Thomas Heyward Jr. was born on July 28, 1746, at Old Plantation House in St. Helena’s Parish, South Carolina, to Colonel Daniel and Mary (Miles) Heyward. He was the eldest of ten children, but five of those children were half-siblings. His family ancestry can be traced to his Great-Great Grandfather, Daniel Heyward, who came to the Carolinas in 1670 from Little Easton. England. Heyward was tutored at home, but some documentation suggests he may have attended school. He then r

John Penn was born on May 17, 1741, near Port Royal, Caroline County, in Virginia, to Moses and Catherine Penn. He was an only child, and his family ancestry can be traced to England. His maternal Great-grandfather, James Taylor, immigrated to Virginia in 1735. He had been born at Pennington Castle, near Carlisle, England, and was descended from the Baron Taillefer who fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Two of his other descendants are James Madison and Zachary Taylor.

George Wythe was born in 1726 to Thomas III and Margaret (Walker) Wythe at Chesterville Plantation in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. His family ancestry can be traced back to England on his paternal side, from when his great-grandfather, Thomas Wythe, came to Virginia around 1680, from Norfolk, England. Wythe’s mother was a Quaker, the daughter of George Walk and Ann Keith. Her Grandfather, George Keith, was a well-known scholar of his day. Three years after he was born, hi

Thomas Stone was born in 1743, at Poynton Manor, Durham Parish, Charles County, Maryland, to David and Elizabeth (Jenifer) Stone. The exact date of his birth is unknown, and he was the oldest of possibly seven children. The Stone family ancestry can be traced to England, from where their Great-Great Grandfather, William Stone, and his wife, Elizabeth, immigrated to Virginia in 1628. William Stone was appointed Governor of Maryland by Lord Baltimore in 1648, and in 1654, he mo

Charles Carroll, the only child of Charles and Elizabeth (Brooke) Carroll, was born on September 19, 1737, in Annapolis, Maryland. His family ancestry can be traced back to Ireland through his paternal grandfather, Charles the Settler, who was a friend of Lord Baltimore. Charles the Settler had immigrated to Maryland in 1659 due to religious persecution. It is said his paternal family can be traced to Ó’Cearbhaill chiefs of Éile, the early Irish Kings. The family name in Irel

George Read was born on September 18, 1733, in Cecil County, Maryland, to Colonel John Read, who had immigrated to America sometime before Read’s birth. His mother’s name is unknown. He was the eldest of eight children, consisting of six sons and two daughters. His family ancestry can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland. His father was a descendant of Sir Thomas Read, a knight. Sir Read was also with King Henry VI at Parliament in 1439. After Read was born, the family relocated

Thomas McKean was born on March 19, 1734, in New London Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, to William and Leticia (Finney) McKean. He was the second of four children, and his family can be traced back to Ireland and Scotland. His paternal Great-Great-Great Grandfather, William McKean, moved from Scotland to Ireland because of religious and political persecution in the late 1600s. His Great-Great- Grandfather John McKean was a defender of Londonderry from 1668 to 1669, an

The exact date of George Taylor’s birth is unknown, but it is assumed he was born around 1716 in Northern Ireland to Reverend Taylor and his wife. His family ancestry can be traced to Ireland. It is possible that he was also related to the Taylors of Derbyshire, England, but, since so little is known about his parents, it is hard to establish this link. He was one of only three signers who were born in Ireland. Some suggest he may have been born in England. Author Benjamin Fr

Laura Ingalls Wilder In 1683, William Penn signed a friendship treaty with the Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania. It became the only treaty “not sworn to, nor broken.” In 1776, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was submitted to the US Congress. In 1776, Washington faced two dangers: unreliable weapons and a failing northern campaign. At headquarters in New York, he orders officers to inspect soldiers’ arms and send defective weapons to the armorers. The “H

James Smith was born on September 19, 1713, in the Province of Ulster North Ireland. However, his birth year is uncertain, as some estimates place it between 1715 and 1720. He was born to John Smith and was the second son. He was raised in the Province of Ulster until he was at least ten years old, when his parents, who were well-to-do farmers, came to America around 1729. They settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was tutored by the local clergy and then attended the P

George Ross was born on May 10, 1730, to George and Catherine (van Gezel) Ross in New Castle, Delaware. He was the eldest of their twelve children, but had older half-siblings. His little sister, Gertrude, would marry George Read of New Castle, Delaware, who also signed the Declaration. His father was a minister who had been educated at Edinburgh University, and his family’s ancestry can be traced to England. His father teaches the children a classical education at home. Then

John Morton was born in 1724 in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, to John and Mary (Archer) Morton. His father died shortly after he was born in 1725. Morton’s family ancestry can be traced back to Sweden, where his Great-Great Grandfather Martti Martisen was born in Rautalampi, Finland. He came to Pennsylvania in 1650. His mother’s family can be traced back to Bartle Eschellson, whose name was first seen in 1644. His mother, Mary, marries an Englishman named John Sketchley. Ske

Robert Morris was born on January 31, 1734, in Liverpool, England. The date of his birth is from the modern calendar. He was actually born 11 days earlier, on January 20, but, like other Founders, when the new-style calendar was adopted, he moved his birthdate so that a full year would lapse before he turned a year older. He was born to Robert and Elizabeth (Murphet) Morris. His mother passed away when he was two years old, and his maternal grandmother raised him until his fa

By Rabbi Menachem Levine (Guest Writer) Judah Touro Streets, synagogues, and hospitals bear his name, but very few know his story—or that he rediscovered his Judaism at age 70. There are synagogues, streets, a hospital, and a major Jewish university system named after Judah Touro. His name is associated with the highest level of charitable giving to both Jewish and secular institutions. But few people know his remarkable life story. Judah Touro was born in Newport, Rhode Isla

Benjamin Franklin was born and baptized on January 17, 1706, at Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Josiah and Abiah (Folger) Franklin, of Boston, and he was the fifteenth of seventeen children, the tenth son and youngest son of Josiah Franklin. Dr. Franklin’s ancestry can be traced to England, where he learned that he was the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations. He would go on to study the different registers in England and calculate

George Clymer was born on March 13, 1739, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Christopher and Deborah (Fitzwater) Clymer. He was the youngest of three children, two of whom passed away. His family’s ancestry traces back to England on both sides. His paternal grandfather, Richard, came to America in 1710 and was a successful trader. He would pass away in 1734. His maternal grandfather, George Fitzwater, came with William Penn and the first settlers to Welcome and was a successfu

John Witherspoon was born on February 5, 1723, in Yester, which is near Edinburgh, Scotland, to James and Anna (Walker) Witherspoon. He was one of six children. One of his siblings would be lost at sea, in the West Indies. Reverend Witherspoon was descended from the Scottish Reformer, John Knox. His mother taught him to read using the Bible, and he was reading by the age of four. He then went to public school in Haddington, where he received a classical education. In 1735, Re

Richard Stockton was born on October 1, 1730, in Princeton, New Jersey, to John and Abigail Stockton. He was the eldest of eight children, and his family’s ancestry can be traced back to England. His great-grandfather, Richard Stockton, came to America with his wife and son in 1655. They settled in Flushing, Long Island. Great Grandfather Stockton was a descendant of Sir John Stockton, who was the Mayor of London, and Lord of Stockton manor of Malpas Parish in Chester, Englan

Francis Hopkinson was born on September 21, 1737, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Thomas and Mary (Baldwin Johnson) Hopkinson. He was the eldest of eight children. His family ancestry can be traced back to England, from which his father and mother emigrated. His mother, Mary, was the niece of the bishop of Worcester.[1] His father died when he was fourteen years old, and, normally, as the eldest child, he would have had to take on additional duties to support the family. Bu

John Hart was born sometime in late 1713 and baptized on December 21, 1713, in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. Some historians say he was born in Stonington, Connecticut, and moved to Hopewell before his baptism. He was born to Edward and Martha (Firmin) Furman Clark and was one of five children. His family’s ancestry is hard to trace because a fire burned the early records in Flushing, Long Island, in 1789. Hart may have been descended from an Edward Hart. The first known Har