There are some typos in the names presented. McKeam should be M'Kean as he signed it, or McKean as sometimes seen in various references. Dillery should be Ellery. Norris should be Morris This piece has been widely circulated on the internet, not just at this Independence Day, but for some time, and portions, or similar pieces found on various web sites. While the tone is generally honorable and honest it has some exaggerations and errors. I wouldn't call it propaganda for the reason that it is honorable in presenting the spirit of our democracy's beginning, but from a genealogical viewpoint it is a poor representation of facts. Mr. M'Kean, for instance, was, after the Rev. War, Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and later the Governor of PA. His life may have had some hardships during the war, but he did not die in poverty. Carter Braxton, while he lost most of his fortune, it was a result of poor business decisions after the war, not his support of the war which caused his problems. These claims for the patriots who risked everything have somehow been distorted for reasons unknown by author(s) anonymous. I have seen the thorough debunking of this piece previously, but did not retain it. My two examples cited are from a few quick checks of autobiographical info found on various web sites. And while some of the hardships indicated were suffered by many of the signers, and many other patriots, they were later compensated for some of their loses by government grants and payments. While the piece is dramatic in content, my wish is that it should fade into oblivion, and be replaced with a true account which I'm sure is just as dramatic, but would be as completely factual as records might allow. Jeff Owens fanfayr@aol.com wrote: > > Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the > Declaration of Independence? > > Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured > before they died. > > Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. > > Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two > sons captured. > > Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the > Revolutionary War. > > They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their > sacred honor. > What kind of men were they? > > Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were > farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But > they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the > penalty would be death if they were captured. > > Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships > swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties > to pay his debts, and died in rags. > > Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move > his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and > his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and > poverty was his reward. > > Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, > Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of > Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had > taken > over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George > Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died > bankrupt. > > Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his > wife, and she died within a few months. > > John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their > children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to > waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home > to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died > from exhaustion and a broken heart. > Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. > > Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These > men were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men > of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. > Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support > of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine > providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, > and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent > America. > The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the > Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British > subjects at that time and we fought our own government! > > Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. > So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently > thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. > Remember: freedom is never free! > > ==== NJMONMOU Mailing List ==== > > http://nj5.injersey.com/~kjshelly/mcgs.html > Monmouth County Genealogy Society