John Adams to his wife Abigail, 3 July 1776
I get a chuckle out of this now and then because it reminds me that the thing happened over a number of days. I love how Adams says "from one end of this continent to the other," though. Lewis and Clark were nearly thirty years away. Adams and Jefferson would both die on the 50th anniversary of the 4th of July signing.
After 1821 there were only three of the Signers still alive--Adams, Jefferson, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton. So after Adams and Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary, Charles Carroll was the only surviving Signer until his death on Nov. 14, 1832. Ironically, he was not present for the vote on July 2nd or for the adoption of the Declaration on July 4th, since it was only on July 4th that he became a delegate. But he was there in time for the signing of the embossed copy of the Declaration on August 2nd.