John Hancock - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

Independent Chronicle (Boston), November 2, 1780, last page; see also Abram English Brown, John Hancock, His Book (Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1898), p. 269

"Sensible of the importance of Christian piety and virtue to the order and happiness of a state, I cannot but earnestly commend to you every measure for their support and encouragement. ... [T]he very existence of the republics... depend much upon the public institutions of religion."

Hancock's October 5, 1791 Thanksgiving proclamation

"[...]that all may bow to the Scepter of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the whole Earth be filled with his Glory."

Tibits

Full 1791 Massachusetts Thanksgiving Proclamation
From Wallbuilders

By His Excellency

John Hancock, Esq.

GOVERNOR of the COMMONWEALTH

of Massachusetts

A PROCLAMATION

For a Day of Public Thanksgiving.

IN consideration of the many undeserved Blessings conferred upon us by GOD, the Father of all Mercies; it becomes us not only in our private and usual devotion, to express our obligations to Him, as well as our dependence upon Him; but also specially to set a part a Day to be employed for this great and important Purpose:

I HAVE therefore thought fit to appoint, and by the advice and consent of the Council, do hereby accordingly appoint, THURSDAY, the seventeenth of November next, to be observed as a Day of Public THANKSGIVING and PRAISE, throughout this Commonwealth:—Hereby calling upon Ministers and People of every denomination, to assemble on the said Day—and in the name of the Great Mediator, devoutly and sincerely offer to Almighty GOD, the gratitude of our Hearts, for all his goodness towards us; more especially in that He has been pleased to continue to us so a great a measure of Health—to cause the Earth plentifully to yield her increase, so that we are supplied with the Necessaries, and the Comforts of Life—to prosper our Merchandise and Fishery—And above all, not only to continue to us the enjoyment of our civil Rights and Liberties; but the great and most important Blessing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ: And together with our cordial acknowledgments, I do earnestly recommend, that we may join the penitent confession of our Sins, and implore the further continuance of the Divine Protection, and Blessings of Heaven upon this People; especially that He would be graciously pleased to direct, and prosper the Administration of the Federal Government, and of this, and the other States in the Union—to afford Hid further Smiles on our Agriculture and Fisheries, Commerce and Manufactures—To prosper our University and all Seminaries of Learning—To bless the Allies of the United States, and to afford his Almighty Aid to all People, who are virtuously struggling for the Rights of Men—so that universal Happiness may be established in the World; that all may bow to the Scepter of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the whole Earth be filled with his Glory.

And I do also earnestly recommend to the good People of this Commonwealth, to abstain from all servile Labor and Recreation, inconsistent with the solemnity of the said day.

GIVEN at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the fifth Day of October, in the year of our Lord, One Thousand seven Hundred and Ninety-One, and in the sixteenth Year of the Independence of the United States of America.

JOHN HANCOCK

By his Excellency's Command,
JOHN AVERY, jun. Secretary

GOD save the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS!!

Bio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Hancock (January 12, 1737 (O.S.) – October 8, 1793 (N.S.)) was President of the Continental Congress, and the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence. According to legend, he signed his name largely and clearly to be sure King George III could read it, causing his name to become an eponym for "signature". However, other examples show that Hancock always wrote his signature this way.

Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts (Now Quincy, Massachusetts). His father died when he was young, and he was adopted by his paternal uncle—Thomas Hancock, a highly successful merchant in New England. After graduating from Boston Latin School, he attended Harvard College and received a business degree in 1754, when he was 17. Upon graduation, he worked for his uncle. From 1760–1764, Hancock lived in England while building relationships with customers and suppliers of his uncle's business. Shortly after his return from England, his uncle died and he inherited the fortune and business, making him the wealthiest man in New England at the time.

Despite his wealth, Hancock remained, ethically and virtuously, the same. Along with his generosity, he was regarded as a man of integrity and honor.

On May 24, 1775, he was elected the third President of the Continental Congress, succeeding Henry Middleton. He would serve until October 30, 1777, when he was himself succeeded by Henry Laurens.

In the first month of his presidency, on June 19, 1775, Hancock commissioned George Washington commander-in-chief of the Army of the United Colonies. A year later, Hancock sent Washington a copy of the July 4, 1776 congressional resolution calling for independence as well as a copy of the Declaration of Independence. He requested Washington have the Declaration read to the Continental Army.

After the war, Hancock represented his state under the Articles of Confederation. He was the seventh President of the United States in Congress assembled, from November 23, 1785 to June 6, 1786. He was preceded in that position by Richard Henry Lee and succeeded by Nathaniel Gorham.

Resuming the governorship of Massachusetts in 1787, he led his state toward ratification of the federal Constitution. Hancock was prevalent in the formation of a navy for the new nation. He died in 1793 while serving his ninth term as Massachusetts' governor, and was buried at the Granary Burying Ground in Boston.

Lyman Hall - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

"In addition, therefore, to wholesome laws restraining vice, every encouragement ought to be given to introduce religion, and learned clergy to perform divine worship in honor of God, and to cultivate principles of religion and virtue among our citizens. For this purpose it will be your wisdom to lay an early foundation for endowing seminaries of learning; nor can you, I conceive, lay a better than by a grant of a sufficient tract of land, that may, as in other governments, hereafter, by lease or otherwise, raise a revenue sufficient to support such valuable institutions."
www.rootsweb.com

Tibits

Bio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724–October 19, 1790), was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named for him.

Born in Wallingford, Connecticut on April 12, 1724, he was the son of John Hall and Mary Street. In an era when kinship mattered, he was well connected: his paternal grandfather, Hon. John Hall (1670-1730), a member of the Governor's Council and a Justice of the colony's supreme court. His maternal grandfather was Rev. Samuel Street (Harvard 1664), Wallingford's first pastor.

Hall graduated from Yale College in 1747 and studied theology with his uncle, Rev Samuel Hall (1695-1776; Yale 1716) in Cheshire, CT. In 1749, he was called to the pulpit of Stratfield Parish (now Bridgeport, CT). His pastorate was a stormy one: an outspoken group of parishioners opposed his ordination; in 1751, he was dismissed after charges against his moral character which, according to one biography, "were supported by proof and also by his own confession." He continued to preach for two more years, filling vacant pulpits, while he studied medicine and taught school.

On the eve of the Revolution, St. John's Parish, in which Sunbury was located, was a hotbed of radical sentiment. Though Georgia was not initially represented in the Continental Congress, through Hall's influence, the parish was persuaded to send a delegate -- Hall himself -- to Philadelphia. He was admitted to a seat in Congress in March 1775, a seat that he held until 1780. He was one of the three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence.

In January of 1779, Sunbury was burned by the British. Hall's family fled to the North, where they remained until the British evacuation in 1782. Hall then returned to Georgia, settling in Savannah. In January 1783, he was elected an early governor of the state -- a position that he held for one year. At the expiration of his term, he resumed his medical practice.

In 1790, Hall removed to a plantation in Burke County, on the Carolina border, where he died on October 19, aged 67.

Button Gwinnett - Signer of the Declaration

Tibits

Because of it's rarity, Button Gwinnett signature is one of the most valuable and highly soughtout of the signers.

Bio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Button Gwinnett (1735 - May 19, 1777), was one of the signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. He was also briefly the provisional president of Georgia in 1777, prior to his death, and has Gwinnett County (now a major suburb of metro Atlanta) named after him.

Button was born in the parish of Down Hatherley in Gloucestershire, England to Reverend Samuel and Anne Gwinnett. There are conflicting reports as to his birthdate, but he was baptized in St Catherine's Church in Gloucester on 10th April of 1735. He started his career as a merchant in Bristol, England. He then moved to Wolverhampton in 1755 and married a local, Ann Bourne, in 1757. In 1762 the couple left Wolverhampton and moved to America.

Arriving first in Charleston, South Carolina, by 1765 they had travelled to Savannah, Georgia. Gwinnett abandoned his mercantile pursuits, selling off all his merchandise to buy a tract of land on St. Catherines Island where he started a plantation. He prospered as a planter, and by 1769 had gained such local prominence that he was elected to the Provincial Assembly.

He was appointed commander of Georgia's continental militia, but declined the position, and was elected to attend the Continental Congress. After signing the Declaration of Independence, he returned to Georgia and served in the legislature there, helping to draft the state's constitution. As president of the Council of Safety, he led an unsuccessful attempt to invade Florida. He was cleared of wrongdoing in this undertaking and ran unsuccessfully for Governor. He challenged his chief political foe, Lachlan McIntosh, to a duel, which was fought on May 16, 1777. Both were wounded: McIntosh survived, but Button Gwinnett died three days later of his wounds.

Elbridge Gerry - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

"The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy. The people do not want virtue, but are dupes of pretended patriots"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tidbits

In Congressional Committee on the First Ammendment to the Constitution, Mr. Gerry said "it would read better if it was, that no religious doctrine shall be established by law".

Emphasising the absurdity of southern arguments in anti-slavery debates among the founders Elbridge Gerry argued that if blacks were considered property but were were to be counted for the purpose of congressional representation, then maybe non-slave holders should include their cattle and hourses as well.

Bio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elbridge Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American politician, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was the fifth Vice President of the United States, serving under James Madison, from March 4, 1813 until his death. He was the second Vice President to die in office; the first to have died in office was Gerry's immediate predecessor, George Clinton, who served under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Gerry was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He later became governor of Massachusetts. He is most famous for being the namesake of the art of gerrymandering — a process by which electoral districts are drawn with the aim of aiding the party in power.

Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, the third of twelve children, he was a graduate of Harvard College, attending there from age fourteen. He worked in his father's business and came to prominence over his opposition to commerce taxes. He was elected to the General Court of the province of Massachusetts in May 1772 on an anti-British platform.

Gerry was a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress from February 1776 to 1780. He also served from 1783 to September 1785. In 1787 he attended the United States Constitutional Convention and was one of the delegates voting against the new constitution (joining Mason and Randolph in not signing it). He was elected to the U.S. House under the new national government, and served in Congress from 1789 to 1793.

In 1797-98 he served in the delegation to France over the XYZ Affair. In 1810 he was elected Governor of Massachusetts. He was re-elected in 1811 but defeated in 1812 over his support for the redistricting bill that created the word gerrymander. Despite this he was chosen as vice president to James Madison. He died in office in Washington, D.C. and is buried there in the Congressional Cemetery.

Benjamin Franklin - Signer of the Declaration - Signer of the Constitution

Quotes

"I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall be become a reproach and a bye word down to future age. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human Wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, and conquest."

"I therefore beg leave to move -- that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service."

Library of Congress: Farrand's Records --MADISON Thursday June 28th. in Convention

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"History will also afford frequent, opportunities of showing the necessity of a public religion, from its usefulness to the public; the advantage of a religious character among private persons; the mischiefs of superstition, and the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern."

Benjamin Franklin, “Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania,” 1749.

Tibits

Proposed Seal for the United States
On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams "to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America." Franklin's proposal adapted the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. Jefferson first recommended the "Children of Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by Day, and a Pillar of Fire by night. . . ." He then embraced Franklin's proposal and rewrote it. Jefferson's revision of Franklin's proposal was presented by the committee to Congress on August 20. Although not accepted these drafts reveal the religious temper of the Revolutionary period. Franklin and Jefferson were among the most theologically liberal of the Founders, yet they used biblical imagery for this important task. The proposed seal read: Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God

Bio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He is the only Founding Father who is a signatory of all three of the major documents of the founding of the United States: The Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Paris and the United States Constitution. Franklin also has the distinction of being the oldest signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. He was 70 years old when he signed the Declaration, and 81 when he signed the Constitution.

Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God

Proposed Seal for the United States
On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams "to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America." Franklin's proposal adapted the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. Jefferson first recommended the "Children of Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by Day, and a Pillar of Fire by night. . . ." He then embraced Franklin's proposal and rewrote it. Jefferson's revision of Franklin's proposal was presented by the committee to Congress on August 20. Although not accepted these drafts reveal the religious temper of the Revolutionary period. Franklin and Jefferson were among the most theologically liberal of the Founders, yet they used biblical imagery for this important task.

Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God