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. In 1766 and 1767, he gave up his law practice for the purpose of visiting England, Scotland, and Ireland. 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. Two years later, the 68-year old minister married 24 year old Ann Dill, with whom he would have two daughters. [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]. In 1776, Stockton was elected to the Second Continental Congress, where he took a very active role. From "Witherspoon Family History" by Evelyn Potter Park: John migrated [from Scotland] to Ireland at an early age and from there came to America in 1790. Clara Elizabeth Judgwyn , Edward Parrish, Philippa de Luxembourg , Jean I de Hainaut, Elizabeth Parrott , John Beauford. He was prominent in many reforms, especially in the areas of medicine and education. He paid the supreme price for placing his signature on the Declaration and pledging his life, his fortune and his Sacred Honor. Dr. Witherspoon enjoyed great success at the College of New Jersey. Can someone please show primary source documentation that his middle name was Knox, because I find only that there is no middle name. Consequently, he was opposed to the Roman Catholic Legitimist Jacobite rising of 174546. ", On July 3rd, Jefferson's draft of the Declaration was submitted to the delegates from the 13 Colonies, and he suffered the pain of all authors at the hands of editors - in this case, half a hundred of them. . There were no defectors. The Presbyterian Constitution of 1787 to which Witherspoon contributed removed provisions from the earlier Westminster Confession that allowed magistrates to suppress blasphemies and heresies, and the U.S. Constitution denied the power of the state to intervene in matters of religious faith (Morrison, 2005: 108). These 56 men who spoke for two and a half million American free men were a spectacular group of individuals. William James Stone, Declaration of Independence, the Stone engraving, 1823. Whatever their status that August, the 56 men who eventually signed the Declaration of Independence were under no illusions. Presidents of Princeton University. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. John Witherspoon died near Princeton, New Jersey, on NOVEMBER 15 . For the next 26 years, he would serve as Princeton's President, helping to make it a great institution for higher learning. Jan l8, 21, 22, 29, Feb 7, 1777, Tatum, ed., Jour. 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. Arms, as a last resort, must decide the contest.". John Witherspoon was an American Founding Father, a noted clergyman, and an educator.He played an influential role in his home country of Scotland and in his adopted country, the United States.Witherspoon was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of . . There must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together." Collection Overview . Adams at first refused, but when Stockton again repeated his request and at the urging of Edward Rutledge who said only Adams had the facts at his command Adams rose to the occasion and gave a stirring speech in favor of independence. Stockton's treatment in the New York prison prompted Continental Congress to pass a resolution directing George Washington to inquire into the circumstances and not long afterward, Stockton was paroled on January 13, 1777. John Hart died of kidney stones after a long and very painful suffering. 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. The first complete facsimile printingtext and signatureswas by commissioned by the State Department in 1823. Her health broke during captivity and Mrs. Lewis died shortly after being released in a 1778 prisoner exchange. On August 23, 1783, George Washington attended the public reception by Congress in Princeton. 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. John Witherspoon would profess that he loved his new home in New Jersey, and that he had "become an American the moment he landed." 67179. Coordinates: 40.35238 N, 74.66019 W. As the "Loudest Voice" for Independence, he is . He fought against the flood of paper money and opposed the issuance of bonds without provision for their amortization. Please try again. He voted in favor, and shortly after voted for the Declaration of Independence. Reverend Samuel Smith succeeded Dr. Witherspoon as president of Princeton in 1775. Witherspoon and his wife, Elizabeth Montgomery, had a total of 10 children, only five of whom survived to accompany their parents to America. New York still abstained, but New Jersey and Pennsylvania voted in the affirmative. Born in 1723, he received the finest education available to a bright young gentleman of that era. In answer to an objection that the country was not yet ready for independence, according to tradition he replied that it "was not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it."[20][21]. In 1969, the New Jersey Legislature passed legislation establishing a state college which was named after Stockton, to honor the memory of New Jersey's signer of the Declaration of Independence. [John Witherspoon, Lectures on Moral Philosophy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Moses Coit Tyler "President Witherspoon in the American Revolution" The American Historical Review Volume 1, Issue 1, July 1896. pp. He argued that the colonies should be represented in the Parliament. [23] An inventory of Witherspoon's possessions taken at his death included "two slaves valued at a hundred dollars each".[24]. Stockton initially showed little interest in politics. Of particular interest to Witherspoon was the Crown's growing interference in the local and colonial affairs which previously had been the prerogatives and rights of the American authorities. Witherspoon was a proponent of Christian values, his common sense approach to the public morality of civil magistrates was influenced by the ethics of Scottish philosophers Francis Hutcheson and Reid rather than Jonathan Edwards. 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. Witherspoon was a very active member of congress, serving on more than a hundred committees through his tenure and debating frequently on the floor. 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. "[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. Born in 1723, he received the finest education available to a bright young gentleman of that era. John Witherspoon: A Sermon Occasioned by His Death (1802), The History and Genealogy of the Witherspoon Family by Joseph Bailey Witherspoon, Protected Profile addition - Signers Declaration of Indepence, Patriotic Service, New Jersey, American Revolution, Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. 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. Declaration of Independence Signer. Richard Stocktons home Morven became the New Jersey Governors Mansion from 1954-1981. He died a pauper in Princeton at the age of 51. He was hunted by soldiers and dogs and was forced to hide in the woods and caves of the Sourland Mountains during icy December weather. Richard Stockton was betrayed by a loyalist and seized by the British, who subjected him to beatings and starvation. Conditions were horrific in prison where over 12,000 men died in prison ships and prisons in New York compared with 4,435 battle casualties during the entire war. He was not released until several years later, badly treated and in very poor condition. Elizabeth Witherspoon died in 1789. The British occupied the area and did much damage to the college, nearly destroyed it. On June 26th, this Livingston petitioned the New York Assembly so that he could leave the state convention and rejoin Congress in Philadelphia. At once he began fund-raising, added three hundred of his own books to the library, and began the purchase of scientific equipment, including the Rittenhouse orrery, many maps and a "terrestial" globe. The black gowned students of Princeton surrounded the door to Nassau Hall and cheered as Washington entered. http://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1233/john-witherspoon, The Free Speech Center operates with your generosity! 03.12('53) DVD [8] In 1764, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in divinity by the University of St Andrews.[9]. HE was involved in New Jersey committees of correspondence, and he also signed the Declaration of Independence and served on over a hundred congressional committees. Nonetheless, Witherspoon transformed a college designed predominantly to train clergymen into a school that would equip the leaders of a new country. In the months that followed, impassioned speeches were delivered from New Hampshire to Georgia, and the political tension became almost unbearable. Susannah later married Thomas Leonard and remained in Princeton after her husbands death. John Hart, at the insistence of his dying wife, finally left her bedside to flee as a party of Hessians approached his farm. The oldest, James, was a major in the Revolutionary army, and fell at the battle of Germantown. [25] The next oldest son, John, graduated from Princeton in 1779, practiced medicine in South Carolina, and was lost at sea in 1795. Rodney knew very well that, now unable to go to England for treatment of his terrible cancer, he would die an early and horrible death. Princeton University is considering a petition, signed by nearly 300 members of the campus community, to remove a statue of John Witherspoon. He was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity from the University of St Andrews, Fife. Congressmen. Stockton and his wife had six children, four daughters and two sons: Julia Stockton (married to Benjamin Rush, also a signer of the Declaration), Mary, Susan, Richard, Lucius and Abigail. 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. He lived in poverty for years before he was able to restore his property. Despite this precaution, it is probable that the British government and their Tory allies knew the names of every signer long before they were released to the public. 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. Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote "At Princeton I met my wife's 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. Named after John Witherspoon, one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, the . Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976 at Southern Baptist Hospital, in New Orleans, Louisiana, while her father, Dr. John Draper Witherspoon, was a student at Tulane University medical school. 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. They were sent with instructions to vote for Independence. 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. That such men were present at the moment of America's birth strongly suggests that the same Divine Providence they invoked in the Declaration of Independence had indeed planned it that way. 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. He transformed the College of New Jersey (later Princeton) from a poor theological seminary into a vigorous academic community. His wife was poet Annis Boudinot Stockton, sister of New Jersey statesman Elias Boudinot. Behind that fleet were all the wealth and power of the British Empire. They were moral men, and all men of integrity who had been welded together in a common purpose. An error has occured while loading the map. The settled opinion among the American founding fathers, including Dr. Witherspoon, was that slavery would eventually disappear naturally within a generation. Morrison, Jeffry H.. John Witherspoons Revolutionary Revolution. In The Founders on God and Government, ed. Ramsay, the celebrated historian. Politically active, Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence. Delaware was called next by Charles Thompson, the clerk of the Congress, and Caesar Rodney, in a tired but clear voice, responded: "As I believe the voice of my constituents and of all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and my own judgment concurs with them, I vote for independence.". He was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration. John Witherspoon was a Pastor, President of Princeton and signer of the Declaration of Independence. 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. The fifth son of Richard, eight year old John Stockton, inherited much of his fathers land after Richard died in 1709. He said that "undaunted resolution was displayed on every countenance.". Fleming H. Revell Company: 1906. [8] Later days and legacy. This page was last edited on 8 January 2023, at 19:20. by John C. Glynn, Jr. and Kathryn Glynn, 2008, Sources:American Archives. Boudinot again served in Congress from 1789-1795. He emigrated to New Jersey in 1768. John's father was Richard "The Builder" Stockton. Witherspoon advocated for "gradual emancipation" of slaves. Traditionally, scholarly discussion of Josef Stalin's plans for post-war Eastern Europe has revolved around a sharp dichotomy: Stalin was either an ideologically-motivated Marxist-Leninist bent on Communist revolution (the orthodox interpretation), or he was a security-starved pragmatist motivated by Realpolitik rather than revolutionary fervor (the revisionist claim).The "new Cold War . He died in 1794 on his farm Tusculum, just outside of Princeton, and is buried in the Princeton Cemetery. He did not favor separation; rather, he suggested in 1764 that some colonial members be appointed to the Parliament. One of the most active members of the Continental Congress, Witherspoon advocated independence, served on a large number of committees, and authored a number of Resolutions of Prayer and Thanksgiving. At age 68, he married a 24-year-old widow, with whom he had two more children. Page 130Glynn, John C., His Sacred Honor Judge Richard Stockton A Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Eveready Press, 2006. The rebels captured him, imprisoned him in a castle, and threatened to kill him. 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. John R. Vile. Start page | Elias Boudinot is responsible for our Thanksgiving Holiday, he proposed in 1789 in the United States House of Representatives, a resolution that we officially celebrate a day of public thanksgiving. 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. He can have no right either to take away life, or to make it insupportable by excessive labor. John Witherspoon was born at Gifford, a parish of Yester, at East Lothian, Scotland, as the eldest child of the Reverend James Alexander Witherspoon and Anne Walker, a descendant of John Welsh of Ayr and John Knox. "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. After resting and preparing for battle the troops left on the 24th. Following the Jacobite victory at the Battle of Falkirk, he was briefly imprisoned at Doune Castle,[10] which had a long-term effect on his health. Built in 1773 by John Witherspoon, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and a close friend to Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, the lovingly restored and expanded Tusculum estate offers over 23 acres of beautiful grounds, modern amenities and gracious living - right in the middle of Princeton, NJ. 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. Since that period, he hath represented New-Jersey in the congress of the United States. The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. 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. [22], Witherspoon suffered eye injuries and was blind by 1792. Josiah Bartlett - New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett was the first delegate to vote for independence and the second signer after John Hancock. 1953. On the day of the signing, the British fleet - an armada of dozens of ships with 42,000 sailors and soldiers - was waiting off the coast to crush these patriots and make an example of them. Witherspoon, John. Revolutionary War. [John Witherspoon, Lectures on Moral Philosophy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Rev. Born in Scotland and educated at the University of Edinburgh, Witherspoon was a prominent 18th-century intellectual associated with the moral philosophy of the Scottish Enlightenment. The Second Continental Congress had constituted itself a provisional government and began making preparations for war with Britain, including the creation of a Continental Army under General George Washington. Thomas Heyward returned to find that his wife had died in hardship during his imprisonment. 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 . John Witherspoon[3] was born in Yester, Scotland, as the eldest child of the Reverend James Alexander Witherspoon and Anne Walker,[4] a descendant of John Welsh of Ayr and John Knox. 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john witherspoon declaration of independence family tree