Geographist

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...

Thomas Heyward, Jr. Born: July 28, 1746 (St. Luke's Parish, South Carolina) Died: March 6, 1809 (St. Luke's Parish, South Carolina) This week I decided to have fun with some word play, and since it's June it seemed like a good time to look at signers who had a "Junior" at the end of their names (June...Junior...get it?).  After browsing through all of the names, I came across the fun fact that all three men who signed that suffix also had their first name in common - they were all named Thomas.  So today we're going to dive into the first member of the group, South Carolina's Thomas Heyward, Jr.  Yet another interesting bit of information regarding the subject of our study, however, was the fact that his father's name was Daniel - young Thomas tagged the Junior onto the end of his name later in life to distinguish himself from his uncle.  He was born on the family plantation, named Old House, several miles north of Savannah, Georgia, where his father h...

Lyman Hall Born: April 12, 1724 (Wallingford, Connecticut)  Died: October 19, 1790 (Burke County, Georgia)  This week, as we continue to study the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, our attention settles on the third member of the Georgia delegation.  Like so many others who were instrumental in our nation's birth and development, Lyman Hall was a man who was willing to change and move to accomplish his purposes.  Born in the spring of 1724 to a minister and his wife, John and Mary Hall, Lyman was a fifth-generation citizen of Connecticut.  He received a quality education, not just from Yale where he studied medicine and graduated in 1747, but also from his uncle Samuel, from whom he was mentored in theology.  Lyman initially followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle to become a Congregational minister in Bridgeport, CT, but in 1751 he was found to have engaged in immoral behavior.  He was removed from his position, but after a hea...

William Whipple Born: January 14, 1730 (Kittery, Massachusetts - now part of Maine) Died: November 28, 1785 (Portsmouth, New Hampshire) On this Memorial Day weekend, I first want to pause and remember those brave souls who served their countries with everything they had.  Every one of us who lives in a land of freedom does so because of the sacrifice of others who gave up their chance at having such a life.  We owe them so much more than our gratitude, but we should certainly give that freely whenever the opportunity presents itself.  Thank you. This week we will meet our third William in this series that focuses on signers of the Declaration of Independence, and with the military emphasis of the holiday I thought it would be fitting to select a Founding Father who proudly wore the uniform of his nation.  Therefore we get to meet William Whipple who was born in modern-day Maine, although it was then part of the Massachusetts colony.  The town of Kittery was a po...

Edward Rutledge Born: November 23, 1749 (Charleston, South Carolina) Died: January 23, 1800 (Charleston, South Carolina) This week we return our focus to the gentlemen who signed the Declaration of Independence by traveling once again to one of the southern colonies.  As the last of seven children born to a wealthy aristocrat named Dr. John Rutledge and his wife, Sarah, Edward Rutledge got used to being the youngest early in life.  His father had immigrated to South Carolina from Ireland some 14 years before Edward's birth, and as a young man he was educated by a private tutor named David Smith before eventually following his older brothers to study in England.  Like two of those older brothers, one named John after their father and the other named Hugh, Edward chose to study law and after graduating from Oxford he was admitted to the English bar in 1772 at the age of 22.  The following year he returned to Charleston to begin his legal practice alongside his partner,...

Mary Katharine Goddard Born: June 16, 1738 (New London, Connecticut) Died: August 12, 1816 (Baltimore, Maryland) Happy Mother's Day!  In honor of the special women in each of our lives, I thought it would be interesting to take a slight detour from our usual study and look at the only woman's name to have found its way onto the Declaration of Independence.  While not a voting member of the Continental Congress nor a signer, Mary Katharine Goddard was nevertheless an important figure during the birth of our nation.  Born in New London, Connecticut, Mary was the oldest child of Dr. Giles Goddard, who served as the town's postmaster, and his wife, Sarah.  She had a brother who was two years younger, William, who became an apprentice in the printing trade while he was young.  Upon the death of Dr. Goddard in 1762 his widow and daughter relocated to Providence, Rhode Island where William had opened up his own printing office with the financial support of his mother....

George Wythe Born: ??, 1726 (Hampton, Virginia) Died: June 8, 1806 (Richmond, Virginia) I never cease to be amazed whenever my website hits a new milestone in visitors, and this week it surpassed 75,000.  That's such a staggering number to my imagination, so thank you all for clicking on the links and checking in from time to time.  This week we're turning our attention to a man who was among the most well-respected and accomplished signers of the Declaration, George Wythe.  Born on the farm that had been in the family for three generations, named Chesterville, he was the second of Thomas and Margaret Wythe's three children.  His father was a planter and had an ownership interest in the wharf at Hampton, the nearest town and largest port in Virginia, but he died when George was just three years old.  Margaret was more highly educated than many women of the time and taught him well from the classics, while also engraining her Quaker beliefs into the young boy....

Thomas Stone Born: 1743 (Welcome, MD) Died: October 5, 1787 (Alexandria, VA) For this week's post, I decided to let my youngest daughter (long-time readers will remember her as Whirly) pick which signer we should learn about next.  After a quick review of the available names she selected Thomas Stone from Maryland, so here we go.  While the month and day of his birth may never have been recorded, history tells us that this young man was born at his family's home named Poynton Manor at the southern end of the colony.  The estate had originally been given to his grandfather, William Stone, in 1654 after his notable service as the governor of Maryland under Lord Baltimore.  Young Thomas was therefore born to a respected family, the second son of David and Elizabeth Stone.  His education did not come easily, however, as he had to ride his horse over 10 miles each day to study under his tutor, named Mr. Blaizedel, before having to borrow money to continue his pursuit...

Button Gwinnett Born: c. 1735 (Down Hatherley, England) Died: May 19, 1777 (St. Catherine's Island, GA) This week we look at one of the Founding Fathers who, quite frankly, seemed to struggle greatly at achieving much in the way of noteworthy success.  Born on the outskirts of Gloucester in western England to a Welsh clergyman and his English wife, Samuel and Anne, Button Gwinnett's actual date of birth was never recorded.  When he was baptized at St. Catherine's Church (remember that name, it will come up again later) on April 10, 1735, he may have been as old as three years of age.  The young man's unusual first name came from an affluent relative named Barbara Button, who was his mother's cousin and became the godmother for her namesake.  Button received a reasonably good education in Gloucester before moving to Bristol to begin a career as a merchant.  While there he met and married Ann Bourne, the daughter of a business partner, and the couple had three dau...

George Clymer  Born: March 16, 1739 (Philadelphia, PA) Died: January 24, 1813 (Morrisville, PA) Happy Easter!  I hope you've enjoyed your holiday weekend and are ready to settle in for a look at another one of America's Founding Fathers.  This week we'll look at another delegate from Pennsylvania, and the first that has hailed from the largest city at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia.  George Clymer was the child of a sea captain named Christopher Clymer and his wife, Deborah.  When both parents died - his father while George was just a year old, followed by his mother at some unknown date before his 7th birthday - the boy was adopted by his mother's sister and her husband, William Coleman, and raised to be a merchant.  His education was informal but apparently of considerable quality, and he was apprenticed in an accounting house to prepare for his mercantile career.  He married Elizabeth Meredith, the daughter ...

Arthur Middleton Born: June 26, 1742 (Charleston, SC) Died: January 1, 1787 (Charleston, SC) This week we'll look at the story behind one of South Carolina's Founding Fathers, Arthur Middleton.  As the oldest child of wealthy English parents, Henry and Mary Middleton, young Arthur was privately tutored until being sent to England at the age of 12 to study.  He received his education at the best schools, including Harrow, Westminster, and St. John's College (Cambridge), before pursuing legal training at London's Middle Temple.  He traveled throughout Europe before returning home to South Carolina in 1763 at the age of 21.  The following year he married Mary Izard and settled into his family's home along Charleston's Ashley River, known as Middleton Place.  They would eventually have nine children together. Given his wealth, Arthur Middleton was free to pursue politics early in life.  Both his father, Henry Middleton, as well as Mary's father, Walter Izard, h...

Stephen Hopkins Born: March 7, 1707 (Providence, RI) Died: July 13, 1785 (Providence, RI) For our fifteenth entry among the Founding Fathers we'll look at a patriot with the shakiest signature from the smallest state in the union - Stephen Hopkins.  Born in a part of town that would later separate from Providence and instead become known as the town of Scituate, he was the second of nine children in his home and descended from a family that had been among the original settlers of Rhode Island.  His parents, William and Ruth Hopkins, and other family members helped to educate young Stephen because there were no schools in the area, and he was drawn to reading at an early age while learning the skills necessary to work as a farmer and surveyor.  In 1726, while still at the age of 19, he married Sarah Scott and the couple would go on to have seven children together.  Five years later the township of Scituate was officially formed and he participated in public life for t...

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 me...

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! 

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 busine...