Elizabeth Witherspoon died in 1789. He applied himself to the study of law under the honorable David Ogden of Newark, at that time the most eminent lawyer in the province. There were no defectors. He also served twice in the New Jersey Legislature and strongly supported the adoption of the United States Constitution during the New Jersey ratification debates. They found the army in need of all necessary things and Stockton reported this to John Hancock. I call to God to witness that if any British troops are landed in the County of York, of which I am Lieutenant, I will wait no orders, but will summon the militia and drive the invaders into the sea!". However, in his "Lectures on Moral Philosophy", Dr. Witherspoon advocated for the humane treatment of laborers and servants (including slaves), stating: This relation is first generated by the difference which God hath permitted to take place between man and man. His philosophy was relatively pragmatic and blended well with the classical liberal strains of political thought advocated in his day. Wrong username or password. John Knox Witherspoon (1723-1794)clergyman, educator, and founding fatherserved as Princeton's sixth president from 1768 until his death in 1794. Susannah later married Thomas Leonard and remained in Princeton after her husbands death. . 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. He was in private practice as an otolaryngologist until 2012. John Witherspoon arrived in Philadelphia to take their place as new members of Congress meeting at the State House (now Independence Hall). In 1912, after her mother married John William Coleman, the family moved into the city of Atlanta. Witherspoon is not quite the hick she makes herself out to be, at least offscreen. John Witherspoon (February 15, 1723 - November 15, 1794) was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. William James Stone, Declaration of Independence, the Stone engraving, 1823. A son-in-law was Congressman David Ramsay, who married Frances Witherspoon on 18 March 1783. An error has occured while loading the map. This was an exceedingly important event in the history of higher education in America. in Near Princeton, New Jersey, USA , United States, This form allows you to report an error or to submit additional information about this family tree: John WITHERSPOON (1723), Copyright Wikipdia authors - This article is under licence CC BY-SA 3.0. Declaration House | In 1777, all members of Congress and Washington's Army were required to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. They had ten children, with five surviving to adulthood. In John Trumbull's famous painting Declaration of Independence, Witherspoon is among those shown in the background facing the large table, the second seated figure from the viewer's right. Behind that fleet were all the wealth and power of the British Empire. These 56 men who spoke for two and a half million American free men were a spectacular group of individuals. His aim as a minister was to defend and articulate traditional Scottish Presbyterian theology, without altering or disguising it. He also firmed up entrance requirements. 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.". Two years after his parole from prison he developed cancer of the lip that spread to his throat. A young English woman Esther DeBerdt, engaged to Stocktons former law student Joseph Reed remarked, I like Mr. Stockton exceedingly. (Image courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol) UCF lecturer David Head barely needs notes to teach the course U.S. History: 1492-1877. The colonies' most respected doctors, educators, and clergymen were numbered among their ranks. "John Witherspoon." 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. When he was at last able to return to his home, John Hart found that his wife had died and his 13 children were scattered throughout the countryside or in captivity. [5] Witherspoon became prominent within the Church as an Evangelical opponent of the Moderate Party. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. Witherspoon Society, an organization of laypeople within the. "[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. Husband of Annis Boudinot Stockton Jan l8, 21, 22, 29, Feb 7, 1777, Tatum, ed., Jour. He also served twice in the New Jersey Legislature, and strongly supported the adoption of the United States Constitution during the New Jersey ratification debates. Herbert Foster has identified five points of political Calvinism that appear to apply to Witherspoon: fundamental law, natural rights, contract and consent of people, popular sovereignty, resistance to tyranny through responsible representatives (Quoted in Morrison 2005: 81). The main building, Nassau Hall, was badly damaged and his papers and personal notes were lost. In 1987, the LDS Reference Unit at the Family History Library, in Salt Lake City, compiled the "Founding Fathers Project." I have the honor to be, madam youre most obedient and respectful servant, G. Washington. Many of the letters they wrote are included in Stocktons Biography His Sacred Honor. He married Elizabeth Montgomery on 2 September 1748, in Scotland, United Kingdom. Wolcott 's wife and children, and other ladies of the town, melted down the statue into 42,088 bullets for the American Army. Elias Boudinot was married to Stockton's sister Hannah Stockton (17361808). Had you known the pleasure it would have communicated, I flatter myself, your diffidence would not have delayed it to this time. Photographic tour of John Witherspoon's grave at Princeton Cemetery. 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. 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. His wife was poet Annis Boudinot Stockton, sister of New Jersey statesman Elias Boudinot. The petitions suggests replacing the statue with "an informational plaque which details both the positive and negative aspects of Witherspoon's legacy. Since that period, he hath represented New Jersey in the Congress of the United States. 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. Login to find your connection. In 1766 and 1767, he gave up his law practice for the purpose of visiting England, Scotland, and Ireland. If so, login to add it. 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. President Washington later issued a proclamation designating a day of prayer and thanksgiving. The tyrannical actions of the Crown were quickly followed by measured and sometimes violent reactions from the colonists. His wife, Elizabeth, with whom he had ten children, wanted to stay in Scotland, but he finally was able to convince her to come with him. Coordinates: 40.35238 N, 74.66019 W. As the "Loudest Voice" for Independence, he is . 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. Signers | This latter claim of Knox descent though ancient in origin is long disputed and without primary documentation. 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. He died in 1794 on his farm Tusculum, just outside Princeton, and is buried along Presidents Row in Princeton Cemetery. Annis and her brothers attended Franklins Academy. And so it went through the rest of the states, with George Walton of Georgia the last to affix his name to the historic document that day. My heart melts with compassion for my brave countrymen who are thus venturing their lives in the public service and yet so distressed. Parades and demonstrations, patriotic observances and celebrations, were held across the states. As of Fall 2022, the petition has garnered over 250 signatures in support of removing the statue on the basis that it is a distraction to the University's mission and makes community members uncomfortable because of Witherspoon's racist history. Arms, as a last resort, must decide the contest.". His sons later moved from Hopewell, but his daughters' married men from the surrounding area. Seventeen signers lost everything they owned, and all of them were hunted as traitors, with most separated from their homes and families. 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. John Witherspoon Collection, 1765-1903 (mostly 1767-1790) C0274 SOME ONLINE CONTENT. His estate, Morven, in Princeton was occupied by General Cornwallis during Stockton's imprisonment; his furniture, all household belongings, crops and livestock were taken or destroyed by the British. New England was unanimously for independence. Richard Stockton (1730-1781)Signer of the Declaration of Independence. 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. Woods, David Walker. "My hand trembles," he said as he handed the quill to William Ellery, "but my heart does not." John Witherspoon was one of the signers of our Declaration of Independence. "There," he had said after writing his name in large, bold letters. 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. Dr. Betty Witherspoon earned three degrees in total, including a Ph.D in education. Witherspoon had suffered eye injuries and was blind by 1792. Washington and his wife, Martha, were frequent visitors to Morven. 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. 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. 2009. 85-86.]. To which the witty Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania replied: "Yes, we must all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately. On July 1, 1776, Richard Stockton and his good friend Rev. Dr. Witherspoon was born in Georgia and served as a lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. Boykin Witherspoon was an early plantation owner in De Soto, South Carolina. 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. 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. John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, was born in Yester, Scotland on 5 Feb 1722 or 1723. After the death of Mrs. Witherspoon, the Doctor, at the age of seventy, married a young woman of twenty-three, an alliance which occasioned much gossip and noise in the neighborhood and family circle. Such was the caliber of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, the men who risked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to establish the American Republic and guarantee our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Soon, Witherspoon came to support the American Revolution, joining the New Jersey Committee of Correspondence and Safety in early 1774. [1], John married Elisabeth Montgomerie in the parish of Beith, Ayrshire on 14 August 1748.[2]. He voted in favor, and shortly after voted for the Declaration of Independence. This claim is based on a private letter quoting a rumor spread by an enemy of Stockton. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Stockton's oldest son Richard was an eminent lawyer and later a Senator from New Jersey. I hope therefore that already a considerable quantity of shoes and stockings at least may be provided and that you will take immediate order for the sending of the parcels. He likely also would have been selected to the Constitutional Convention had he not been meeting simultaneously in Philadelphia to draw up a constitution for his own denomination, which paralleled the national document in a number of key respects. Biography by Rev. Nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Princeton University is considering a petition, signed by nearly 300 members of the campus community, to remove a statue of John Witherspoon. Annis was descended from French Huguenots; her grandfather fled France at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and settled in New York. Most of the 4,836 colonists who took advantage of the proclamation had done so before Trenton while British troops were enjoying their greatest success; AT NO TIME, however, HAD A LEADING REBEL SOUGHT PARDON. As he raced through the stormy darkness, it must have occurred to Caesar Rodney that a political storm was rising out of Philadelphia that would change the course of history. American actress, producer, and entrepreneur, Born on March 22, 1976 When the Crown began to give additional authority to its appointed episcopacy over church affairs, British authorities hit a nerve in the Presbyterian Scot, who saw such events in the same lens as his Scottish Covenanters. John Witherspoon, signer of the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey, was born at Yester, Scotland, 5 Feb. 1722. Stockton was the first person from New Jersey to sign the Declaration of Independence. The time had come to vote again on Richard Henry Lee's resolution. Princeton University Press, 1948. 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. John C. Witherspoon was the Calvinist preacher, President of Princeton College, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. He would not live see his country win independence. Witherspoon was responsible for its reconstruction after the war, which caused him great personal and financial difficulty. [29], Witherspoon was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1789[35]. "His Majesty can now read my name without spectacles, and can now double his reward of 500 pounds for my head. The practice was also impolitic, as slaves never are so good or faithful servants, as those who become so for a limited time by consent. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. He managed to move his family to safety, but was captured and imprisoned by the British. He held to old concepts from the Roman Republic of virtuous leadership by civil magistrates, but he also regularly recommended that his students read such modern philosophers as Machiavelli, Montesquieu, and David Hume, even though he disapproved of Hume's "infidel" stance on religion. Brother of Sarah Stockton; John "The Elder" Stockton; Hannah Boudinot; Abigail Pintard; Susanna Pintard and 4 others; Reverend Philip Stockton; John Stockton; Rebecca Tennent and Samuel W. Stockton less. 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. Born in Scotland to a family of clergymen, he was trained to become a Presbyterian minister. 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. I'm researching for a member of his family. Many of his students, including James Madison, Aaron Burr, Philip Freneau, and John Breckenridge, would play prominent roles in the development of the new nation. John later became a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. View Transcript The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 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. Witherspoon served in Congress from June 1776 until November 1782 and became one of its most influential members and a workhorse of prodigious energy. He was captured there November 30, 1776, by loyalists in the dead of night, drug from his bed and marched in freezing weather clad only in a nightshirt and breeches. When the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America met in 1789, 52 of the 188 delegates had studied under Witherspoon. Joseph Hewes died in 1779, literally from overwork, a lonely man separated by principle from his Quaker friends and family. 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. -----------------------------------------------------------------. The Witherspoon Institute is a conservative think tank in Princeton, New Jersey. There was no place to acquire these items and unfortunately no money to purchase them with if they were to be found.
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