Lesser-Known Founding Fathers: The Signers Behind the Big Names
Some of the Founding Fathers are well-known. However, many who signed the Declaration of Independence are less well known, yet were essential to the founding of the United States. This article will list some of the less well-known signatories. However, the assumption is that if you signed the Declaration of Independence, you were an important Founding Father.
One thing that is very important to note at the outset is that these men, and they were all men, primarily identified with their home state. Therefore, the signatories will be listed by state, and there will be a brief description of these men will be given. Can you name all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence?
Some of the Lesser-Known Founding Fathers
One thing that must be understood at the outset is that the Founding Fathers were taking a massive risk. They were telling arguably the most powerful empire in the history of the world to go screw itself. For that reason, all of these men are heroes, even the least well-known ones.
Josiah Bartlett
Josiah Bartlett was a physician from Massachusetts who represented New Hampshire. Many families were big at that time. He had 10 children. He was the governor of New Hampshire. He also served on what would become that state’s Supreme Court. He practiced medicine for 40 years.
His portrait hangs in the New Hampshire statehouse, and he has a bronze statue of himself in Amesbury, Massachusetts. He is perhaps best known as the relative of a fictional American president, Josiah Bartlett, who was the president in the 1999-2006 NBC drama “The West Wing.”
Abraham Clark
Abraham Clark was a lawyer and surveyor from New Jersey. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives in the second and third congresses, and he died in 1794. He had another big family with 10 children.
He originally opposed independence from Great Britain. He eventually came around, and at one point, two of his sons were even captured and held on the British prison ship HMS Jersey, where they suffered greatly. The British offered to free them if he renounced the Declaration, but he refused. They were freed, though, only after the war had ended. Clark went on to a productive political career. He died of sunstroke.
Elbridge Gerry
Elbridge Gerry was one of the Founding Fathers from Massachusetts. He was just 32 years old when he signed the Declaration of Independence and was a merchant. He became the fifth vice president of the United States under James Madison. He ran unsuccessfully to be the Governor of Massachusetts, and finally won in 1810. He died in 1814.
His name is where the word gerrymandering comes from. During his second term as the Governor of Massachusetts, the State Senate approved a plan to make several new districts. Ironically, he lost the next election. He was then nominated and elected vice president. He was old and ill. He served in that capacity for only 21 months.
Thomas Heyward Jr.
Thomas Heyward Jr. was one of the Founding Fathers from South Carolina and was a plantation owner and a lawyer. His claim to fame was being imprisoned by the British for almost a year. During his long imprisonment, he lost all of his slaves. He had a considerable number, which was a significant economic loss. For this reason, he was known as a martyr of the revolution.
He is noteworthy for his heirs. He was married twice, both times to women named Elizabeth. He had four children in total who survived into adulthood. Notable descendants include DuBose Heyward, who wrote a novel called “Porgy,” which later became the play “Porgy and Bess.”
Phillip Livingston
Philip Livingston was one of the Founding Fathers from New York. His mother was the daughter of the mayor of New York, and his wife, Cristina, was the great-granddaughter of the mayor of Albany. In all, he and his wife had nine children, including a son, Henry Philip Livingston, who was the Commander of George Washington’s life guard.
He was a Founding Father who graduated from Yale University. He did sign the Declaration of Independence, but he died young and before he could do much else. He died suddenly while attending the sixth session of Congress. That was so sudden before he could accomplish other things.
Dr. Benjamin Rush
Dr Benjamin Rush was a doctor from Pennsylvania. He is of interest because he is the only medical doctor to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was also the founder of Dickinson College. His status as a medical doctor earned him some powerful positions among the Founding Fathers.
One such position was that he was the Surgeon General of the Middle Department of the Continental Army. He later became a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
Edward Rutledge
Edward Rutledge was a Founding Father with a unique distinction; he was the youngest one to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was just 26 years old. He later served as the governor of South Carolina.
One of his most unpleasant distinctions was that he worked to have African Americans expelled from the Continental Army. They were an important part of that army, and George Washington could rely upon them.
James Smith
James Smith was a lawyer born in Northern Ireland who settled in Pennsylvania. In fact, Western Pennsylvania, at that time, was the frontier of the American Republic, and Smith served in a vital profession as a surveyor.
He was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army and later served in the Pennsylvania state house. His office was burned in 1805, and his correspondence and papers were lost.
George Walton
George Walton was a lawyer from Georgia. He later served as the Governor and a Senator from the southern state. In the Revolutionary War, he was injured when he was hit by a musket ball and fell off his horse. He was captured by the British. He was a United States senator.
Conclusion
Those are some of the lesser-known signers of the Declaration of Independence. Because they risked everything to sign that document, they are all Founding Fathers. It is important to know who these guys are.
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