Geographist

To all my readers, thank you for continuing to click on the pages.  Geographist has now surpassed 90,000 views - getting close to a major milestone!  If you're new to the page, I welcome you to go back and read through some of the older content that's still available: - Our Story With God  - Boston - Success Starts Small - Geography of War - Galveston County - Diary of a Homeschool Dad

George Ross Born: May 10, 1730 (New Castle, Delaware) Died: July 14, 1779 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) This week we'll take a look at a man who once appeared on a three cent stamp to commemorate the woman his nephew married, and is perhaps best known for being related to her.  As one of sixteen children born to a Scottish Anglican minister by the name of George Aeneas Ross, George Ross' last name had come from the title his family had held since 1226 when his ancestor was named the 1st Earl of Ross by King Alexander II of Scotland.  The reverend had children with two wives, and history does not record which was the mother of young George.  Education was a family affair, as George was taught entirely at home before moving to Philadelphia to study law under his brother, John, in 1748.  Even without a college degree, George was able to join the Pennsylvania bar two years later at 20 years of age.  He decided to open his law practice in Lancaster, PA, where one of his first clients

William Paca Born: October 31, 1740 (Abingdon, Maryland)  Died: October 13,1799 (Wye Island, Maryland)  Since I made a point last week of bringing up the frequency of certain names, it seems fitting that we  now allow the men of the William contingent to catch up with Thomas as the most frequent given name among our Founding Fathers.  Our fifth member of this particular group is William Paca (pronounced PAY-kuh), who was one of seven children born to his affluent parents, John and Elizabeth Paca.  Despite having a wealthy family, William was the youngest of the two boys and was therefore not in line to inherit much of an estate.  Consequently, it was important that he receive an education and learn a vocation that would provide him the best path to become successful.  John Paca made sure that young William did receive a quality education as a child, and at the age of fifteen he entered the College of Philadelphia to study law.  He received his bachelor's degree there in 1759 and, a

William Ellery Born: December 22, 1727 (Newport, Rhode Island) Died: February 15, 1820 (Newport, Rhode Island) You've likely noticed by now that some first names were quite popular among the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  So far, for instance, we've been introduced to three men named George, four named John, and five named Thomas.  This week we'll add our fourth William to the list as we look at the second of two signers from our smallest state, Rhode Island.  William Ellery was the second son of his father, who bore the same name, and his wife Elizabeth.  The elder William was a well-educated merchant who taught his sons at home while they were children.  Young William followed in his father's footsteps by studying at Harvard, where he graduated in 1747 at the age of 19.  He returned home to Newport and immediately began working for the family business as a merchant while also becoming a colonial naval officer.  In 1750, William married a fellow Newport r

Robert Treat Paine Born: March 11, 1731 (Boston, Massachusetts) Died: May 11, 1814 (Boston, Massachusetts) This week we return to studying patriots born on the west side of the Atlantic to find out a little more about one of the Massachusetts signers.  Born as the second-youngest of five children, Robert Treat Paine was the son of a Baptist minister named Thomas Paine and his wife, Eunice.  His family tree was fairly notable, descending from a merchant named Stephen Hopkins who had initially come to the New World in 1610, then returned to England before crossing the Atlantic once more as the only passenger aboard the Mayflower  with experience in the colonies.  The young boy took his name from his maternal great-grandfather, Robert Treat, who had been the governor of Connecticut as well as founder of Newark, New Jersey.  Another ancestor, Samuel Willard, had pastored Boston's Old South Church as well as served as vice president of Harvard College.  Before Robert was old enough to s

James Wilson Born: September 14, 1742 (Fife, Scotland) Died: August 21, 1798 (Edenton, North Carolina) My mom is currently on vacation in Scotland, so I thought this week would be a fun time to delve into the history of one of our Scottish-born Founding Fathers.  Born on a farm near St. Andrews, Scotland, James Wilson was the son of William and Aleson Wilson, who seemingly had a solid reputation but were certainly not financially well-off.  Young James was a bright student who received a scholarship to the nearby University of St. Andrews, and later also took classes at Glasgow and Edinburgh, but never completed a degree due to the passing of his father in 1763 and the need to help support several members of his family.  Before long he had helped stabilize their financial situation and, having studied many of the great minds of the Scottish Enlightenment, he abandoned his plans to join the clergy and choose to travel to the American colonies to pursue mathematics and law.  James emigra

Charles Carroll Born: September 19, 1737 (Annapolis, Maryland) Died: November 14, 1832 (Baltimore, Maryland) My oldest daughter recently graduated from high school and began attending college.  Like many senior classes, hers took time to label each other with so-called "senior superlatives" that guessed what the student would become or identified a trait for which they were best-known.  This week's focus could have been tagged with many superlatives by his peers.  He was the only child of two wealthy parents, Charles Carroll of Annapolis and Elizabeth Brooke, who were not yet married due to inheritance issues.  They would not, in fact, formally wed until their son was 20 years old.  Although Maryland was founded by a Catholic man and an Anglican majority, and had passed a law as early as 1649 defending the free exercise of any Christian religion, by the middle of the 18th century Roman Catholics were denied the right to hold public office or practice certain professions. 

Joseph Hewes Born: January 23, 1730 (Princeton, New Jersey) Died: November 10, 1779 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Like many of the men who contributed to the birth of our nation, the focus of this week's study is a complex individual who seems to have had his share of personal contradictions.  Joseph Hewes was born to Aaron and Providence Hewes in their family home called Maybury Hill situated between Kingston and Princeton, NJ.  The Quaker couple, who had seemingly migrated to New Jersey from Connecticut in order to escape frequent Indian attacks as well as harsh treatment from the Puritan majority there, likely provided a strong education for young Joseph, possibly at the nearby grammar school that had been established by the Society of Friends.  Not much has been recorded about his early years, but he was accepted into the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) before moving to Philadelphia to be apprenticed to a successful merchant named Joseph Ogden.  Joseph apparentl

Lewis Morris Born: April 8, 1726 (Morrisania, New York) Died: January 22, 1798 (Morrisania, New York) Since we got to know Robert Morris last week, I thought it might be interesting to get to know another Morris this week, albeit an unrelated one.  Lewis Morris was born on the 2,000 acre estate known as Morrisania within what is currently known as the Bronx, the first son of Lewis Morris II and his wife, Katrinje.  His family was wealthy and owned a great deal of land throughout modern New York City, but were also involved in the politics of New Jersey.  The elder Lewis Morris had successfully petitioned the crown for separate rule of the two colonies, and when it was granted in 1738 Morris became the governor of New Jersey.  He was so popular that the city of Morristown was named in his honor.  Meanwhile, young Lewis was privately educated by tutors and after showing a bit of acumen as a student was enrolled at Yale in 1743 at the age of 16.  Four years later he graduated and returned

Robert Morris Born: January 20, 1734 (near Liverpool, England) Died: May 8, 1806 (Forked River, New Jersey) Many of the men who were involved in the formation of the United States were great thinkers, known for their ideas about the way individuals should act and be governed.  The focus of this week's study, however, did not necessarily fit that description and was instead a pragmatic man who believed in pursuing the path that promised opportunity and personal benefit.  Robert Morris was born near Liverpool, England, to an iron merchant of the same name and his wife, Elizabeth.  While the elder Robert traveled to the New World in 1738 shortly after the death of his wife, their son was raised by the late Elizabeth's mother for a number of years.  At the age of 14, however, young Robert traveled to Maryland to join his father, who had become quite successful as an agent for a tobacco company.  After just one year of schooling the boy was apprenticed as a clerk for a shipping comp

John Hart Born: Unknown - ca. 1713 (likely Stonington, Connecticut) Died: May 11, 1779 (Hopewell, New Jersey) This week we'll take a look at a simple man with a simple name and a simple profession who had an oversized impact on his community and nation's history.  The details of when and where John Hart were born have been lost over time, with various historians dating his birth as early as 1706.  His parents, Edward and Martha, moved into Connecticut in 1713 and had their son baptized on New Year's Eve, and this fact has led many to believe this was the actual year (but also prevents certainty regarding the correction location) of his birth.  Edward Hart had been a farmer, justice of the peace, and he raised John to follow in his footsteps.  As the young man grew into adulthood, he developed a reputation of possessing honestly and common sense, and with successful returns as a farmer he was able to acquire acreage and develop several mills.  John married his wife, Deborah,

Roger Sherman Born: April 19, 1721 (Newton, Massachusetts) Died: July 23, 1793 (New Haven, Connecticut) This week we will take a look at one of the most significant names found on the Declaration of Independence, and in doing so we'll learn about a man whose name made it onto nearly all of our young nation's most important founding documents.  Roger Sherman was born just outside of Boston, MA in 1721, the second son of a cobbler named William and his wife, Mehetabel.  While only two years old the family moved south to a town that was little more than a frontier post, and Roger grew up in a strict Puritan environment with few creature comforts as his father worked hard to succeed as a farmer.  The young boy had access to his father's library, however, and showed an understanding of numbers and a thirst for knowledge early in life that led him to trudge long distances for regular school classes at the nearest school that was built when he was 13 years old.  Shortly before Rog

John Morton Born: 1725 (Ridley Township, Pennsylvania) Died: April 1, 1777 (Ridley Township, Pennsylvania) I always want to acknowledge whenever this website's views reach a milestone because it's important for me to express my appreciation to each one of you that take time to read what I put together.  For all of you who have helped me reach 80,000 views, thank you!  If you want to reach out with a comment or suggestion, please feel free to use the contact form along the left side of the page.  Considering that we're reaching the midpoint of the year and are now halfway through our list of names on the Declaration of Independence, you might even have a say in future topics we can all explore together.  And now, as we approach the day when America celebrates each of these individuals who etched their names into the history of our nation, let us focus on another one of the men who helped give birth to the United States with a momentous decision made on July 1. Many details o

Thomas Lynch, Jr. Born: August 5, 1749 (near Georgetown, South Carolina) Died: 1779 (at sea) Our final "Junior" of June is also the first of the group who bore the same first name as his father.  Born at his family's plantation named Hopsewee along the northern bank of the North Santee River, just south of Georgetown, SC, Thomas Lynch, Jr. was the third child and only son born to Thomas and Elizabeth Lynch.  In fact, the young man's grandfather had also been named Thomas, and all three men would eventually serve South Carolina in political positions, with the elder two both holding seats in the Royal Assembly.  The younger Thomas began his education at Georgetown's Indigo Society School before being sent to England to get a more complete education.  He earned honors at both Eton College and at Cambridge before studying law at Middle Temple, where all four of South Carolina's signers had attended.  He would not pursue a legal career, however, and upon his retur

Thomas Nelson, Jr. Born: December 26, 1738 (Yorktown, Virginia) Died: January 4, 1789 (Hanover County, Virginia) Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!  This week we meet the second member of our "Thomas Junior" trio, and this one had a royal connection.  Thomas Nelson, Jr. was a direct descendent of England's King Henry III, and also the grandson of the exceptionally rich and powerful Robert "King" Carter.  He was the first of five children born to William Nelson and Elizabeth Carter, and stood to gain an enormous inheritance from his aristocratic family of planters and merchants.  Like last week's focus, Thomas Heyward, Jr., he was not named after his father but adopted the suffix to distinguish himself from his uncle of the same name.  After studying with a local reverend as a boy, Thomas set sail for England at the age of 14 to receive his formal education.  He graduated from Christ's College at Cambridge in 1761, and returned home to help