And While We're On The Topic of "Freedom"...

...there was one part of President Obama's inaugural address I especially liked.
"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."
My coworker, Ann, who works in genealogy, recently handed me an article about the Founding Fathers of the Declaration of Independence. It told about those men after the signing.
Many of us studied the history of the Declaration in school, but let me briefly refresh your memory. A resolution came before the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, PA, on June 7, 1776. There was a great debate over it and its adoption was postponed until July 1. John Adams, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman set out to reshape the resolution in order to present it again. That happened on July 3 and further corrections were made. Finally on July 4, 1776, the Declaration was adopted without a dissenting vote.
The Declaration of Independence - the birth certificate of a New Nation - had been signed with full knowledge that this was an act of treason against England for which the universal penalty was
hanging.
What sort of men were these who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor with a British fleet already at anchor in New York harbor? And what became of them after the signing?
All signers were marked men and objects of vicious manhunts. None were actually hanged, but many suffered physically, emotionally and financially.
Only a few became well-known. Jefferson and John Adams became Presidents. Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Josiah Bartlett, Oliver Wolcott, Edward Rutledge, Benjamin Harrison, and Elderidge Gerry lived to become state governors. Gerry also became Monroe's vice-president. Charles Carroll founded the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. But many, many others suffered greatly.
Philip Livingston of New York, the richest merchant in the colonies, instrumental in establishing King's College (Columbia University), the New York Library and Chamber of Commerce, had all his property seized. His family was driven out and became homeless
refugees.
John Hart of New Jersey, a farmer who was called "Honest John," had all his property destroyed. His wife was dying and in heading to New Jersey to reach her, he was betrayed. He slept in caves and woods. Finally he was able to sneak home, but found his wife long buried and his 13 children taken away. He died never finding his
family.
John Morton of Pennsylvania was totally rejected by neighbors, friends and family when he came out for Independence. Many believed this rejection killed him. His last words were, "Tell them that they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge it (the signing) to have been the most glorious service I ever rendered to my country."
Georgia had three signers. One, Button Gwinnett, who had been born in England, came to America and settled in Savannah as a grown man and a merchant. After returning to Georgia from the Second Continental Congress, he helped write Georgia's first Constitution in 1777. He died several years later from wounds received in a duel. The site of his grave was forgotten, but in 1964, bones believed to be his were reinterred in Savannah. His signature is the rarest of any of the signers and reportedly worth in excess of $50,000.00.
There are many more signers to tell you about. Those whom the war did not kill or injure lived beyond the normal span of life. It was no idle pledge these 56 men made on that 4th of July 1776. Nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured or imprisoned with brutal treatment. Wives, sons, and daughters of others were killed, jailed, mistreated, persecuted, or left penniless. The houses of 12 were burned; 17 were left without anything. Not one defected or went back on his word. Their honor and the Nation they did so much to create is still intact. But freedom on that first 4th of July came high!
If you'd like to find out more about the signers of the Declaration, stop by the Odom Genealogy Library and ask Irene or Ann about the article. There's more interesting information about freedom for you to read.