Thomas Heyward, Jr: SC Signer of the Declaration of Independence

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 reads the law in the office of Parsons in Charleston, South Carolina. By 1765, he had been admitted to Middle Temple at Cambridge University, and during his time, he became aware of how the British looked down upon the American colonists. He sees and learns that the British view the colonists as inferior to Englishmen, which spurs his sense of independence. He was deeply affected by this behavior while in England. He was called to the bar by the Inns of Court in May of 1770, and before returning to America, he toured Europe.

Upon his return to South Carolina, he was admitted to the bar on January 22, 1771, and he established what would soon be a successful practice. Then in 1772, he was elected to the Commons House of Assembly, from St. Helen’s Parish and served until 1775. The same year of his election, he built and moved into a new Charleston home, which is now known as the Heyward-Washington House. The dual names were due to the home being rented by the City of Charleston for George Washington in 1791, when he visited the city. In 1794, Heyward would sell the home to Judge Grimke, whose daughters became abolitionists and suffragettes. Later on, the home was used as a bakery, and then in 1929, it was purchased by the Charleston Museum, which restored it to its 1700s appearance and opened it to the public. Today, the home houses some Heyward family memorabilia.[1]

On April 20, 1772, Heyward married Elizabeth Matthews, who was the daughter of Colonel John and Sarah (Gibbs) Matthews. Her brother, John Matthews, would be the governor of South Carolina in the 1780s. They had five children, but only one survived to adulthood. Their first child, Daniel, was born in 1774 and passed away in 1796 at Vernezouvre Plantation. He married Ann Sarah Trezecant in November of 1795, and they had one child, Elizabeth, born in December of 1796. Their next child, a daughter, Marie, was born in 1775 and passed away in 1776. The next three children, Thomas, Jon, and Thomas, were born in 1778, 1779, and 1782, and all passed away in the same year as their birth. Elizabeth would pass away on August 16, 1782, in Philadelphia, during the birth of their last child. She had gone to Philadelphia to meet Heyward after he had been released from prison. In the same year as their marriage, Heyward built White Hall plantation near his father’s home, but no picture of the home survives today. It burned down in the late 1800s.

While a delegate to the Provincial Congress, held in Charleston in July of 1774, he received word of the Boston Port Blockade. Then, in January of 1775, he attended the Provincial Congress at Charleston. During this meeting, the delegates took over the functions of government, and Heyward was chosen a member of the council of Safety. In November of 1775, he was elected to the Second Provincial Congress and served on the Committee to prepare the South Carolina Constitution. This constitution was adopted on March 26, 1776, and in this session, he was chosen as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

Heyward’s interest in the colonists’ cause can be traced back to his time studying in England, when he observed the English people's behavior towards the colonists. Still, the Stamp Act and the various acts that Parliament passed also garnered his attention, as well as the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which reignited his patriotic spirit. When he arrived in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress, he replaced delegate John Rutledge. When a test vote for Independence was taken on July 1, South Carolina voted against independence, but on July 2, he voted in favor of it. His father, who was a strong loyalist, was against declaring independence, and while he does admonish Heyward, telling him he would be hanged for his actions, it does not ruin the father/son relationship. One can imagine that his father’s feelings on independence influenced him somewhat during the test vote, but all that changed by the final vote. The South Carolina delegates had been instructed not to vote “for” independence, but they worked for it anyway. He was the second-oldest signer from South Carolina on August 2, 1776, when the members signed the engrossed document.

Even though they were instructed not to work for independence, this does not seem to hurt Heyward’s position, as he was re-elected to another Congressional term in 1777. Unfortunately, his father passed away the same year, leaving Heyward 25,000 acres of land and 900-1000 slaves to care for. Due to his father’s death, Heyward resigns his seat in Congress and returns to South Carolina.

Upon his return to South Carolina, he worked to settle his father’s estate and, in 1778, was elected a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He presides over a treason trial where several people are accused of helping the British. The individuals would be convicted and executed for their crimes. Then, he was a South Carolina Ratifying Officer for the Articles of Confederation and signed the articles on South Carolina’s behalf. Heyward was also elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. In addition to all of this, he also engaged in the war as a military officer.

All the signers from South Carolina took part in military battles, and Heyward was a Captain of the artillery battalion stationed in Charleston. He took part in the defeat of the British at Port Royal Island in February 1779. Unfortunately, he was wounded in battle and would carry those scars for the rest of his life. Then, in 1780, he took part in the Battle of Charleston, which the patriots lost. He, along with the other signers, was imprisoned by the British and sent to St. Augustine, Florida, and held until July of 1781, when a prisoner exchange was completed. Edward Rutledge was with him during this time, but because they were officers, they were treated well.[2]  While he was imprisoned, he wrote a song called God Save the 13 States set to God Save the King:

God Save the Thirteen States!

Long Rule the United States!

God Save our States!

Make us victorious;

Happy and Glorious;

No tyrants over us;

God Save our States![3]

When they were released from prison, they were initially sent to Philadelphia, and Heyward nearly died when he fell overboard, but he hung onto the ship’s rudder and was saved. He then returns to Charleston after the birth of his son and the death of his wife. When he returned, he found the British had ransacked and burned White Hall. They had taken away many of his slaves, but he was able to recover some of them. He lost about 130 slaves, valued at $50,000, to the Jamaican sugar plantations.

            Between 1782 and 1785, Heyward was a busy man. He resumed his seat on the bench as an Associate Law Judge and served until 1789. He was also a member of the South Carolina legislature and a founding member and first President, of the Agricultural Society of South Carolina. Then, on May 4, 1786, he married Elizabeth Savage, who was the daughter of Colonel Thomas and Mary (Elliot) Savage. They would have three children together, and all would live to adulthood. Their first son, Thomas, was born in 1789, and he married Ann Elizabeth Cuthbert in 1813. They would have six children before he passed away on April 15, 1829, in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Their next child, James, was born in 1792, and he married Decima Cecelia Shubrick in 1816. They had four children before he passed away, on July 2, 1828, at Chelsea Plantation in Pocotaligo, South Carolina. Their final child together, a daughter, named Elizabeth, was born in 1794. She marries Henry Middleton Parker and has five children before she dies on March 3, 1854. Heyward’s wife, Elizabeth, would pass away in 1833.

            In 1790, Heyward assisted in framing a new South Carolina constitution and continued in his various public duties until he retired from public life in 1799. He would, then, turn his attention to rebuilding White Hall and his crops. Heyward was the last South Carolina signer to die, passing away on April 17, 1809, and is buried at his father’s estate, Old House Plantation. The estate stood until 1865, when Union troops burned it as they marched through South Carolina. It is a marshy ruin today, but the family cemetery is still there, surrounded by a low wall, and to reach it, one has to drive down a long road lined with live oak trees. There are two gravestones for Heyward: the original was placed soon after his death, and the State of South Carolina erected a second in recognition of his services to the country and the state.

Tidbits

Edwin Dubose Heyward, writer of Porgy, which became the opera Porgy and Bess, is a descendant. Edwin also wrote a children’s book called The Little Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes in 1939.

Confederate General James Heyward Trapier was his great-nephew.

Duncan Clinch Heyward, another great-grandnephew, was elected governor of South Carolina twice and published a book called Seeds of Madagascar in 1937.

His family is one of the few American families to have a patent for Arms.

It was issued in 1768 to Thomas Heyward.

Arms and crest were granted to his father, Daniel.

Heyward was not a junior but used the title to differentiate himself from his Uncle Thomas.

[1] Information was obtained from the museum guides at the Heyward-Washington House from a 2015 tour.

[2] This is in contrast to Richard Stockton, who was brutally beaten and starved just because he was a signer.

[3] This particular song has been attributed to other writers, and there is no known copy in his handwriting. Kiernan, Denise, and Joseph D’Agnese. Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of The Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence (Philadelphia: Quirk Books, c2009)