Robert Treat Paine - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

From the Last Will and Testament of Robert Treat Paine, attested May 11, 1814

"I am constrained to express my adoration of the Supreme Being, the Author of my existence, in full belief of His providential goodness and His forgiving mercy revealed to the world through Jesus Christ, through Whom I hope for never-ending happiness in a future state."

Tibits

Robert Treat Paine studied theology and started a career as a minister. His father was once an clergyman and many religious and political leaders were among is ancestors.

Rev. Charles A. Goodrich Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. New York: William Reed & Co., 1856. Pages 112-119.

"Paine was a firm believer in the divine origin of the Christian religion. He gave full credence to the scriptures, as a revelation from God, designed to instruct mankind in a knowledge of their duty, and to guide them in the way to eternal happiness."

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

PAINE, Robert Treat, a Delegate from Massachusetts; born in Boston, Mass., March 11, 1731; attended the Boston Latin School and was graduated from Harvard College in 1749; studied theology; was chaplain of troops on the northern frontier in 1755; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1757 and commenced practice in Boston; moved to Taunton in 1761; delegate to the State convention at Boston in 1768; member of the colonial house of representatives in 1773; delegate to the Provincial Congress in 1774 and 1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1776; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; member of the State house of representatives in 1777; attorney general of Massachusetts 1777-1790; member of the Governor’s council in 1779 and 1780; delegate to the constitutional convention in 1779; moved to Boston in 1781; judge of the Massachusetts supreme court 1790-1804; died in Boston, Mass., May 11, 1814.

William Paca - Signer of the Declaration

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After 1776 William Paca sat on the council of safety and spent large amounts of his own money outfitting troops.

Dying at age 58, William Paca outlived two or possible three wives and four of his five children.

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

PACA, William, a Delegate from Maryland; born at “Wye Hall,” near Abingdon, Queen Anne (now Harford) County, Md., October 31, 1740; was graduated from Philadelphia College in 1759; studied law in Annapolis, Md., and in the Middle Temple, London, England; was admitted to the bar in 1764; returned home and commenced the practice of his profession at Annapolis in 1764; member of the provincial assembly 1771-1774; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1779; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; served in the State senate 1777-1779; chief judge of the superior court of Maryland 1778-1780; chief justice of the court of appeals in prize and admiralty cases 1780-1782; Governor of Maryland from November 1782 to November 1785; was influential in establishing Washington College in Chestertown, Md., in 1786; delegate to the State convention in 1788 which ratified the Federal Constitution; appointed by President Washington as judge of the United States Court for Maryland and served from 1789 until his death at “Wye Hall,” Queen Anne County, Md., October 23, 1799; interment in the family burial ground, Queen Anne County, Md.

Thomas Nelson, Jr. - Signer of the Declaration

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Thomas Nelson, Jr. succeeded Thomas Jefferson as governor of Virginia.

Thomas Nelson, Jr. married Lucy Grymes and had 11 children.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed.

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Congressional Biographical Directory

NELSON, Thomas, Jr., (father of Hugh Nelson), a Delegate from Virginia; born in Yorktown, Va., on December 26, 1738; attended private schools and was graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge University in England, in 1761; member of the House of Burgesses of Virginia in 1774; member of the provincial convention in Williamsburg in 1774; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1777; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; appointed commander of the Virginia State forces in 1777 and served in this capacity until 1781 when he resigned on account of ill health as a result of his service in the field in the campaign against Cornwallis; again a Member of the Continental Congress in 1779; Governor of Virginia in 1781; retired to his son’s estate, “Mont Air,” Hanover County, Va., and died there on January 4, 1789; interment in Grace Churchyard, Yorktown, Va.

Robert Morris - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

An Oration Delivered on Wednesday, June 29, 1814, at the Request of a Number of Citizens of New-York, in Celebration of the Recent Deliverance of Europe from the Yoke of Military Despotism (New York: Van Winkle and Wiley, 1814), pp. 10, 22.

"We have seen the tumults of democracy terminate ... as [it has] everywhere terminated, in despotism. ... Democracy! savage and wild. Thou who wouldst bring down the virtuous and wise to thy level of folly and guilt."

Tibits

Robert Morris was one of the wealthiest individuals in the Colonies and an economic wizard, he won the accolade "Financier of the Revolution," yet died penniless and forgotten. He and Roger Sherman were the only signers of all three of the Nation's basic documents: the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution.

Marrying at the late age of 35, Robert Morris had 7 children.

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

MORRIS, Robert, (father of Thomas Morris [1771-1849]), a Delegate and a Senator from Pennsylvania; born in Liverpool, England, January 20, 1734; immigrated to the United States in 1747 and settled in Oxford, Md.; attended school in Philadelphia; became a merchant in Philadelphia in 1748; signed the non-importation agreement of 1765; member of the Pennsylvania Council of Safety 1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1778; signer of the Declaration of Independence; settled upon the Manheim estate; member, State assembly 1778-1781; national superintendent of finance 1781-1784; established the Bank of North America; member, State assembly 1785-1787; delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1795; declined to be a candidate for renomination; declined the position of Secretary of the Treasury in the Cabinet of President George Washington; known as the “financier of the American Revolution” and one of the richest men in America, Morris became involved in unsuccessful land speculations, which caused him to be imprisoned for debt from 1798 to 1801; died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 8, 1806; interment in the family vault of William White in the churchyard of Christ Church.

Lewis Morris - Signer of the Declaration

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Lewis Morris had 10 children.

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

MORRIS, Lewis, (half brother of Gouverneur Morris and uncle of Lewis Richard Morris), a Delegate from New York; born in Morrisania (now a part of New York City), N.Y., April 8, 1726; instructed by private tutors and was graduated from Yale College in 1746; engaged in agricultural pursuits; appointed by the Crown a judge of the Court of Admiralty in 1760 and resigned in 1774; again appointed by the provincial congress in 1776, but declined; elected to the Colonial Assembly of New York in 1769, but was declared disqualified for nonresidence; delegate to the provincial convention of the colony in April 1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1777, and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence; deputy to the State provincial congress in 1776 and 1777; county judge of Westchester County in 1777; member of the committee on detection of conspiracies in 1777; served in the State senate 1777-1781 and 1784-1788, and was a member of the council of appointment in 1786; member of the first board of regents of the University of New York and served from 1784 until his death; delegate to the State convention which adopted the Federal Constitution in 1788; died in Morrisania, N.Y., January 22, 1798; interment in vault beneath St. Anne’s of Morrisania Church, Bronx, N.Y.

Arthur Middleton - Signer of the Declaration

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Arthur Middleton had nine children.
An extremist, he advocated the tarring and feathering of Loyalists and confiscation of the estates of those who had fled the country.

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

Arthur Middleton, (son of Henry Middleton [1717-1784] and father of Henry Middleton [1770-1846]), a Delegate from South Carolina; born at “Middleton Place,” his father’s estate, on the Ashley River, near Charleston, Berkeley County, S.C., June 26, 1742; received his early education from private tutors and schools in Charleston; attended school at Hackney, Westminster School, and St. John’s College, Cambridge University, in England; studied law at the Temple in London, but did not practice; returned to South Carolina in 1763 and engaged in planting; justice of the peace of Berkeley County in 1765; member of the provincial house of commons 1765-1768; again a member of the provincial house of commons 1772-1775; delegate to the provincial convention in 1774 and 1775; again justice of the peace 1776-1786; member of the council of safety in 1775 and 1776; delegate to the provincial congress which formed a State constitution in 1776; served in the Revolutionary War; held a prisoner by the British from May 1780 to July 1781 when he was exchanged and returned to South Carolina; Member of the Continental Congress 1776-1777 and 1781-1782; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; elected Governor of South Carolina in 1778, but declined; member of the State house of representatives 1778-1780, 1785, and 1786; served in the State senate in 1781 and 1782; member of the privy council in 1782; member of the board of trustees of Charleston College; died at “The Oaks,” near Charleston, S.C., January 1, 1787; interment in the family mausoleum at “Middleton Place,” near Charleston, S.C.