John Witherspoon, Parson and Patriot "He was one of the "Signers of the Declaration of Independence" John Witherspoon, son of James Witherspoon and Anne Walker was baptised in the parish of Yester, East Lothian on 10 February 1723. Richard and his wife Abigail (nee unknown) were the parents of Richard "The Builder" Stockton, the grandfather of Rihcard "The Signer" Stockton. He signed the Declaration of Independence, and was a leader in Pennsylvania's ratification of the Constitution in 1788. "I am a merchant of New York, but I am a Virginian first," he declared in the House of Burgesses. [2] 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. John Witherspoon (1723-1794) was a Scottish-born American Presbyterian divine and educator. Rev. She was a close friend and favorite correspondent of General George Washington. Declaration of Independence Signer. Father of Julia Rush; Mary Hunter; Susannah Cuhtburt; Sen. Richard Stockton; Lucius Horatio Stockton and 2 others; Abigail Field and Abigail Dunbar less On July 1, 1776, Richard Stockton and his good friend Rev. She became a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University. Died on November 15, 1794 in Near Princeton, New Jersey, USA , United States. 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. The eulogy was delivered by Rev. Their son Richard Stockton became an eminent lawyer and prominent Federalist leader. [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. Unanimity was essential, so Edward Rutledge of South Carolina moved that a final vote be postponed until the following day. Witherspoon had suffered eye injuries and was blind by 1792. The continental army had to depend on Congress and the states to provide for them, and help for the army was slow in coming if it came at all. Agnes Douglas , Alexander Livingston, Alinor de PROVENCE , Henri III d'ANGLETERRE, Marguerite Von Wittelsbach , Jean De Bourgogne. Witherspoon became prominent within the church as an Evangelical opponent of the Moderate Party. He also obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh in 1739. Judge Richard Stockton was the only signer to be put in irons, starved and imprisoned under brutal conditions by the British four months after signing the Declaration of Independence. Previously known as "Stockton State College" and "Richard Stockton State College", it is now known as "Richard Stockton College of New Jersey". However, he changed his position a year later when the controversy over the Stamp Act arose. General Washington ordered that the document be read to each Army brigade on July 9th, and he reported afterwards to Congress on "the expressions and behavior of officers and men testifying their warmest and approbation of it." Students who later played prominent roles in the new nation's development included James Madison, Aaron Burr, Philip Freneau, William Bradford, and Hugh Henry Brackenridge. Page 201.The Collections of the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Stockton's oldest son Richard was an eminent lawyer and later a Senator from New Jersey. John Hart died of kidney stones after a long and very painful suffering. 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. Dr. Witherspoon enjoyed great success at the College of New Jersey. Born February 5, 1723 (Gifford, Scotland) Died November 15, 1794 (Princeton, New Jersey) Protestant theologian, educator. 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. Notre Dame, Ind. He brought many of the better elements of the Scottish Enlightenment to Princeton and was interested in science as well as in government, moral philosophy, religion, and other subjects; notes of his lectures, which stressed the moral sense, were widely distributed in early America. Some had left Congress; others were away and had to sign later; and several new delegates had since been elected. 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. Declaration House | Seat 7 to which the Hon. -----------------------------------------------------------------. 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. An error has occured while loading the map. 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. 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. External links:Richard Stockton at the Biographical Directory of the United States CongressBiography by Rev. 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. The males in his family were all clergymen, and he was trained to become a Presbyterian minister. Witherspoon, in accordance with the Scottish moral sense philosophy, taught that all human beings, Christian or otherwise, could be virtuous, but he was nonetheless committed to Christianity as the only route to personal salvation. 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. Since that period, he hath represented New Jersey in the Congress of the United States. Later that year he was elected to the Continental Congress in time to vote for R. H. Lee's Resolution for Independence. Witherspoon had been a prominent evangelical Presbyterian minister in Scotland before accepting the Princeton position. 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 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. In regard to civil magistrates, Witherspoon thus believed moral judgment should be pursued as a science. 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. The militia commander was signer Thomas Nelson Jr., who noticed that the artillery gunners were shelling everything in the vicinity except his own stately brick mansion, which was being used as British headquarters. 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. They found the army in need of all necessary things and Stockton reported this to John Hancock. Lives and fortunes were lost, but their sacred honor was never sacrificed. He paid the supreme price for placing his signature on the Declaration and pledging his life, his fortune and his Sacred Honor. Two incidents occurred during Stocktons travels that placed his life in peril. In 1752, John Stockton and his stepfather, Thomas Leonard, gave money and land to establish the College of Princeton (later Princeton University) in Princeton, New Jersey. Only John Hancock signed the declaration that day, and a formal signing by all the delegates was scheduled for August 2nd. John Witherspoon: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence John Witherspoon was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Richard Stockton (1730-1781)Signer of the Declaration of Independence. 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 became a Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) minister at Beith, Ayrshire, serving there from 1745 to 1758, where he married Elizabeth Montgomery. Some are superior to others in mental powers and intellectual improvementsome by the great increase of their property through their own, or their predecessors industry, and some make it their choice, finding they cannot live otherwise better, to let out their labor to others for hire. Many referred to it as the "Presbyterian Rebellion" and a Hessian soldier wrote, "America-call this war dearest friend by whatever name you may, only call it not an American Rebellion. This is the same day, just the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Princeton University is considering a petition, signed by nearly 300 members of the campus community, to remove a statue of John Witherspoon. He read it, and the simple ceremony was over. Reason third, you can write ten times better than I can.". Wrong username or password. 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 . Witherspoon accepted the impossibility of maintaining public morality or virtue in the citizenry without an effective religion. [1] John married Elisabeth Montgomerie in the parish of Beith, Ayrshire on 14 August 1748. Richard was born at the Stockton family home now known as Morven in the Stony Brook neighborhood of Princeton, New Jersey, attended Samuel Finley's academy at Nottingham, which later became West Nottingham Academy, and the College of New Jersey located in Newark, graduating in 1748. Born on February 05, 1723 in Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland , United Kingdom. John Witherspoon arrived in Philadelphia to take their place as new members of Congress meeting at the State House (now Independence Hall). [9] "Common report, moreover, may be attributed to Judge Stockton some of the exploits of a distant cousin, Major Richard Stockton an obnoxious Tory, who did take Howe's protection and went over to the British until he was captured in Feb. Son of Honorable John Stockton and Abigail Stockton Ramsay, the celebrated historian. Enter a grandparent's name. Following the Jacobite victory at the Battle of Falkirk (1746), he was briefly imprisoned at Doune Castle, which had a long-term impact on his health. The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University (accessed Jan 18, 2023). 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. Also obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh in 1739 the. 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