The Hempstead County Historical Society met on Tuesday, June 23rd. The meeting kicked off with announcements. Joshua Williams said there will be a concert at The Hub this Thursday. There will be different 4th of July celebrations. Emmet, Blevins, and Deann will be hosting 4th of July celebrations with the combined DeAnn/Blevins celebration set for Blevins on July 3rd. There will be several different celebrations elsewhere, such as by the Hope airport and in Prescott.
Joshua Williams said the topic of this month’s meeting was going to be discussing the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the sacrifices they made for the country.
The first Continental Congress tried to mend the relationship with Britain. Most of the Congress members were in their late 30s to early 50s. The Congress sent an “olive branch” article to King George. King George’s response was to “back down or hang” according to Williams. He noted the true independence date is July 2nd.
Williams talked about John Hancock. He was the president of the congress. There is no known reason why he has a big signature.
Thomas Hayward Jr. was captured by the British. His property was seized. His property was valued at $50,000. Rudlidge Edwards did not want to break away from the British, up until King George gave the final threat. Edwards was also the governor of Virginia. Lynon Hall was one of four physicians to sign the Declaration of Independence. George Carol is considered the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. He also was very wealthy and bought stocks in one of the first railroads. William Floyd’s home was plundered by the Tories. Phillip Livingston’s houses in New York and Brooklyn Hights were seized by the British. John Hart owned large farms and mills. The British chased him and he had to sleep with his dogs to keep warm. Abraham Clark had sons who served in the Continental War. The British captured his sons and told Clark they would release his sons if Clark renounced the American colonies. Clark refused. Josiah Bartlett had 12 children, 8 of whom survived to adulthood. Robert Morris is one of only two people who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Joshua Morton was originally a loyalist, but as British control tightened, he changed his opinions. He died shortly after the Constitution was signed, one of the earliest signers to do so. Nelson Lee financed his house and raised over $2 million to help America fight the British. He was not repaid. The British took over his house and Lee told the cannon firers to fire on his house.
The meeting was then adjourned.
