial militia, and a delegate to the Continental Congress from formation until 1777. The following year he was elected President of the State of Delaware for a three year term, a duty that he assumed even as he served as Major-General of the Delaware Militia. In this office he played a crucial part not only in the defense of his own colony but in support of Washington's Continental Army, for Delaware had a record of meeting or exceeding its quotas for troops and provisions throughout the revolutionary conflict. Rodney's health and strength flagged for a time. He suffered from asthma and from a cancerous growth on his face, for which he never attained proper treatment. He saw his colony through the war at the cost of personal neglect.
In 1782 he was again elected to the national Congress, but was forced to decline the office due to failing health. He nonetheless continued to serve as Speaker to the Upper House of the Delaware Assembly. He died in that office, in June of 1784.
Thomas McKean
1734-1817
Representing Delaware at the Continental Congress
| Born: | March. 19, 1734 |
| Birthplace: | New London, Pennsylvania |
| Education: | Studied under Francis Allison (Lawyer) |
| Work: | Deputy Attorney General to County Sussex 1756; Admitted to Bar of Pennsylvania Supreme Court, appointed Clerk of the Assembly of Delaware, 1757; Member of Delaware Assembly, 1762-79; Delegate to the Stamp Act Congress, 1765; Collector of Customs and Commissioner of Revenue at New Castle, 1771; Delegate to the Continental Congress, 1774-81; President of Delaware, 1776; Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, 1777-97; Governor of Pennsylvania, 1799-1812. |
| Died: | June 24, 1817 |
Thomas McKean might just represent an ideal study of how far political engagement can be carried by one man. One can scarcely believe the number of concurrent offices and duties this man performed during the course of his long career. He served three states* and many more cities and county governments, often performing duties in two or more jurisdictions, even while engaged in federal office.
Born in New London, Pennsylvania, he studied law with his cousin David Finney, and then under the eminent Francis Allison. As a student he served as the clerk of the prothonotory Court of Common Pleas for the county of New Castle, Delaware. He was admitted to the bar in Delaware before the age of 21. In 1756 he was commissioned to his first political office, that of deputy Attorney General to county Sussex, in Pennsylvania. The following year he was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and at the same time appointed clerk of the Assembly of Delaware. In 1762 the Assembly appointed him a colleague, along with Caesar Rodney, charged with revising and printing the laws of the province of Delaware. Later that year he was elected a delegate to the Assembly, and was re-elected for seventeen years despite a six year residence outside the commonwealth, in Philadelphia. At the behest of the Assembly he served as a trustee of the provincial loan office from 1764 to 1772. In 1775 he was the delegate for Delaware at the Stamp Act Congress in New York. In 1771 he was appointed collector of customs and commissioner of revenue at New Castle. In 1772 to was chosen Speaker of the Assembly of Delaware. Beginning in 1774 he attended the Continental Congress where he served on the national council throughout the Revolutionary War. He also served on the committee to draw up the Articles of Confederation, was commissioned a colonel in the New Jersey militia, and served as President of the newly independent Delaware. In 1777, still serving in the Congress under the articles of Confederation, he was appointed Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, an office that he held for nearly twenty years. He was elected President of Congress in 1781. In 1787 he attended the ratifying convention for the new Federal Constitution in Pennsylvania. In 1789 he played a role in amending the constitution of Pennsylvania. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania on the Federalist ticket in 1799. Political enemies tried to impeach him, but were unable to prove any wrong-doing. He filled that office by popular re-election for nine years, retiring in 1812. He died on June 24, 1817 at the age of 83.
*Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. Pennsylvania and Delaware were not fully distinct colonies until 1776. From 1701 to 1776, both existed under a common executive, but had separate
http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/signers/index.htmlegislatures.
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It is important to be reminded of our country's history. I found this about my ancestor William Ellery at the link.
My dd's middle name is Ellery in his honor. She'll be relieved to see such a flattering picture of him. :-)
William Ellery+
1727-1820
Representing Rhode Island at the Continental Congress
February 15, 1820
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