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Founding Fathers - Josiah Bartlett

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Josiah Bartlett Born: December 2, 1729 (Amesbury, MA) Died: May 19, 1795 (Kingston, NH) Welcome back from Spring Break!  This week we will look at yet another Founding Father from one of the northern colonies, Josiah Bartlett.  In fact, as a representative of New Hampshire he served the farthest north of all colonies and was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence after John Hancock.  The family of Josiah had lived near Amesbury, MA, since 1635 when his great-great-grandfather sold off his inherited land in southern England (which had been granted to his earliest documented relative, Adam Barttelot, by William the Conqueror after the Battle of Hastings in 1066) and ventured to the New World alongside his brother.  As a child, Josiah received not only the standard education from the local schoolmaster, but also learned Latin and Greek from a relative who acted as both a doctor and reverend.  While still a teenager, the boy began learning about medicine from the Amesbury
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70K and counting!

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I took off this week for Spring Break fun with the family, but wanted to say a quick thank-you to all of my readers for helping me reach 70,000 hits.  Y'all are awesome, thank you so much! 
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Founding Fathers - Francis Lewis

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Francis Lewis  Born: March 21, 1713 (Llandaff, Wales) Died: December 31, 1802 (New York City, NY) This week, as many kids start counting down the days to Spring Break (and possibly a road trip while school is out) we're going to look at someone from out of town - Francis Lewis.  In addition to being the first signer we've studied that was born outside of the American colonies, he was also someone experienced the cost of independence firsthand.  Born in southern Wales, Francis was the son of a clergyman and his wife, who was herself also the child of a clergyman, named Morgan and Anne.  After losing both parents by the age of five, and with no siblings, the young boy was raised by his wealthy, unmarried aunt.  He received his schooling in Scotland and England before joining a mercantile firm in London.  Once he was 21 years old Francis received his inheritance from his father, which he converted to marketable goods and sailed to America to run his own business.  Alongside his pa
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Founding Fathers - Richard Stockton

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Richard Stockton Born: October 1, 1730 (Princeton, NJ) Died: February 28, 1781 (Princeton, NJ) This week we will take time to look at a figure in the drama of American independence who was respected on both sides of the Atlantic - Richard Stockton.  The oldest of eight children, Richard was born to a wealthy landowner and his wife, John and Abigail.  He was initially educated in Maryland before attending the College of New Jersey, where he would graduate in 1748 at the age of 18.  Some years later, John Stockton donated land and was instrumental in relocating the college from Newark to Princeton, where it would eventually take on the name of the town and become Princeton University.  Richard continued his studies in the field of law under a notable lawyer named David Ogden, and in 1754 he was admitted to the bar.  His legal career was respected, not just in New Jersey but throughout the colonies, and he would eventually attain the highest legal degree available - Seargent-at-Law.  In 1
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Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson Born: April 14, 1743 (Shadwell, Virginia) Died: July 4, 1826 (Charlottesville, Virginia) In honor of President's Day, I am turning my attention to Thomas Jefferson, the only remaining signer to have been elected to America's top executive office (other than John Adams, who had the distinction of being studied first during our current series  here ).  Obviously our third president provided one of the most famous names to have been affixed to our founding document, and he has been one of American history's most-researched figures.  Born on a Virginia plantation to a successful surveyor and planter named Peter Jefferson and his wife, Jane Randolph, Thomas was the oldest son of the couple's ten children.  The young man was just 14 when his father died in 1757, and although he received a large portion of land as his inheritance, Jefferson seems to have a difficult relationship with his widowed mother.  He soon left home to board with his schoolmaster, Revere
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Founding Fathers - Benjamin Franklin

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Benjamin Franklin Born: January 17, 1706 (Boston, Massachusetts)  Died: April 17, 1790 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)  In honor of today's major sporting event (and because there are obviously no Founding Fathers from Kansas City) I decided to put this week's spotlight on Philadelphia's favorite son.  Benjamin Franklin's life actually began in Boston, Massachusetts, as the 10th and final son of a candle and soap maker named Josiah and his second wife, Abiah.  With parents of humble means and a total of 16 siblings, the young man was unable to have sufficient schooling to achieve his father's dream of him going into ministry.  With an older brother already established as a printer, however, Benjamin was apprenticed at the age of 12 to follow in his footsteps.  Three years later that older brother, James, founded a newspaper named The New England Courant, the first of its kind in Massachusetts and one of the first throughout the American colonies.  Young Benjamin was pr
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Founding Fathers - Francis Lightfoot Lee

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Francis Lightfoot Lee Born: October 14, 1734 (Westmoreland County, VA) Died: January 11, 1797 (Richmond County, VA) While the Adams boys of Massachusetts may have been the most famous family members to have signed the Declaration of Independence, Virginia boasts the only pair of brothers to have affixed their signatures.  This week we'll look at Francis Lightfoot Lee, the younger of the two, who was known to family and friends throughout his life as Frank.  Born on the Lee family plantation known as Stratford Hall near the Potomac River in a section of Virginia known as the Northern Neck, Francis was the seventh child of 11 born to Thomas and Hannah Lee.  After both parents had died by the time Francis was 16, his oldest brother determined that the young man would remain a planter on the land he had inherited, and that he would not travel to England for formal education as his three older brothers had.  He completed his studies at home under his tutor, a Scottish minister by the na
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Founding Fathers - William Williams

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William Williams Born: April 8, 1731 (Lebanon, CT) Died: August 2, 1811 (Lebanon, CT) I'll be honest, I picked this week's focus because his repetitive name caught my attention.  William Williams was born in 1731 to a popular Congregationalist minister and his wife, Solomon and Mary Williams, in the small town of Lebanon.  Young William would ultimately call Lebanon his home for the rest of his life.  Wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, he studied for the ministry but also earned a law degree from Harvard, the college where both his father and grandfather had graduated, in 1751 at the age of 20.  William then returned home and began serving as the town clerk the following year, while also continuing his pastoral training under the instruction of his father.  Within three years, however, his plans were sidetracked with the start of the French and Indian War and his enlistment with the British colonial forces.  His uncle, Ephraim, served as a colonel of a Massachuset
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Founding Fathers - George Walton

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George Walton Born: ?? (Farmville, VA) Died: February 2, 1804 (Augusta, GA) As you can see from the information above, there is a bit of mystery about this week's subject - George Walton.  The details of his birth are unclear, with some believing he was born as early as 1740 or 1741 and others thinking date of 1749 or 1750 is more accurate.  If the latter time frame is to be believed, then George Walton may be the youngest man to sign the Declaration of Independence.  That would be the second superlative of his, since his name is also the very last alphabetically.  He was born somewhere near Farmville, Virginia, but the exact location is unknown and has been attributed to both Cumberland County to the north of town as well as Prince Edward County, which includes the center of town and those areas to the south.  While he was still very young George was orphaned upon the death of both parents, and he was taken in by an uncle to be raised in a household of 13 children.  This uncle was
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Founding Fathers - John Hancock

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John Hancock Born: January 23, 1737 (Braintree, MA) Died: October 8, 1793 (Boston, MA) For several weeks we've learned more about some of the signers who do not have a significant measure of modern notoriety.  Today, however, I want to study a man who seemingly everyone has heard of.  The name "John Hancock" has become synonymous with signatures in the United States, due to the bombastic style of his writing at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence, but his story his somewhat less known despite the several important roles he played.  Like Samuel Adams, whose life we explored at the beginning of our journey through the biographies of America's Founding Fathers, John Hancock was born in the city of Braintree, MA, although the exact address is now within the modern city of Quincy.  His parents were a minister named John and his previously-widowed wife Mary, but they did not guide his life nearly as much as his uncle and aunt, Thomas and Lydia Hancock, who took hi
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Founding Fathers - William Hooper

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William Hooper Born: June 28, 1742 (Boston, MA) Died: October 14, 1790 (Hillsborough, NC) Until now, all of the signers that we have studied could perhaps be considered lifetime locals - each was born in the state he would represent, and each would eventually die there as well.  This week we look at the first of our movers and shakers that was literally a mover - William Hooper.  Born in Boston, MA, William was the oldest of five children born to a Scottish minister and his wife, William and Mary.  The elder William initially immigrated to the Massachusetts colony as a member of the Congregationalist denomination, but eventually became an Episcopalian and therefore had to cross the Atlantic to study in London prior to his new ordination.  Such devotion to faith led the father to plan for his son to follow in his footsteps, and the younger William was educated at the Boston Latin School before moving on to Harvard.  Much to his parents' dismay, however, Hooper was more interested in
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Founding Fathers - Caesar Rodney

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Caesar Rodney Born: October 7, 1728 (Dover, DE) Died: June 26, 1784 (Dover, DE) Happy 2023, and welcome back to the Geographist blog!  To kick off the new year, I wanted to start with someone who may not be well-known but who is certainly an important figure in our nation's history: Caesar Rodney.  Born on an 800 acre farm to a successful family in Delaware, he was the oldest of two children and was named for his father.  At the age of 14 Caesar was sent to nearby Philadelphia to study before his father died two years later.  From that point on he was in charge of his family's estate, although he was for a time under the guardianship of Nicholas Ridgely, who was serving Delaware as a Supreme Court Justice.  As he entered adulthood he embodied several contrasts.  His studies had been interrupted and he was not considered one of the intellectual scholars that typically engaged in politics, but he was nevertheless widely regarded as possessing significant wit, humor, and political
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The Most Wonderful Time of Year

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I hope all of my readers have had a wonderful Christmas season.  My usual posts will return on January 1 once I return from a short trip to celebrate my 20th anniversary with Mrs. Geographist.  Here's wishing you all a tremendous 2023 as the new year is fast approaching - may it be your best yet and the worst from here on out!
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Founding Fathers - Samuel Chase

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Samuel Chase Born: April 17, 1741 (Princess Anne, MD) Died: June 19, 1811 (Baltimore, MD) This week we will introduce ourselves to Samuel Chase, a native resident and representative of Maryland, who had a colorful and perhaps checkered life.  Born just outside of the town of Princess Anne, Samuel's parents had been married for just over a year when he was born.  His father, Thomas, had studied medicine at Cambridge before choosing the Anglican priesthood for his vocation, but he was nevertheless unable to save his wife, Matilda, who died during childbirth.  Samuel was raised and educated by his father, and by the age of 18 had moved to Baltimore to study law.  Despite an apprenticeship with a law firm, his financial resources were limited even as he began to gain acceptance in social circles.  He was admitted to the bar in 1761, married his wife Anne in 1762, had his first daughter in 1763, and was elected to Maryland's General Assembly in 1764 at the age of 23.  As a young att
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Founding Fathers - Carter Braxton

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Carter Braxton Born: September 10, 1736 (King and Queen County, VA) Died: October 10, 1797 (Richmond, VA) This week we'll take a sharp departure from the life of John Adams, a well-known patriot who enjoyed success and fame after the American Revolution, and focus on a lesser-known signer named Carter Braxton whose story could hardly be more different.  The second son of George Braxton and his wife, Mary, the young child was surrounded by wealth and elite societal position from birth.  While his father had parlayed land grants into success as a planter, it was his maternal grandfather that had gained nearly-unparalleled wealth as a merchant.  Robert Carter, who had earned the nickname "King" from his fellow Virginians, was one of the richest residents and land owners in the American colonies.  But while Braxton was not lacking for money he was no stranger to loss.  His mother died immediately after he was born and his father only survived until he was 13 years old.  As an
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