Witherspoon advocated for "gradual emancipation" of slaves. He became a Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) minister at Beith, Ayrshire, serving there from 1745 to 1758, where he married Elizabeth Montgomery. [28][n 5] She worked . He died February 28, 1781; his remains were conveyed to Nassau Hall and eulogized by the President of the College of New Jersey, Dr. Samuel Smith If what honors this young country can bestow, if many and great personal talents could save man from the graveBehold here the end of all perfectionto have been a son of this college and it was one the first honors of this college to have given birth to such a son a man who has long been foremost in his country, for power, for wisdom, and for fortune Another of the fathers of learning and eloquence is gone. In 1768, John Witherspoon, Presbyterian leader of the evangelical Popular party faction in the Scottish Kirk, became the College of New Jersey's sixth president. Annis Boudinot Stockton was one of Americas first female published poets. On his return to Princeton, he traveled 30 miles east to the home of a friend, John Covenhoven, to evacuate his family to safety, and away from the path of the British army. When the General had seated himself, Boudinot proceeded to read an address of welcome. [11], On March 7, 1781, The New Jersey Gazette acknowledged his worth to his country: "The ability, dignity, and integrity, with which this gentleman discharged the duties of the several important offices to which he was called by the voice of this country are well known.". Here were the elite of the 18th century America, but few were elitist. The petitions suggests replacing the statue with "an informational plaque which details both the positive and negative aspects of Witherspoon's legacy. The males in his family were all clergymen, and he was trained to become a Presbyterian minister. All his cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, grain and forage have been carried away by them. Two incidents occurred during Stocktons travels that placed his life in peril. All three were captured, refused a British offer of amnesty if they would repudiate the American cause, and were shipped to the Crown stockade at St. Augustine, Florida. Stockton and his wife, Annis, were close friends of General George Washington. Richard was a son of John Stockton (1701-1758) the wealthy Princeton landowner who donated land and helped bring what is now Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey located in Newark) to Princeton, New Jersey. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. On June 26th, this Livingston petitioned the New York Assembly so that he could leave the state convention and rejoin Congress in Philadelphia. He remained at the University to study divinity. The three South Carolinians were given their freedom in a prisoner exchange in late 1781. Notre Dame, Ind. Richard Stocktons home Morven became the New Jersey Governors Mansion from 1954-1981. His losses cannot amount to less than five thousand pounds. Stocktons library one of the finest in the colonies was burned and he was forced to accept help from his family and friends to survive. Rush wrote that it took Stockton nearly two years to recover his health. Witherspoon cast his affirmative vote for independence on July 2, 1776. McKean and George Read, the other two representatives from Delaware, were split on the issue of independence and Caesar Rodney's vote was needed if Delaware was to join the United States of America. At the urging of Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton, whom he met in Paisley, Witherspoon finally accepted a second invitation to become president and head professor of the small Presbyterian College of New Jersey in Princeton. Father of Julia Rush; Mary Hunter; Susannah Cuhtburt; Sen. Richard Stockton; Lucius Horatio Stockton and 2 others; Abigail Field and Abigail Dunbar less SOURCE: Wikipedia, Richard Stockton (Continental Congressman) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stockton_%28Continental_Congre Caesar Rodney was weary when he reached his plantation near Dover on the night of July 1, 1776. In 1757, he wed Annis Boudinot, built their home Morven, and later had two sons and four daughters. As president of the College of New Jersey (1768-94; now Princeton University), he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration. Plaque on Edinburgh University School of Divinity, Biographical sketches of distinguished Jerseymen (1845), President Witherspoon in the American Revolution (July 1, 1896), The Works of the Rev. His library, one of the finest in the colonies, was burned. He said that "undaunted resolution was displayed on every countenance.". According to John Witherspoon, he arrived on or before July 3rd. [3], Over 12,000 prisoners died in the prison ships and prisons in New York compared to 4,435 soldiers that died in combat over the six years of war. John C. Witherspoon was the Calvinist preacher, President of Princeton College, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. At age 13, he entered college . Boudinot also served as Director of the Mint, and became the first president of the American Bible Society in 1816. One night in Edinburgh, Stockton was attacked by a robber and he defended himself skillfully with a small sword, the surprised and wounded robber fled. ", Steven Hopkins of Rhode Island, the second-oldest signer, was afflicted with palsy. The wife of William Floyd escaped with her children by boat across Long Island Sound into Connecticut and died in 1781 without ever again seeing her home. in New Orleans, Louisiana , United States (46 years), This form allows you to report an error or to submit additional information about this family tree: Reese WITHERSPOON (1976), Copyright Wikipdia authors - This article is under licence CC BY-SA 3.0. Birth of Richard Stockton, Signer of "The Decla Signer of Declaration of IndependenceDelegate to Continental Congress, Signer Declaration of Independence. He served on over 100 committees, most notably the powerful standing committees, the board of war and the committee on secret correspondence or foreign affairs. Richard Stockton, was denuded of its library and furniture." [1] Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (1768-1794; now Princeton University) became an influential figure in the development of the . "My country is entitled to my services, and I shall not shrink from the cause, even though it should cost me my life," he declared. Although he was released unharmed a few days later, he later had trouble sleeping, and would often faint in broad-daylight. The eulogy was delivered by Rev. In 1743 he became a Presbyterian Minister at a parish in Beith, where he married, authored three noted works on theology. 1823, SOURCE: The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. John Knox Witherspoon (1723-1794)clergyman, educator, and founding fatherserved as Princeton's sixth president from 1768 until his death in 1794. They found the army in need of all necessary things and Stockton reported this to John Hancock. After the Revolutionary War, he continued to serve as President of the College of New Jersey, but spend several years working to rebuild the college. Like Benedict Pictet (1655-1724), Witherspoon held firmly to the tenets of confessional Calvinism. The British invaded New Jersey and Stockton rushed home and moved his family to the home of a friend thirty miles from Princeton. Although many took the pardon, Stockton never did and was marched to Perth Amboy where he was put in irons, and brutally treated as a common criminal. by John C. Glynn, Jr. and Kathryn Glynn, 2008, Sources:American Archives. Rush. He attended the West Nottingham Academy under Dr. Samuel Finley, and then earned his degree at the College of New Jersey (Now Princeton) in 1748. It took only a few minutes to complete the signing, and it was agreed not to make the signatures public for six months to give the signers and their families as much time as possible to secure themselves against certain reprisals. A member of the five-man drafting committee created immediately after the Lee resolution was introduced, Jefferson had proposed that John Adams of Massachusetts undertake the actual writing of the statement, but Adams declined. The Presbyterian Handbook, Revised Edition - Page 59 [27], Witherspoon was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1789[33], Scottish-American Presbyterian Minister (1723-1794). President Washington later issued a proclamation designating a day of prayer and thanksgiving. Scots Presbyterian minister and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey, Born on February 05, 1723 Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 - July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States.He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Continental Association, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and U.S. Constitution. Stocktons oldest daughter Julia wed Dr. Benjamin Rush in January 1776, six months later Rush signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1776, Stockton was elected to the Second Continental Congress, where he took a very active role. Born on February 05, 1723 in Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland , United Kingdom. John Witherspoon was born into a ministerial family near Edinburgh on Feb. 5, 1723. While in London Stockton met with Benjamin Franklin and conferred with London merchants on the issue of paper money by the colonies and an act of Parliament forbidding it. His 1776 sermon "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men" was published in many editions and he was elected to the Continental Congress as part of the New Jersey delegation and, in July 1776, voted for the Resolution for Independence. He was appointed to the royal council of New Jersey in 1765 and remained a member until the government was reformed. Witherspoon's wife had opposed her husband's taking the position but her objections were overcome with the aid of his future son-in-law Benjamin Rush, who was a medical student in Edinburgh. Stockton was admitted to the bar in 1754, to the grade of counselor in 1758, and in 1763, he received the degree of Sergeant-at-Law the highest degree of law attainable. John Witherspoon brought some impressive credentials and a measure of public acclaim with him when he joined the colonies in 1768, as president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Thomas Heyward returned to find that his wife had died in hardship during his imprisonment. Exuberant citizens of Bowling Green, New York hauled down a large equestrian statue of George III and carried it to the Connecticut home of General Oliver Wolcott, a delegate to Congress. His most prominent students were Aaron Burr and James Madison. The exhausted rider was enthusiastically greeted by Thomas McKean and escorted in to the brick building where some 50 to 60 men were about to decide the fate of a continent. He opened his law practice in Princeton in 1754, and later another in Newark and was recognized as one of the most eloquent lawyers in the colonies. Geography dictated the voting order among the delegates to the Second Continental Congress. He turned it into a very successful institution, and was a very popular man as a result. In 1774, he drafted and sent to Lord Dartmouth "a plan of self-government for America, independent of Parliament, without renouncing allegiance to the Crown.". In the months before and after the Declaration of Independence, several states were working on their own constitutions, including New York. Worthy to note: John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign our Declaration of Independence was the nephew of both Margaret and Janette Witherspoon. New Jersey was overrun by the British in November of '76, when he was returning from the mission. In 1987, the LDS Reference Unit at the Family History Library, in Salt Lake City, compiled the "Founding Fathers Project." [4]. The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. Witherspoon had declined the appointment as president of the college because his wife was reluctant to emigrate. But none of the signers ever betrayed his pledged word. From the pocket of his close-fitting coat Washington drew his carefully written reply. Another daughter, Ann, married Samuel Stanhope Smith, who succeeded Witherspoon as president of Princeton. Rush and Stockton's recruiting letters can be found in Butterfield, L. H., "John Witherspoon Comes to America", Princeton University Library, Princeton, New Jersey. Located in Princeton, it promotes the application of fundamental principles of republican government and ordered liberty to contemporary problems through a variety of centers, research programs, seminars, consultations, and publications. Stocktons high character and distinguished abilities preceded him and he was received by the most eminent men of the kingdom. Please try again. Stony Brook Quaker Meeting House Burial Ground, Princeton Township, New Jersey, United States, Oct 1 1730 - Princeton, Somerset, Province of New Jersey, Feb 28 1781 - Princeton, Somerset, New Jersey, USA, Richard Arthur Stockton, Julia Rush, Mary Stockton, Susan Stockton, Lucius Stockton, Abigail Field, Hannah Boudinot, Rev. As to the first it seems to be only that the master has a right to the labors and ingenuity of the servant for a limited time, or at most for life. In Washington, D.C. near the Washington Monument there is a memorial park to the signers with 56 granite boulders, each engraved with the name of a signer. John Stockton, Abigail Stockton (born Phillips), Hannah Boudinot (born Stockton), Susanna Pintard (born Stockton), Rev. John Witherspoon arrived in Philadelphia to take their place as new members of Congress meeting at the State House (now Independence Hall). She became a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University. Born: February 15, 1723. "[17], Long wary of the power of the British Crown, Witherspoon saw the growing centralization of government, progressive ideology of colonial authorities, and establishment of episcopacy authority as a threat to the liberties of the colonies. This was an exceedingly important event in the history of higher education in America. Nonetheless, Witherspoon transformed a college designed predominantly to train clergymen into a school that would equip the leaders of a new country. No 5,page 127Abstracts of the Council of Safety Minutes, State of New Jersey, 1777-1778, Hutchinson, Richard S., Heritage Books 2005,Letters of Delegates to Congress, Vol.6.Bill, Alfred Hoyt., A House Called Morven. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He was born at Gifford which is the neighbouring parish to the one John Knox was born in. (Painting by Charles Willson Peale, public domain via Wikimedia Commons). The debate continued into the Fourth of July and, in Jefferson's own words, "seemed as though it would run on interminably. He would not live see his country win independence. Madam, Your favor of the 17th, conveying to me your pastoral on the subject of Lord Cornwallis capture, has given me great satisfaction. Stockton initially showed little interest in politics. His parents were James Witherspoon and Anna Walker. [1] Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (17681794; now Princeton University) became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. There were no negative votes among the five southernmost colonies (South Carolina went along for the sake of unity), and when the roll had been completed 12 colonies had voted in favor of separation from Britain, with only New York abstaining. Richard Stockton (1730-1781)Signer of the Declaration of Independence. On July 2, 1776, the day of the vote on independence, another delegate claimed that America wasn't yet ripe enough for independence. 1972Sanderson, John, Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Lately Stockton has been maligned by a few writers claiming that Stockton took a pardon from General Howe and swore allegiance to the king. He opposed slavery, advocated free public schools, and sought improved education for women and a more enlightened penal system. Trevor Colbourn (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1974) 181. Princeton University Press, 1954, p. 43.Sanderson, John. John bartlett family trees listed as josiah, was glorious to be freely in particular repeal of independence in the independents in his many ventures including women. of Serle, 176-177, 178-179, 180, 186: John Shuttleworth to (Walter Spencer) Stanhope, June 29, (i.e., Jan. 29), 1777, Sterling, Annals of a Yorkshire House, II, 21: Henry Laurens to John Laurens, Feb. 3, 1777, C.O.5/40; the Howes to Germain, March 25, 1777, and (enclosed therein) declarations subscribed as a result of the proclamation of Nov. 30, 1777, C.O. He died on his farm, "Tusculum," just outside of Princeton in November of 1794, a man much honored and beloved by his adopted countrymen. He proceeded to Edinburgh where he attained a Master of Arts, then to four years of divinity school. From among his students came 37 judges, three of whom made it to the U.S. Supreme Court; 10 Cabinet officers; 12 members of the Continental Congress, 28 U.S. Witherspoon served in Congress from June 1777 until November 1784 and became one of its most influential members and a workhorse of prodigious energy. John Witherspoon wrote in a letter to his son David. But even as late as January 6, 1776, the Congress adopted a resolution stating that the colonies, "had no design to set up as an independent nation." Like his father, John Stockton a founder of the College and trustee, Richard served as a trustee of the College of New Jersey for 24 years, as would his eldest son Richard. At the age of 45, he became the sixth president of the college, later known as Princeton University. Firm but good-humored in his leadership, Witherspoon was very popular among both faculty and students. He remained at the university to study divinity. Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Vol 3, p.115Glynn, His Sacred Honor Judge Richard Stockton a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 2006, page 197Patriots of the American Revolution, May/June 2010, Vol 3, Issue 3. Reason second, I am obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular; you are very much otherwise. Anna, the eldest daughter, married Reverend Samuel Smith on June 28, 1775. He signed the Declaration of Independence, and was a leader in Pennsylvania's ratification of the Constitution in 1788. Morrison observed that Witherspoon responded to a provision in the Georgia State Constitution that prohibited clergymen from serving in the state legislature with a satirical essay in 1789 that suggested that the state might prefer individuals who had been defrocked for a disposition for cursing and swearing, drunkenness or uncleanness (quoted in Morrison 2004: 123). Please, is a professor of political science and dean of the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. He is co-editor of the. He also signed the 1774 Petition to the King. John Witherspoon (February 15, 1723 - November 15, 1794) was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. John Witherspoon served with American Founding Fathers during the American Revolution. The passage of the Stamp Act of 1765 had infuriated many wealthy and influential colonists, and was responsible for beginning the storm that settled over that historic assembly in Philadelphia in July 1776. Photographic tour of John Witherspoon's grave at Princeton Cemetery. He also made a mark in politics, serving as a member of the Continental Congress from 1776 until 1782. In 1789 he was convening moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Tonight there was to be no rest for this weary patriot. The gallery was crowded; the floor was reserved for members of Congress; and on the wall hung the empty frame of the portrait of George II, which Alexander Hamiltons cannon ball had destroyed in the fighting of January 3rd at the battle of Princeton six years before. Born February 5, 1723 (Gifford, Scotland) Died November 15, 1794 (Princeton, New Jersey) Protestant theologian, educator. Stockton was the first person from New Jersey to sign the Declaration of Independence. Philip STOCKTON, Susanna STOCKTON, Hannah STOCKTON, Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, British Colonial America, Princeton, Mercer County, NJ, United States, Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, British America, Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, Morven, Princeton Township, Mercer, New Jersey, United States, Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States, Patriots - Daughters of the American Revolution, Richard Signer of US Declaration of Independence Stockton, Judge Richard Stockton (Signer of Declaration of Independence), Richard, Signer Of The Declaration Of Independence Stockton, Richard Signer Of Us Declaration Of Independence STOCKTON, http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/stockton.htm, http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/richard-stockton. His son Richard "The Builder" bought 5,500 acres of land from William Penn in Princeton, New Jersey and settled there with his wife Susannah (nee Witham) Robinson. The Witherspoon Society is a body of laypeople within the Presbyterian Church (USA), in existence since 1979, that is activist in liberal and progressive causes. For Gods sake my dear sir, upon the receipt of this collect all the shoes and stockings you can, and send them off for Albany in light wagons; a couple of two horse wagons will bring a great many, which may be distributed among our several Regiments who will be all together at Tyconderoga in a few days if any breeches, gloves and coats be ready send them along; but do not wait for them if the shoes and stockings are ready, and the others notwe have dispatches from General Gates this morning informing that he hourly expects to be attacked by the Enemy; but our works are very strong and a Boom thrown across the water from Tyconderoga to prevent the enemies shipping from getting below us, therefore I trust with the blessing of Almighty God, that we shall disappoint their wishes and sanguinary purposesBut shall the brave troops from New Jersey stand in lines half leg deep in snow without shoes or stockingGod forbid. In 1746, he helped to raise troops to fight Scottish rebels who were rebelling against English domination in Scotland. Although none of the Leaders, nor principal Instigators and Abettors of the Rebellion, thought fit to avail themselves of the opportunity given them to return to their Duty, we have some satisfaction in observing that so considerable a number of His Majesty's deluded Subjects, of inferior Rank, in those Provinces where the Proclamation could be expect to have Effect, were disposed to relinquish the unjust Cause they had been once induced to support. Following the war, Witherspoon devoted his life to rebuilding the College. The office of a judge of the province, was never filled with more integrity and learning than it was by him, for several years before the revolution. John Penn - John Penn was a self-taught lawyer whose main duty during the Revolutionary War was to keep the North Carolina militia supported with supplies. Born in 1723, he received the finest education available to a bright young gentleman of that era. Wife of Signer John Witherspoon Image: John Witherspoon John Witherspoon was born on February 5, 1722, at the village of Gifford, near Edinburgh, Scotland. He once wrote, "The public is generally unthankful, and I never will become a Servant of it, till I am convinced that by neglecting my own affairs I am doing more acceptable Service to God and Man." In March 1777, only two months after Stocktons release, in a letter to British Parliament General Howe wrote at no time had a leading rebel sought pardon. The book His Sacred Honor comes to Stocktons defense against these revisionist writers using rumors and innuendo to spread this false claim against a founding father. A week later Stocktons son-in-law and fellow signer Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote At Princeton I met my wifes father who had been plundered of all his household furniture and stock by the British army, and carried a prisoner to New York, from whence he was permitted to return to his family upon parole.. John is first cousin to Rev. After several days of heated debate, final action on Lee's resolution was deferred until July 1st, and men on both sides of the issue used the intervening weeks to lobby for their own positions. Famously, when told that the country was not yet ready for independence, Witherspoon replied that it was "not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it." Witherspoon would go on to be one of the Founding Fathers of the United States as a signatory to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. [John Witherspoon, Lectures on Moral Philosophy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Richard Stocktons eldest son Richard became a New Jersey senator and Stocktons served in Congress for four generations. As the college's primary occupation at the time was training ministers, Witherspoon became a major leader of the early Presbyterian Church in America. That reaction deeply hurt Morton, particularly when he was ignored even after he fell gravely ill early in 1777. A rest area on the southbound New Jersey Turnpike, south of Interstate 195, is named after Stockton. At Gifford which is the neighbouring parish to the royal council of New Jersey to the! American Founding Fathers during the American Bible Society in 1816 successful institution and! The months before and after the Declaration of Independence, several states were on! Died in hardship during his imprisonment even after he fell gravely ill early in 1777 eldest daughter, Ann married! To become a Presbyterian minister at a parish in Beith, where he married authored! 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