James Wilson - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

James Wilson, The Works of the Honourable James Wilson (Philadelphia: Bronson and Chauncey, 1804), Vol. I, p. 106.

"Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other. The divine law, as discovered by reason and the moral sense, forms an essential part of both."

Of the General Principles of Law and Obligation, reprinted in 1 James Wilson, The Works of the Honorable James Wilson 104-105 (Bird Wilson, ed., Philadelphia: Lorenzo Press, 1804).

"Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine."

James Wilson, The Works of the Honorable James Wilson, Bird Wilson, editor (Philadelphia: Bronson and Chuncey, 1804), Vol. II, pp. 495-497.

"Man does not exist for the sake of government, but government is instituted for the sake of man."

Tibits

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

WILSON, James, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Carskerdo, near St. Andrews, Scotland, September 14, 1742; attended the Universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh; immigrated to the United States in 1765; resided in New York City until 1766, when he moved to Philadelphia, Pa.; tutor in the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania); studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1767; practiced in Reading and Carlisle, Pa., and for a short time, during Howe’s occupation of Philadelphia, in Annapolis, Md.; also engaged in literary pursuits; member of the Provincial Convention of Pennsylvania in 1774; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1777, 1783, and 1785-1786; chosen colonel of the Fourth Battalion of Associators in 1775; advocate general for France in America and guided that country’s legal relations to the Confederation; member of the board of war; brigadier general of the State militia; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Federal Convention in 1787 and a delegate to the State ratification convention; settled in Philadelphia in 1778 and resumed the practice of law; Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court 1789-1798; first professor of law in the College of Philadelphia in 1790 and in the University of Pennsylvania when they were united in 1791; died in Edenton, N.C., August 21, 1798; interment in the Johnston burial ground on the Hayes plantation near Edenton, N.C.; reinterment in Christ Churchyard, Philadelphia, Pa., in 1906.

William Williams - Signer of the Declaration

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Congressional Biographical Directory

WILLIAMS, William, a Delegate from Connecticut; born in Lebanon, Conn., March 29, 1731; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Harvard College in 1751; studied theology for a year; engaged in mercantile pursuits; town clerk of Lebanon 1753-1796; member of a military expedition to Lake George in 1755; member of the State house of representatives 1757-1762, 1763-1776, and 1780-1784, serving as speaker in 1775 and 1781-1783; Member of the Continental Congress in 1776 and 1777; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; member of the council of safety during the Revolution; judge of the county court of Windham 1776-1804; judge of probate for the Windham district 1776-1808; became an assistant councilor in 1780 and served as assistant and as councilor for twenty-four years; member of the Connecticut ratification convention in 1787; died in Lebanon, Conn., August 2, 1811; interment in the Trumbull Tomb, East Cemetery.

William Whipple - Signer of the Declaration

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Congressional Biographical Directory

WHIPPLE, William, a Delegate from New Hampshire; born in Kittery, York County, Maine, January 14, 1730; became a sailor and engaged in the slave trade; freed his slaves and engaged in mercantile pursuits in Portsmouth, N.H.; delegate to the Provincial Congress at Exeter in 1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1776-1779; declined to be a candidate for renomination; one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; commissioned a brigadier general in 1777; member of the State assembly 1780-1784; participated in several battles in the Revolutionary War; appointed judge of the State supreme court in 1782; financial receiver for New Hampshire 1782-1784; died in Portsmouth, N.H., November 28, 1785; interment in the Old North Burial Ground.

George Walton - Signer of the Declaration

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Congressional Biographical Directory

WALTON, George, (brother of John Walton and cousin of Matthew Walton), a Delegate and a Senator from Georgia; born in Cumberland County, Va., in either 1749 or 1750; apprenticed as a carpenter; attended the common schools; moved to Savannah, Ga., in 1769; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1774 and commenced practice in Savannah, Ga.; secretary of the Provincial Congress in 1775 and a member of the committee of intelligence; member, council of safety in 1775 and later president of that body; member, State house of representatives; member of the Continental Congress 1776, 1777, 1780, and 1781; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; served in the Revolutionary War and was captured at Savannah; colonel in the First Georgia Battalion; Governor of Georgia 1779; commissioner to treat with the Indians and to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokees in Tennessee in 1783; chief justice of Georgia 1783-1789; member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners 1784-1785; represented Georgia in the settlement of the boundary line between South Carolina and Georgia in 1786; elected as a delegate to the convention to frame the Federal Constitution in 1787, but declined; Governor of Georgia 1789; was appointed first judge of the superior courts of the eastern judicial circuit in 1790; appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Jackson and served from November 16, 1795, to February 20, 1796, when a successor was elected; trustee of Richmond Academy and of the University of Georgia; moved to Augusta; again appointed judge of the superior circuit of Georgia and served from 1799 until his death at his home, “College Hill,” near Augusta, Richmond County, Ga., February 2, 1804; interment in Rosney Cemetery; reinterment in 1848 beneath the monument in front of the courthouse on Greene Street, Augusta, Ga.

Matthew Thornton - Signer of the Declaration

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Congressional Biographical Directory

THORNTON, Matthew, a Delegate from New Hampshire; born in Ireland in 1714; immigrated to the United States in 1716 with his father, who settled in Wiscasset, Maine; moved to Worcester, Mass.; completed preparatory studies; studied medicine and commenced practice in Londonderry, N.H., in 1740; surgeon of New Hampshire troops in the expedition against Cape Breton; member of the New Hampshire Assembly when it was organized in 1758 and again in 1760 and 1761; justice of the peace; delegate to the first Provincial Congress in 1775 and served as its president; chairman of the committee of safety in 1775; speaker of the general assembly from January 5 to September 12, 1776; colonel of the State militia during the Revolutionary War; Member of the Continental Congress in 1776 and 1777; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; chief justice of the court of common pleas; judge of the superior court of New Hampshire 1776-1782; moved to Exeter, N.H., in 1779; member of the general assembly in 1783; served in the State senate in 1784; State councilor in 1785; moved to Merrimack, N.H., in 1789, where he purchased a farm and spent his remaining years in literary pursuits; died in Newburyport, Mass., June 24, 1803; interment in Thornton’s Ferry Cemetery, Merrimack, N.H.

George Taylor - Signer of the Declaration

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Congressional Biographical Directory

TAYLOR, George, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Ireland in 1716; pursued academic studies; immigrated to the United States in 1736 and settled at Warwick Furnace and later at Coventry Forge, Chester County, Pa.; engaged in the manufacture of iron; moved to Durham, Pa., in 1755; justice of the peace in 1757, 1761, and 1763; moved to Easton, Pa., in 1763; member of the provincial assembly 1764-1769; justice of the peace for Northampton County 1764-1772; appointed judge of the county court in 1770; again a member of the provincial assembly in 1775; colonel of Pennsylvania Militia in 1775; returned to Durham in 1775; Member of the Continental Congress in 1776; signer of the Declaration of Independence; member of the First Supreme Executive Council in 1777; returned to Easton, Pa., in 1780, where he died February 23, 1781; interment in St. John’s Lutheran Church Cemetery; reinterment in the Easton Cemetery.