Declaration of Independence, The ~ engrossed version - [via book: 'They Signed Their Lives Away']

Comment by Scott T. Shier on Monday

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The men who "signed their lives away" --->

1. Josiah Bartlett  -  the Signer Immortalized on "The West Wing" television show 
2. William Whipple  -  the Signer who Fought for Freedom -- w/ his Slave!
3. Matthew Thornton  -  the Signer who Led "The Nation of New Hampshire"
4. John Adams  -  the Signer Everyone Loved to Hate
5. Samuel Adams  -  the Signer Whose Brewery Went 'Bust'
6. Elbridge Gerry  -  the Signer who Gave Us 'Gerrymandering'
7. John Hancock  -  the Signer who Signed First {and, the biggest!}
8. Robert Treat Paine  -  the Signer who Objected to, Well, Everything . . . Hmmm.
9. William Ellery  -  the Signer who is Two Degrees from Kevin Bacon
10. Stephen Hopkins  -  the Signer with the Worst Penmanship
11. Samuel Huntington  -  the Signer who Became the First U.S. President, Sort of . . . !
12. Roger Sherman  -  the Signer who Signed Everything!
13. William Williams  -  the Signer who was Certain He Would Hang (eek!)
14. Oliver Wolcott  -  the Signer who Melted King George's Heart (and then some)
15. Philip Livingston  -  The 'Prince' of New York
16. William Floyd  -  the Signer Whose Home was Turned into a Stable (. . . of all indignities!)
17. Francis Lewis  -  the Signer Whose Wife was Imprisoned (zut alors!)
18. Lewis Morris  -  the Signer Buried in One of America's Poorest Neighborhoods
19. Abraham Clark  -  the Signer Whose Sons Were Imprisoned
20. John Hart  -  the Signer Who Slept in Caves (really? Ha-ha)
21. Francis Hopkinson  -  the Signer who Designed the [original] U.S. Flag
22. Richard Stockton  -  the Only Signer who Recanted the Declaration [of Independence]
23. John Witherspoon  -  the Signer who was Also a Minister
24. John Morton  -  the FIRST Signer to DIE  - [eg, in 1777]
25. Benjamin Franklin  -  the Signer Known Throughout the World -- {aka, world's first "celebrity"}
26. James Wilson  -  the Signer who Went Broke $ on 'Shady' Land "Deals"
27. Robert Morris  -  the signer who Financed $ the War -- and Ended up in 'Debtor's Prison' (eh, no good deed goes unpunished, huh?)
28. George Clymer  -  the Signer Whose Homes were Targeted by the British - (like, was he the only one?!)
29. George Ross  -  the Signer Related to America's Most Famous Seamstress - [um, Betsy Ross?]
30. Dr. Benjamin Rush  -  the Signer who Loved to Gossip About Other Signers -- [he also facilitated John Adams' and Thomas Jefferson's rapprochement in their final years . . . ]
31. George Taylor  -  the Signer Who Started out as an Indentured Servant - (ie, 'upward mobility in-action!)
32. James Smith  -  the Signer who was Coy About His Age -- {heh heh, so am I, STS}
33. Caesar Rodney  -  Delaware's Famous Midnight Rider -- [yes, that's right, Paul Revere didn't warn "The British Are Coming!" all by himself, sheesh]
34. George Read  -  the Only Signer who Voted Against 'Independence'  -- [Umm, then why sign the Declaration, man? Weird.]
35. Thomas McKean  -  the Signer who Waited 5 Years to Sign the darn thing! - [yes, that's right, in 1781]

Comment by Scott T. Shier on Monday

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CONTINUED . . . --->

36. Charles Carroll of Carrollton - the LAST Signer to Die - [eg, in 1832!]
37. Samuel Chase - the Signer Better Remembered as "Old Bacon Face"
38. William Paca - the Signer who Dared to Acknowledge His Illegitimate Child - (well, honest IS the best policy, they say...)
39. Thomas Stone - the Signer who Died of a Broken Heart

40. Carter Braxton - the Signer who had 18 Children !

41. - Benjamin Harrison - the Signer who Played 'Falstaff' to Congress

42. Thomas Jefferson - the Signer who Wrote the Declaration of Independence -- [well, not quite. He wrote it w/ 4 others in the 'Committee of Five' which included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, & Robert R. Livingtson ; Franklin & Adams the most involved with proofreading & editing the document prior to submission to the Second Continental Congress, which then proceed to . . ."modify" it further, much to Jefferson's chagrin!]

43. Richard Henry Lee - The Six-Fingered Signer - [actually, he had 9, but lost 4]

44. Francis Lightfoot Lee - the Signer who Lived in his Brother's Shadow

45. Thomas Nelson, Jr. - the Signer who Ordered Troops to Fire on His Own Home - [huh?]

46. George Wythe - the Signer who was Poisoned by His Own Nephew - (ouch!)

47. Joseph Hewes - the Signer who Worked Himself to Death

48. William Hooper - the Signer who Feared Democracy

49. John Penn - the Signer who Taught Himself How to Read & Write - [cheers, mate!]

50. Thomas Lynch, Jr. - the Signer Buried at the Bottom of the Sea

51. Arthur Middleton - the Signer Also Known as Andrew Marvell

52. Edward Rutledge - the signer who Delayed Independence by a Month - [gee, thanks Ed, sigh]

53. Thomas Heyward, Jr. - the Signer + Songwriter

54. Lyman Hall - the Signer who Dragged Georgia into the Union - (kicking & screaming? Or, passively?)

55. George Walton - the Signer who was Orphaned, Impoverished, Abused, Shot, and Imprisoned - [tough breaks, kid]

56. Button Gwinnett - the Signer with the $150,000 Autograph

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