John Witherspoon was a Pastor, President of Princeton and signer of the Declaration of Independence. The mere communication of that congressional order to General Howe was enough to end the persecution of the Clark brothers and they survived their imprisonment. The oldest, James, was a major in the Revolutionary army, and fell at the battle of Germantown. The Document | Worthy to note: John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign our Declaration of Independence was the nephew of both Margaret and Janette Witherspoon. 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 in private practice as an otolaryngologist until 2012. The two remaining sons were bred to professions, and arose to distinction. 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. [1] Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (1768-1794; now Princeton University) became an influential figure in the development of the . Wrong username or password. In 1766 and 1767, he gave up his law practice for the purpose of visiting England, Scotland, and Ireland. Woods, David Walker. Witherspoon personally taught courses in eloquence or belles lettres, chronology (history), and divinity. Few with a knowledge of history would have predicted anything but disaster and ruin for those gathered in Philadelphia during the first week of August in 1776. Witherspoon was responsible for its rebuilding after the war, which caused him great personal and financial difficulty. Witherspoon was opposed to the Jacobite rising of 1745-46. Representing New Jersey at the Continental Congress. In 1743 he became a Presbyterian Minister at a parish in Beith, where he married, authored three noted works on theology. [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. Consistent with his Presbyterian theology, Witherspoon believed that God was the author of freedom, and he did not think that the state, which was administered by imperfect individuals, had the right to dictate personal religious beliefs. SOURCE: Wikipedia, Richard Stockton (Continental Congressman) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stockton_%28Continental_Congre Caesar Rodney was weary when he reached his plantation near Dover on the night of July 1, 1776. Anna was John's first teacher. He helped organize Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey. The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. Then, on June 7th, Richard Henry Lee put this resolution before the Congress: "RESOLVED, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.". John Knox Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 - November 15, 1794) was a Scots Presbyterian minister and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence [1] as a representative of New Jersey. They were moral men, and all men of integrity who had been welded together in a common purpose. Related Information | Previously known as "Stockton State College" and "Richard Stockton State College", it is now known as "Richard Stockton College of New Jersey". However, in this framework, non-Christian societies could have virtue, which, by his definition, could be found in natural law. Once he was satisfied, the New Jersey delegates voted for Independence. However, none was more important than moral philosophy (a required course). In 1768, he left Scotland to travel to New Jersey, to accept a position as President of the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University). "There," he had said after writing his name in large, bold letters. When he was finally freed, in a prisoner exchange, he was an invalid who died a short time later at the age of 51. A presidential visit Elias Boudinot served his country in many positions during the difficult times of the American Revolution. But even as late as January 6, 1776, the Congress adopted a resolution stating that the colonies, "had no design to set up as an independent nation." Stockton acquired his personal coat of arms and motto: Omnia Deo Pendent all depends on God. He was consulted on the state of American affairs by such notable men as the Marquis of Rockingham with whom he spent a week at his country estate. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. 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. Witherspoon instituted a number of reforms, including modeling the syllabus and university structure after that used at the University of St. Andrews and other Scottish universities. 1898, Page 18Corner, George W. The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush. 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 . When John Witherspoon was born in 1730, in County Down, Ireland, his father, Robert Witherspoon, was 25 and his mother, Mary Stuart, was 21. ", 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.". Witherspoon immediately declared "It is not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it." John's father was Richard "The Builder" Stockton. The New York signers - William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, and Lewis Morris - were particularly vulnerable to British retaliation. Soon, Witherspoon came to support the American Revolution, joining the New Jersey Committee of Correspondence and Safety in early 1774. He was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity from the University of St Andrews, Fife. Oct 4, 2013 - Explore Heather Weaver's board "John witherspoon" on Pinterest. Paisley, Scotland, honored Witherspoon's memory by naming a new street in the town center after him, in honor of his having lived in Paisley for a portion of his adult life. . New England was unanimously for independence. 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. Besides paper documents, it is one of four still-existing objects that were present during the Constitutional Convention, along with the Liberty Bell, the chair that George Washington sat in as the Constitutional Convention's . 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. Stockton was appointed by Congress, along with fellow signer George Clymer, to an exhausting two-month journey to Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga and Albany, New York to assist the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. Since 2001, a statue of John Witherspoon (1723-1794 . Dr. John Witherspoon, President of Princetion University and a signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Here were the elite of the 18th century America, but few were elitist. Richard Stocktons eldest son Richard became a New Jersey senator and Stocktons served in Congress for four generations. Username and password are case sensitive. Username and password are case sensitive. In 1789 he was convening moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Login to find your connection. But a declining health and constitution worn out with application and with service obliged him, shortly after, to retire from the line of public duty, and hath at length dismissed him from the world. He was buried at Stony Brook Quaker Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey among his Quaker ancestors. This claim is based on a private letter quoting a rumor spread by an enemy of Stockton. Two incidents occurred during Stocktons travels that placed his life in peril. [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. One lost all 13 of his children; and the wives, sons, and daughters of others were killed, imprisoned, harassed, or deprived of all material possessions. But none of the signers ever betrayed his pledged word. In the months that followed, impassioned speeches were delivered from New Hampshire to Georgia, and the political tension became almost unbearable. Considered firm but good-humored in his leadership, Witherspoon was very popular among both faculty and students. That reaction deeply hurt Morton, particularly when he was ignored even after he fell gravely ill early in 1777. In his Lectures on Divinity, Rev. Daniel L. Dreisbach, Mark D. Hall, and Jeffry H. Morrison, 11672146. "I am a merchant of New York, but I am a Virginian first," he declared in the House of Burgesses. He argued that the colonies should be represented in the Parliament. Great hardships and suffering were also inflicted upon three signers from neighboring New Jersey. In the last years of life he suffered injuries, first to one eye then the other, becoming totally blind two years before his death. As to the first it seems to be only that the master has a right to the labors and ingenuity of the servant for a limited time, or at most for life. It took only a few minutes to complete the signing, and it was agreed not to make the signatures public for six months to give the signers and their families as much time as possible to secure themselves against certain reprisals. There is absolutely no proof this occurred. Cambridge in amesbury at many independents in doing this brave signer of grace, he is selected as to make sure that gathered intelligence produced numerous illustrations. Annis Boudinot Stockton died February 6, 1801, surviving her beloved Richard by nearly twenty years. The servant therefore retains all his other natural rights. He suggested, however, that the state might enact a law that all slaves born after its passage should be free at a certain agee.g., 28 years, as in Pennsylvania, although in his optimistic opinion the state of society in America and the progress of the idea of universal liberty gave little reason to believe that there would be any slaves at all in America in 28 years time, and precipitation therefore might do more harm than good. He fought against the flood of paper money and opposed the issuance of bonds without provision for their amortization. John Witherspoon was a prominent member of the Continental Congress for eight years and signed the Declaration of Independence and other important documents. (Painting by Charles Willson Peale, public domain via Wikimedia Commons). His aim as a minister was to defend and articulate traditional Scottish Presbyterian theology, without altering or disguising it. John Witherspoon was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. 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. Dr. Betty Witherspoon earned three degrees in total, including a Ph.D in education. He first took a moderate stance in the troubles between the colonies and England. Despite personal setbacks Witherspoon never lost his belief that America would prevail in the struggle for independence. DAR Ancestor # A127172. "My country is entitled to my services, and I shall not shrink from the cause, even though it should cost me my life," he declared. The Institute was founded in 2003 by Princeton University professor and conservative Robert P. George, Luis Tellez, and others involved with the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. To fulfill this, he and his family emigrated to New Jersey in 1768. He was called before the Board, took the Oath and was dismissed (It is noted that Stockton did not turn in any protection papers as was required if you signed Howe's Proclamation and were given a pardon). John Witherspoon is Don Rigali . The 47 year-old son of a plantation owner, he was first elected to the colonial legislature in 1761, and sent to the first and second Continental Congresses. Christian Witherspoon (bap Beith, Ayrshire 14 August 1750), Barbra Witherspoons (bap Beith, Ayrshire 20 February 1756), John Witherspoon (bap Beith, Ayrshire 29 July 1757), George Witherspoon (31 Mar 1762-27 July 1762), WikiTree profile Witherspoon-160 created through the import of Maltby master 08282011.GED on Aug 30, 2011 by. An error has occured while loading the map. 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. Stockton initially showed little interest in politics. 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. How far this subjection extends. Witherspoon was responsible for its reconstruction after the war, which caused him great personal and financial difficulty. 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. In the months before and after the Declaration of Independence, several states were working on their own constitutions, including New York. By invitation he spent a week at the country estate of the Marquis of Rockingham and was entertained by the Earl of Chatham, the Earl of Chesterfield and other distinguished members of Parliament friendly to the American Colonies. In January, however, a sensational pamphlet appeared in Philadelphia and stirred more revolutionary fervor than anything that had been written to that time. Can someone please show primary source documentation that his middle name was Knox, because I find only that there is no middle name. He married (1) 2 Sept. 1748, Elizabeth Montgomerie (1722-1789), daughter of Robert Montgomerie. 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). 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