Richard Stockton was betrayed by a loyalist and seized by the British, who subjected him to beatings and starvation. This article was originally published in 2009. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Witherspoon Street School for Colored Children, Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, "Petition regarding the statue of John Witherspoon on Firestone Plaza", "LibGuides: African American Studies: Slavery at Princeton", Science and Religion in America, 18001860, "Statue / Monument of John Witherspoon in Washington DC by Sculptor William Couper", "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania", "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Witherspoon Building", "Princeton School Board changes name of John Witherspoon Middle School", "Welcome witherspoonsociety.org - BlueHost.com", "Presbyterian Voices for Justice celebrates its history as it donates to three social justice causes", Biography on Princeton University's website, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. The revisions were completed on the evening of July 4th, the document was adopted without dissent, and the Declaration of Independence was ordered proclaimed throughout the United States. "There," he had said after writing his name in large, bold letters. On June 26th, this Livingston petitioned the New York Assembly so that he could leave the state convention and rejoin Congress in Philadelphia. On June 22nd 1778 he invited the American army to encamp on his farm. 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. Many men of influence were opposed to independence, preferring to return to the relationship of a dozen years earlier. John Hart, at the insistence of his dying wife, finally left her bedside to flee as a party of Hessians approached his farm. Rush secured the deal. But none of the signers ever betrayed his pledged word. He also signed the 1774 Petition to the King. DAR Ancestor # A127172. Born on February 05, 1723 in Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland , United Kingdom. John Stockton married his cousin Abigail and assumed his wifes Presbyterian faith. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character . On his visit to Scotland he was entertained by the Earl of Levin and other noblemen at Edinburgh Castle and the freedom of the city was conferred on him. Richard and his wife Abigail (nee unknown) were the parents of Richard "The Builder" Stockton, the grandfather of Rihcard "The Signer" Stockton. On July 1, 1776, Richard Stockton and his good friend Rev. discoveries. Witherspoon became the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. [11] During his two pastorates he wrote three well-known works on theology, notably the satire "Ecclesiastical Characteristics" (1753),[12] which opposed the philosophical influence of Francis Hutcheson.[13]. Only John Hancock signed the declaration that day, and a formal signing by all the delegates was scheduled for August 2nd. 1777."[10]. This is the same day, just the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. On March 25, 1777, General Howe and his brother Lord Howe wrote to Lord George Germain (Secretary of State for the Colonies)in England "My Lord, We have the honor to enclose to your Lordship a state of the Declarations subscribed in consequence of our Proclamation of the 30th of November. In point of fact, disaster and ruin was the lot for many of the signers. Their son Richard Stockton became an eminent lawyer and prominent Federalist leader. 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. Norton and Company, Inc.; 1972 page 195:British officers and rebels agreed the proclamation of November 30 had been a failure. More Resources |, by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress, Master of Arts, University of Edinburgh; Doctorate of Divinity, University of St. Andrews. Consequently, he was opposed to the Roman Catholic Legitimist Jacobite rising of 174546. In August 2021, the Princeton School Board voted to remove John Witherspoon's name from the local public middle school due to Witherspoon's history as a slave owner who opposed abolition. [John Witherspoon, Lectures on Moral Philosophy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. The three South Carolinians were given their freedom in a prisoner exchange in late 1781. "My hand trembles," he said as he handed the quill to William Ellery, "but my heart does not." John Adams Signer of the Declaration of Independence 2nd President of the United States of America An 19th century biography of this signer of the Declaration of Independence, including a handwriting sample, illustration, and student publishing opportunities The author's work incorporates data from the application files of the Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Frank W. Leach manuscript, and many other published references. Witherspoon has claimed descent from Scottish-born John Witherspoon, who signed the United States Declaration of Independence; however, this claim has not been verified by the Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence genealogists. Leave a message for others who see this profile. As one colleague reported, "He would lay aside the cloth to take revenge on them, I believe he would send them to the devil if he could." Penn Wharton School & America's Four United Republics Curriculum 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. Signers | When John Witherspoon was born in 1730, in County Down, Ireland, his father, Robert Witherspoon, was 25 and his mother, Mary Stuart, was 21. 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: February 15, 1723. Philip Stockton, Rebecca Te kton, Susannah Cuthbert (born Stockton), Mary Stockton, Molly Rush (born Simpson), Richard Arthur Stockton, Lucius Horatio Stockton, Abig Oct 1 1730 - Princeton, Somerset, Province Of New Jersey, Feb 28 1781 - Princeton, Somerset, New Jersey, Usa, Susan STOCKTON, Julia STOCKTON, Richard Arthur STOCKTON, Abigail STOCKTON, Lucius STOCKTON, Susanna STOCKTON, Hannah STOCKTON, Rev. In 1780 he was elected to a one-year term in the New Jersey Legislative Council representing Somerset County. In the famous painting The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Richard Stockton is standing on the far left side of the painting the third figure from the left. The first signer to die, in 1777, was John Morton of Pennsyvania, a former Crown officer who had been sent to Philadelphia to oppose independence. He attended the Haddington Grammar School, and obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh in 1739. In November 1778, as British forces neared, Witherspoon closed and evacuated the College of New Jersey. Accounts indicate that, despite clear instruction, Justice Stockton wished to hear the arguments on either side of the issue. Witherspoon is not quite the hick she makes herself out to be, at least offscreen. 2009. The second time his life was preserved was in Ireland. Wife of Signer John Witherspoon Image: John Witherspoon John Witherspoon was born on February 5, 1722, at the village of Gifford, near Edinburgh, Scotland. Witherspoon worked with fellow Presbyterians and Congregationalists to ensure that the Anglican Church did not become the established church of the new nation as it had been in some of the states, but he believed that members of the clergy had the same right to participate in politics as others did. Witherspoon owned slaves during his time as Princeton's president. Joseph Hewes of North Carolina was a Quaker with a long pacifist heritage, and for many months he sided with those in Congress who were opposed to independence. Dr. Witherspoon enjoyed great success at the College of New Jersey. In council he was wise and firm, but always prudent and moderateThe office of Judge of the province was never filled with more integrity and learning that it was by him for several years before the revolution. Representing New Jersey at the Continental Congress. He attended grammar school at the neighboring town of Haddington. As a minister in the church he might have considered it beneficial to claim he was named after his ancestor.. Could you add the son James in the data and then include him in the 1776 project? He was in his home surrounded by family, and died on Tuesday, May 11th 1779, at the age 66. Shortly after he signed the Declaration of Independence, he was taken prisoner by the British. Her parents are still legally married, although they separated in 1996. 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. Boudinot again served in Congress from 1789-1795. 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. BYU Law Review 2003 (2003): 891-940. The College of New Jersey needed a first rate scholar to serve as its first president. John Witherspoon is Don Rigali . Not all of those who had voted for independence on July 2nd were present in August. In 1763 he received the degree of Sergeant at law the highest degree of law at that time. His son, Commodore Robert Field Stockton, was a hero of the War of 1812, and in 1846 became the Military Governor of California and later a Senator from New Jersey. The fifth son of Richard, eight year old John Stockton, inherited much of his fathers land after Richard died in 1709. Two incidents occurred during Stocktons travels that placed his life in peril. One of her poems about General Washington, on the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, shows how highly Washington esteemed these complimentary writings by the letter he wrote Annis. He who sustained the debate, and by the force of reasoning demonstrated not only the justice, but the expediency of the measure.. His aim as a minister was to defend and articulate traditional Scottish Presbyterian theology, without altering or disguising it. He first took a moderate stance in the troubles between the colonies and England. 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. Stockton wrote fellow signer Abraham Clark Dear Sir, Before I left Philadelphia Congress appointed a Committee, consisting of one member from each state, to devise ways and means for furnishing the Army with clothing and etc. Daniel L. Dreisbach, Mark D. Hall, and Jeffry H. Morrison, 11672146. In November, 1776, he shut down and then evacuated the College of New Jersey at the approach of British forces. Congressmen. He remained at the university to study divinity. Boudinot became a member of the Continental Congress in 1778, and President of Congress in 1782-83. He managed to move his family to safety, but was captured and imprisoned by the British. George III. Five were jailed and brutally treated. Because of Stocktons poor health and the parole requiring him not to participate in the war effort he resigned from Congress. Behind that fleet were all the wealth and power of the British Empire. Elias Boudinot was married to Stockton's sister Hannah Stockton (17361808). He remained at the University to study divinity. [15] Thus, Witherspoon and his family emigrated to New Jersey in 1768. They had ten children, only five surviving to adulthood. If so, login to add it. Witherspoon had been a prominent evangelical Presbyterian minister in Scotland before accepting the Princeton position. In 1777, all members of Congress and Washington's Army were required to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. Scotland's DNA Like John Adams and Patrick Henry, he was an outspoken Patriot, advocating independence from Great Britain. Nothing was ever written about doubts of Stockton's loyalty in any of the papers of members of Congress, or in any newspapers or books of the time. 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. That risk was not only substantial, it was imminent. A rest area on the southbound New Jersey Turnpike, south of Interstate 195, is named after Stockton. Her parents are still legally married, although they separated in 1996. John attended the preparatory school in Haddington Scotland. A bronze statue at Princeton University by Scottish sculptor Alexander Stoddart is the twin of one outside The University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland. Username and password are case sensitive. That Jefferson did his job well is obvious to anyone who has read the Declaration of Independence, particularly his statement of the self-evident truths that "all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. A statue of Richard Stockton by Henry Kirke Brown was dedicated by congressional proceedings in 1888 and placed in Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Stockton is one of only six signers to be so honored. John Witherspoon was a Pastor, President of Princeton and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Named after John Witherspoon, one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, the . He was elected to the Continental Congress from 1776-1782, elected to the state legislature in New Jersey from 1783-1789 and was the president of the College of New Jersey from 1768-1792. Two years after his parole from prison he developed cancer of the lip that spread to his throat. The duties on each side. However, none was more important than moral philosophy (a required course). American actress, producer, and entrepreneur, Born on March 22, 1976 [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. Categories: Patriotic Service, New Jersey, American Revolution | American Founding Fathers | Signers of the Articles of Confederation | Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence | Presbyterian Ministers | Princeton University | NSDAR Patriot Ancestors, WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. This was an exceedingly important event in the history of higher education in America. On July 2, 1776, the day of the vote on independence, another delegate claimed that America wasn't yet ripe enough for independence. If something of the kind was not done, he warned Lord Dartmouth, the result would be an obstinate, awful, and tremendous war. "His Majesty can now read my name without spectacles, and can now double his reward of 500 pounds for my head. The Board had previously voted not to make the change, but reversed itself after local residents submitted a petition with more than 1,500 signatures and input gathered at two public forums, temporarily changing the name to the Princeton Unified Middle School until a permanent new name is identified. Witherspoon took a very active role in the debates regarding the Articles of Confederation. Stone was the engraver. Please, is a professor of political science and dean of the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. New York still abstained, but New Jersey and Pennsylvania voted in the affirmative. He first took a moderate stance in the troubles between the colonies and Great Britain. In 1912, after her mother married John William Coleman, the family moved into the city of Atlanta. It was a storm which had been building for more than a decade as the British Parliament and King George III imposed one oppressive measure after another on the colonies, increasing their taxes and decreasing their freedoms. With the passage of the Stamp Act, such arguments were overcome by colonial backlash. 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. http://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1233/john-witherspoon, The Free Speech Center operates with your generosity! Seventeen signers lost everything they owned, and all of them were hunted as traitors, with most separated from their homes and families. At this point he was twenty. John Witherspoon (1723-1794) was a Scottish-born American Presbyterian divine and educator. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 3 daughters. As president of Princeton, Witherspoon educated five delegates to the U.S. The tyrannical actions of the Crown were quickly followed by measured and sometimes violent reactions from the colonists. It took nearly two years to regain his health according to Dr. 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. He was appointed to the royal council of New Jersey in 1765 and remained a member until the government was reformed. Stocktons oldest daughter Julia wed Dr. Benjamin Rush in January 1776, six months later Rush signed the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon served in Congress from June 1777 until November 1784 and became one of its most influential members and a workhorse of prodigious energy. Witherspoon personally taught courses in eloquence or belles lettres, chronology (history), and divinity. Francis Lewis was away when the British ransacked his home, so they seized his wife, treated her brutally, and threw her into prison under foul conditions. . In regard to civil magistrates, Witherspoon thus believed moral judgment should be pursued as a science. He attended the Haddington Grammar School, and obtained a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Divinity from the University of St. Andrews. At Princeton, he mentored constitutional architect James Madison; as a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress, he was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. An urgent message from his colleague, Thomas McKean, now demanded his presence in Philadelphia "at the earliest possible moment." 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. ", Although the Stamp Act was subsequently repealed, it had been followed by the Townshend Acts and the Writs of Assistance in 1767, the Boston Massacre in 1770, increasing interference in colonial governments, the Boston Port Bill in 1774, and other "injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states.". Because of the storm they had arrived late, at the end of a speech John Adams was giving in favor of independence. Five months after signing the Declaration, the British burned his library. In Princeton today, a University dormitory built in 1877, the street running north from the University's main gate, and the local public middle school all bear his name. In 1913, a handsome bronze marker was placed at the site by the Sons of the American Revolution. John Witherspoon: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence John Witherspoon was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Even George Read of Delaware, who had voted against the Declaration on July 2nd, signed it, as did Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, who had stayed away from the session rather than vote no as he was formally instructed to do. Jimmy Witherspoon, born in Arkansas, was a master of the blues. They had eleven children. John Witherspoon was always aware that many in England (even King George) saw the Revolution as more than a war for the independence of the American Colonies. Declaration of Independence, printed by John Dunlap, July 4, 1776, Records of the Continental and Confederation, Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, Record Group 360; National Archives. He served on over 100 committees, most notably the sitting committees, the board of peace and the committee on public correspondence or common affairs. Amidst all the compliments which have been made on this occasion, be assured, madam, that the agreeable manner, and the very pleasing sentiments in which yours is conveyed, have affected my mind with the most lively sensations of joy and satisfaction. When John Witherspoon was born on 5 February 1722, in Gifford, Yester, East Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, his father, James Alexander Witherspoon III, was 31 and his mother, Anna Walker, was 25. He was not much concerned with politics, but applied his talents and person to the revolutionary cause when the day came. The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. Annis and her brothers attended Franklins Academy. He voted in favor, and shortly after voted for the Declaration of Independence. There is not a single shoe or stocking to be had in this part of the world, or I would ride a hundred miles thought the woods, and purchase them with my own moneyfor youll consider that the weather here must be different from that in New Jersey; it is very cold now I assure you. At the College of New Jersey, Witherspoon revised the moral philosophy curriculum, strengthened the college's commitment to natural philosophy, and positioned Princeton in the larger transatlantic world of the republic of letters. . 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. Birth of Rev. According to Herbert Hovenkamp, Witherspoon's most lasting contribution was the initiation of the Scottish common sense realism, which he had learned by reading Thomas Reid and two of his expounders Dugald Stewart and James Beattie.[26]. Despite personal setbacks Witherspoon never lost his belief that America would prevail in the struggle for independence. When his health permitted, Stockton attempted to earn a living by reopening his law practice and teaching new students. 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 Witherspoon Collection, 1765-1903 (mostly 1767-1790) C0274 SOME ONLINE CONTENT. Arrayed against such might was a Continental Army of 10,000 men and a handful of poorly equipped and badly trained militia in the several states. He is co-editor of the. Coordinates: 40.35238 N, 74.66019 W. As the "Loudest Voice" for Independence, he is . At the urging of Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton, whom he met in Paisley,[14] Witherspoon finally accepted their renewed invitation (having turned one down in 1766) to become president and head professor of the small Presbyterian College of New Jersey in Princeton. From 1758-1768, he was minister of the Laigh Kirk, Paisley (Low Kirk). Here were the elite of the 18th century America, but few were elitist. During the siege of Yorktown in 1781, the British forces were under heavy attack from some 16,000 American troops, 3,000 Virginia militia, and the French fleet. He was attacked one night in Edinburgh by a desperate robber and defended himself skillfully with a small sword. Witherspoon was opposed to the Jacobite rising of 1745-46. They were empowered by Congress to contract for provisions, provide barracks, make regulations for hospitals and report back to Congress on the state of the army. "The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country, but he that stands it now deserves the thanks of man and woman. "[7] 4,836 Declarations were subscribed but Stockton as a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and a leading rebel never did according to General Howe. Princeton Press, 1948Ferris, Robert G. and Richard E. Morris, Signers of the Declaration. As a native Scotsman, long wary of the power of the British Crown, Witherspoon soon came to support the Revolution, joining the Committee of Correspondence and Safety in early 1774. An error has occured while loading the map. Witherspoon served in Congress from June 1776 until November 1782 and became one of its most influential members and a workhorse of prodigious energy.

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