tarheelturtle: blog 
tarheelturtle's blog
the signers of the declaration of independence
Published Jul. 3, 2009Views: 566
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men
who signed the Declaration of Independence ?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors,
and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;
another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or
hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants,
nine were farmers and large plantation owners;
men of means, well educated,
but they signed the Declaration of Independence
knowing full well that the penalty would be death if
they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and
trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the
British Navy. He sold his home and properties to
pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British
that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.
He served in the Congress without pay, and his family
was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him,
and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
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,
and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill
were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests
and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his
children vanished.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: freedom is never free!
It's time we get the word out that patriotism
is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer,
picnics, and baseball games.
God Bless America.
BTW, my friend in the Guard is ok, although he knew all 4 who gave their lives today. Say a prayer...
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I've enjoyed discussing with you tonight, and I look forward to learning more about our delegates. :-)
GOLO member since April 25, 2008
July 4, 2009 1:50 a.m.
Not at all. I'm retired now. All I have is time at this point in my life. It'll give me something interesting & productive to work on. It may take a few days or so for me to find the books I'll need and finish it. I feel pretty certain that we brought them along with us, but some of them may still be at the Charleston house. I'll advise when I have gotten it all worked out for you.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
July 4, 2009 1:48 a.m.
That sounds wonderful! It's not too much work for you? I appreciate you doing this!!
GOLO member since April 25, 2008
July 4, 2009 1:37 a.m.
You have more patience than I ... :-D
"I hope that is a good sign."
It's an excellent sign. Learning is a gift we give to ourselves.
"Now the fact that the delegates were related in some way would definitely interest my students. :-)"
The South Carolina delegates anyway. I had several friends growing up who also descended from them, and it was somewhat of a running joke among us, since if you were descended from one of them, you were related to pretty much all of them in one way or another. There are some family books I'll need to consult to get all the connections straight. It's too confusing and interconnected otherwise to keep up with.
If you like, I'll gladly drop you a note on your profile to let you know I've completed it, and we can trade email addresses at that time in order to get it to you.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
July 4, 2009 1:26 a.m.
I try to learn new things about history every day. It's actually not difficult to do at all. Except, the more I learn, the less I feel that I truly know. I hope that is a good sign.
Now the fact that the delegates were related in some way would definitely interest my students. :-)
GOLO member since April 25, 2008
July 4, 2009 1:13 a.m.
Very interesting topic for them to be learning about, and I commend you for including it. It lays a good basis for explaining the differences in the coastal vs. inland areas of Virginia & South Carolina and to a lesser extent NC as well. The coastal areas were (and in many ways still are) very English and Anglican in tenor, while the immigration of German Lutherans & Scots-Irish Presbyterians largely determined the nature of the inland areas when those immigrants settled in the inland areas by way of that Wagon Road. Interesting piece of history that needs to be passed on to help people understand how "today" came to be.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
July 4, 2009 1:12 a.m.
I taught law, yes.
Another interesting tidbit for you. Two of the SC signers of the Declaration of Independence, and virtually its entire delegation to the Continental Congresses, were all related to one another either by blood or marriage. It was a very small world.
Arthur Middleton and Edward Rutledge (signers) were brothers-in-law (Rutledge married Middleton's sister). It's too complicated to detail here, but in the odd coincidence you are interested in this sort of thing, let me know and I'll lay out the interconnections between the SC delegates as well.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
July 4, 2009 1:02 a.m.
You taught college, correct?
GOLO member since April 25, 2008
July 4, 2009 12:56 a.m.
You are correct. The "Dutch" in Pennsylvania Dutch is a b^stardization of Deutsche, the German word for "German". They were in fact mostly all Germans, and made up about 1/3rd of Pennsylvania's entire population by the onset of the Revolutionary War.
GOLO member since September 6, 2007
July 4, 2009 12:48 a.m.
I thought it came from (forgive my spelling) Deutsch? And people just thought it was Dutch? My dad's family came from what is today Germany, but I think it was called something different at the time. I know that they spoke German until the late 1800s but they were definitely not Mennonites.
GOLO member since April 25, 2008
July 4, 2009 12:43 a.m.
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