A few years ago, around our annual celebration of one of the most important holidays of the year – Independence Day – the 4th of July, I wrote a piece about our founders. On July 4, 1776, 56 delegates to the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. The signing gave birth to the first real democratic republic in world history—founded by the people and for the people. Most of us can probably name no more than a few of the signers. And those would be the most well-known, e.g., Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, etc. These were the ones we learned about in our American history classes. This year we are celebrating our 250th anniversary. I felt it appropriate to honor another five of the lesser-known signers. In response to my earlier piece, a few of you realized there was some connection you had with one of these founders. Let me know if that happens again.
Carter Braxton (1736–1797)
Carter Braxton was a Virginia planter, merchant, and shipowner from King and Queen County. Born into the landed gentry, he received a private colonial education customary for Virginia gentlemen. Braxton expanded the family’s holdings and entered commerce, investing heavily in shipping and trade between Virginia and the Caribbean.
He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Virginia Convention, aligning with the colony’s move toward independence. Though a supporter of independence, his politics tended toward moderation once hostilities escalated; he later served in the Virginia General Assembly and the state’s Governor’s Council.
Braxton came from an established Virginia family. He married twice and fathered children who maintained the family’s social standing. His family connections included other prominent Tidewater families, which shaped his social and political network in colonial Virginia.
He is often remembered less for lasting national political leadership than for his financial misfortunes. He invested heavily in ships and trade, which were vulnerable during wartime; several of his vessels were captured by the British, and he suffered heavy losses. Postwar debt and the economic dislocations of the Revolution greatly diminished his fortune. His conservative fiscal instincts as a legislator reflected both his class position and personal financial anxieties.
Carter Braxton is often quoted as having lamented that signing the Declaration “ruined me,” reflecting the tangible cost the war exacted on many of the signers. Whether he literally intended that remark, it underlines how the choice for independence brought both honor and ruin to members of the colonial elite like Braxton.
Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814)
Elbridge Gerry was a Massachusetts merchant, lawyer, and politician. He graduated from Harvard College in 1762 and established himself as a merchant and privateer investor before moving into public service. His legal and commercial background helped him navigate colonial and revolutionary-era finance and logistics.
Gerry served in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and later took roles supporting the Revolutionary cause, including participation in state government and wartime administration. After the Revolution he remained a prominent political figure as a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Later he was Governor of Massachusetts (1810–1812) and Vice President of the United States under James Madison (1813–1814).
He came from a respected Marblehead family with maritime ties; his father was a local merchant. He married Ann Thompson and had children who continued the family’s public-service tradition. The Gerry family remained influential in Massachusetts civic life.
Gerry was an Anti-Federalist voice who feared a too-powerful central government. He advocated for protection of state authority and individual liberties. At the Constitutional Convention he opposed several aspects of the proposed document; notably, he initially refused to sign the Constitution because he believed it did not sufficiently protect popular representation and state power.
Gerry’s governorship also made him somewhat infamous in that it gave rise to the term “gerrymander.” In 1812, under a state redistricting plan which he approved, one district was drawn in such a contorted shape to favor his party that a Boston newspaper combined his name with “salamander” to coin “Gerry-mander.” The label stuck and became the eponym for partisan district manipulation. Indeed, we have heard much about that legislative balderdash in the past few years.
William Hooper (1742–1790)
William Hooper was born in Boston and educated at Harvard College. He trained as a lawyer and after admission to the bar relocated to North Carolina to practice law and manage mercantile interests. He became an established attorney and planter in New Bern and Wilmington.
Hooper was an early supporter of colonial resistance in North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina Provincial Congress and was chosen as one of the colony’s delegates to the Continental Congress (1774–1777). He supported the Revolutionary cause by participating in political and legal efforts to create state government and manage wartime logistics. Health problems and disputes with other North Carolina leaders led him to resign from Congress in 1777 and return home.
He came from a seafaring New England family; his father was a mariner. After moving south, Hooper married and raised a family in North Carolina. His household and estate tied him into the social and commercial elite of the colony.
Hooper’s move from Boston to North Carolina exemplifies the fluid colonial professional class whose members often settled away from their birthplace to pursue legal and commercial opportunity. Although he supported independence, he was pragmatic and sometimes criticized for not being as militant or as visible on the battlefield as other revolutionary leaders; his contributions were primarily political and legal.
While serving in the Continental Congress, Hooper suffered from persistent ill health. It’s recorded that his frail condition and exhaustion from congressional duties contributed to his early resignation; contemporaries noted his dedication despite physical weakness and personal struggles made his commitment to signing the Declaration notable.
John Morton (1725–1777)
John Morton was a farmer, local magistrate, and public official in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He had no formal higher education; his background was typical of local yeoman leadership. Morton's public roles stemmed from community standing, landownership, and civic involvement rather than professional training.
He served in the Pennsylvania Assembly and was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress (1776). He played a crucial role during Pennsylvania’s internal debates over independence. Morton’s importance is largely for the decisive political effect of his vote in 1776. The Pennsylvania delegation was deeply divided, and Morton's personal position helped break the deadlock. He, along with a few others, provided the deciding support that allowed Pennsylvania to vote in favor. His affirmative vote was pivotal in securing Pennsylvania’s official backing of independence. After signing the Declaration he continued to serve until illness and death in 1777.
Morton came from a family of early Pennsylvania settlers; his background included Swedish and possibly Finnish colonial ancestry common in the Delaware Valley. He married and raised a family on his Chester County farm; his descendants continued civic involvement locally. He also served in county judicial and administrative offices, which reflected the multi-faceted civic responsibilities of colonial leaders.
According to several accounts, Morton was so ill during the critical debates over independence that his vote, delivered under personal distress, became a matter of legend among Pennsylvania patriots. His support is often described as “casting the deciding vote” — a dramatic personal contribution that changed the political balance in a critical moment of the Revolution.
Benjamin Rush (1746–1813)
Benjamin Rush was a physician, educator, and civic leader from Philadelphia. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1760, studied medicine in Philadelphia, and completed advanced medical training at the University of Edinburgh. He became a prominent physician, professor of chemistry and later of medicine, and an influential medical writer and teacher.
Rush was an active patriot and served as a surgeon during the early Revolutionary period. He then became a delegate to the Continental Congress. He also served as Surgeon General of the Middle Department (a Continental Army appointment) and authored medical and political pamphlets supporting independence. After the war he resumed medical practice and public service.
Benjamin was born into a well-established Philadelphia family and he married and raised a large family. His social circle included many leading patriots with the likes of John Adams and other founding figures among his acquaintances. Rush’s family connections and intellectual stature made him an influential voice in civic and reform movements.
He was also a pioneering physician for American medical education. He advocated for humane treatment of the mentally ill and is often called a founder of American psychiatry. He was an ardent abolitionist, supported public education, and promoted prison reform. Rush’s medical opinions were sometimes controversial—he favored bloodletting and purging for various ailments, practices later criticized—but he also supported inoculation and public health measures.
At the time of President George Washington’s 1799 fatal illness, Benjamin Rush’s aggressive treatment, including repeated bloodletting, has been long debated by historians and physicians. Rush defended his actions as medically appropriate at the time; the episode illustrates the limits of 18th-century medicine and Rush’s role in national medical practice and controversy.
As you celebrate our anniversary with your family and friends, I encourage you to mention some of these and the many other “non-famous” signers. Many were just ordinary people who took a stand for what they believed was right.
I hope you enjoyed this brief touch with American history. Thank you for taking the time to read it. If you have any comments, please send them to me at edmaier46@gmail.com. Happy Birthday America!