7 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Buried in Philadelphia

Transcript pt 1

I’m here at Christ Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to start a really interesting journey in visiting seven signers of the Declaration of Independence. And all this is part of my Where Liberty Rest series. And I believe this is the largest concentration of signers of the Declaration who are buried by each other. And as we see today, two of them are laid to rest here at Christ Church, and another five, to include some very famous names, are buried a few blocks away at Christ Church burial ground.

Okay, I’m starting here at Christ Church where a couple of signers of the Declaration of Independence and actually a few signers of the United States Constitution are laid to rest. And there’s some other really interesting burials here. But real quick, I wanted to point out this really interesting 1926 marker that they have here outside the church that reads, “In the burial grounds of this church rest the remains of seven signers of the Declaration of Independence.” And I will point out that two of them are buried here at the church, while the other five are buried a few blocks away at the separate Christ Church burial ground that we’ll talk about here in a little bit.

But the first signer we’re going to visit is right over here, and it’s a man who in his own time was very well-known and very influential, though many Americans today may not have heard his name before, and that’s James Wilson. He was one of nine signers of the Declaration of Independence from Pennsylvania. He is also a signer of the United States Constitution. He was originally born in Scotland in 1742 but immigrated here to Philadelphia in 1765, and he became a lawyer, a scholar, and really an influential political thinker. And in 1776, he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. And as mentioned, he did sign the Declaration of Independence.

And during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he really got to flex his legal knowledge and gave some really prominent speeches that helped shape the United States Constitution. In fact, in 1789, he was actually appointed by President George Washington as one of the first justices of the US Supreme Court. And despite his many achievements, he had a lot of financial troubles that followed him late into his life. And as you can see here on his marker, he actually died on August 28th, 1798, at Edon, North Carolina. So he was later reinterred and brought here to his adopted home of Philadelphia, where he’s laid to rest right here at Christ Church. So really, really fascinating story, and it’s really nice to get to pay my respects to James Wilson.

Transcript pt 2

And a little bit further down the wall here, it’s actually the final resting place of a major general from the Continental Army that most of you have probably heard of, and that’s Charles Lee. And I don’t believe he’s actually buried right here in this location, but he’s buried somewhere here at Christ Church. And he was born in 1731 and died in 1782. Now, Charles Lee was a British-born officer, and he became one of George Washington’s senior generals in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He did have a lot of experience, and he was respected for his military knowledge at least initially, but he had a lot of hesitation at times, some poor leadership, particularly at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, and that did lead to a court-martial and his dismissal from the army. And today, Charles Lee is remembered as probably one of the most controversial and complicated military figures from the Revolution, and he died on October 2nd, 1782, here in Philadelphia, and as mentioned, he’s buried somewhere here at Christ Church.

Transcript pt 3

I’m now around to the other side of Christ Church. And this rather large marker here is for a man named Andrew Hamilton, who was born in 1665 and died in 1741. And he was known as the Philadelphia lawyer and was really influential in some of those early years of Philadelphia.

Transcript pt 4

And buried not far from here is a signer of the US Constitution. This is the final resting place of Pierce Butler. Now, Pierce Butler was an Irish-born planter, also a politician, and one of the signers of the US Constitution. As mentioned, he represented South Carolina at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and he helped shape the new government and later served as a US senator. He spent much of his time in Philadelphia, and he died here on February 15th, 1822, and he’s laid to rest here at Christ Church.

Transcript pt 5

And over here is the final resting place of Robert Morris, who is arguably one of the most important founding fathers. Now, Morris, similar to James Wilson, was not born here in the colonies. He was born overseas in England in 1734 and immigrated here, ultimately settling in Philadelphia. And through his shipping business, Willing Morrison Company, he very quickly grew his wealth and rose in the ranks of Philadelphia society. And he was initially hesitant on supporting independence, though of course he ultimately did, and he signed the Declaration of Independence.

And during the war, he helped secure supplies, weapons, and funding for the American army and pretty much bankrupt himself in the process. Later, he helped create the Bank of North America, and he served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, where he was very influential. And he’s actually one of only six men who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. And despite his achievements, similar to James Wilson, he had a lot of failed investments and financial ruin and sadly died in 1806 and was buried here at Christ Church.

And that seems to be a common theme with a lot of these founding fathers. They really gave all. They gave all of their money, their time, in many cases their health. And a lot of them died penniless or were thrown into debtor’s prison or ultimately buried in an unmarked grave. But it’s really nice to see a fairly prominent marker here to Robert Morris. And I really like these placards that they have on the front of these graves. This one also has a really nice, looks like a newer Declaration of Independence marker. We’re actually looking at this upside down, but the inscription here is fairly legible, but a really nice resting place for founding father Robert Morris.

Transcript pt 6

And right across here is a marker that’s in memory of Jacob Broom. Now, many of you have probably never heard of Jacob Broom, but he was a signer of the United States Constitution. He was a Delaware merchant, a surveyor, and a politician. And he was actually one of the youngest signers of the US Constitution. Although he was not a member of the Continental Congress and he didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence, he did represent Delaware at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and he supported creating a stronger national government. Ultimately, Broom was a civic leader in Wilmington, and he died in 1810 and is laid to rest here in Christ Church burial ground here by the church.

Transcript pt 7

Real quick, as I’m walking from Christ Church over to the separate Christ Church burial ground, I wanted to stop by the Betsy Ross house and specifically right here to the final resting place of Betsy Ross. Now, her story has a lot of, I think, myth and other things around it. There is some truth there. It’s actually really interesting history if you ever want to look into it. And this sign here actually goes into a little bit of the later history of Betsy Ross and ultimately her death. She died in her sleep on January 30th, 1836, at the age of 84. And she was actually initially buried at the Free Quaker burial ground over on South Fifth. But when they were doing construction, they ended up moving her and then ultimately ended up right here at the site of her former home. So it is a newer marker, but really, really neat to see the final resting place of Betsy Ross.

Transcript pt 8

I’m now a few blocks away from Christ Church at Christ Church burial ground. And this was a separate burial ground that they established around 1719 because the area around the church at that point had already gotten overcrowded. And if you think all the way back to 1719, this was on the outskirts or the outer edge of town, which was intentional. Now today, it’s really at the heart of the city, which is kind of interesting to think about. But right here before us is the final resting place of Benjamin and Deborah Franklin. Of course, Benjamin Franklin was one of the nine signers of the Declaration of Independence from Pennsylvania. And he was also a signer of the United States Constitution. So, similar to James Wilson and Robert Morris, they were three of the six signers who signed both the Declaration and the Constitution.

Of course, Ben Franklin has quite a few books written about him, and there’s also an autobiography, so I’m not going to provide his full life story here, but he was born in Boston in 1706 and was a printer by trade, studying under his brother, James Franklin. And he gained notoriety here in the colonies at a young age. And of course, he eventually made his way to Philadelphia, where he spent a majority of his life when he wasn’t over in Europe, whether that was in London or in Paris. And even in his own time, people knew who he was here in the colonies. They certainly loved him over in France. And he was involved in a lot and started a lot of things, founded a lot of things, and invented a lot of things.

Here in Philadelphia, he became one of America’s greatest thinkers and innovators. He had advanced scientific discoveries like the lightning rod, bifocals, and of course, he published his famous Poor Richard’s Almanac. And Franklin later returned to public life during the revolution. As mentioned, he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. And he was on the committee of five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. And he later served as America’s ambassador to France, and he was pivotal in securing French support and helping win the American Revolution. And he died here in Philadelphia in 1790 at the age of 84, which of course at the time was pretty old, pretty impressive.

And I always find it interesting, his grave here with Deborah is fairly simple. We see it just has their names there at the top. But when Franklin was a young man, he wrote an epitaph for himself, which I think was more of a joke than anything, but it actually ended up here on a plaque anyway. And I’ll let you all read that. But there you go, the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin, signer of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

Transcript pt 9

One thing about Christ Church Burial Ground, you’ll notice, is that there is a lot of good signage explaining where people are. The other thing you’ll learn very quickly is although there are a lot of headstones and grave markers here seemingly packed in, there are many others, I believe thousands of other graves here within this area that do not have a marked grave. So just something to keep in mind. And that’s pretty similar to a lot of these colonial burial grounds you visit.

And here we are at the second signer of the Declaration of Independence that’s laid to rest here at the burial ground. This marker is dedicated to Francis Hopkinson. He was born in Philadelphia in 1737 and he became a lawyer, a writer, an artist, and one of Pennsylvania’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was a graduate of the College of Philadelphia, studied law under Benjamin Chu, and really kicked off a legal career from there. And during the revolution, he actually represented New Jersey in the Second Continental Congress. Of course, he voted in favor of independence and signed the Declaration of Independence. He later served on the Navy Board and helped manage the finances of the new nation through the Continental Loan Office.

And outside of politics, he was known for his creativity. Francis Hopkinson wrote poetry, composed music, and created patriotic works. After the war, he helped Pennsylvania ratify the Constitution and was actually appointed by President George Washington as a federal judge. He died in 1791 at the age of 53 and is buried here in Christ Church Burial Ground. And one interesting fact about Francis Hopkinson, we all know the stars and stripes, the American flag. It was actually adopted as the first national flag by the Continental Congress on June 14th, 1777. And this resolution came from the Continental Marine Committee during which Hopkinson was the chairman of the Navy Board. And there’s documentation, and even Hopkinson himself states that he designed this first version of the Stars and Stripes flag. And he also designed multiple other seals.

Transcript pt 10

And not far from the grave marker for Francis Hopkinson are markers for two more signers of the Declaration of Independence who are laid to rest here at Christ Church Burial Ground. Two very similar markers here. On the right is one for George Ross and on the left one for Joseph Hughes. So for George Ross, he was one of nine signers from Pennsylvania as well. Born on May 10th, 1730, in Newcastle, Delaware. He actually remained loyal to the king throughout the 1750s and early 1760s and even served as a crown prosecutor for 12 years. Although the tumultuous years in the wake of the French and Indian War with all the taxes and different things going on really pushed him towards the patriot cause. He soon became a member of the Committee of Safety and thereafter was elected to the Continental Congress. And although he was reelected to Congress in 1777, he resigned due to poor health, but he did end up taking a job as a judge of the Admiral Court of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, he would not live to see the end of the war. He died on July 14th, 1779, at the age of 49. And what’s interesting is George Ross was actually the very last of the Pennsylvania delegates to sign the Declaration.

Transcript pt 11

And right next to him is Joseph Hughes. Joseph Hughes was a North Carolinian. He was also a merchant, a politician, and one of the youngest signers of the Declaration of Independence. He served as a delegate to both the First and Second Continental Congresses. He also played a major role in creating the Continental Navy. Of course, he signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but he died on November 10th, 1779, the same year as George Ross at the age of 49. And of course, he’s laid to rest here in Christ Church Burial Ground as well. And they both have really nice plaques with the S markers. And I believe for America 250, they have some really nice Sons of the American Revolution wreaths as well.

It really is incredible how many well-known individuals are laid to rest here. There’s a lot to see. And I don’t think I mentioned it, but it does cost money to come in here. So just keep that in mind. Right now, it’s $5 for adults, $2 for children over five, and then anybody under five is free. But as you walk around, it’s just almost overwhelming the amount of signage and plaques. But definitely worth checking it out. And there’s actually a lot of naval officers who are laid to rest here too, many from the War of 1812 like James Bidd, Commodore William Banebridge we can see right here. Here’s a really nice plaque for Commodore Banebridge and many others. Well, we’re going to go ahead and continue to follow the path around here to our fifth ser.

Transcript pt 12

And just over here is the final resting place of Dr. Benjamin Rush. He was born in 1745 near Philadelphia and became one of America’s most influential physicians and founding fathers. He studied medicine in Scotland as many doctors did in that day and returned to Philadelphia in 1769 where he became a professor of chemistry and established his medical practice. During the revolution, Rush became a passionate patriot. He served in the Continental Congress and of course signed the Declaration of Independence. And he later served as surgeon general of the Continental Army’s middle department, caring for wounded soldiers during the war. After independence, Rush continued shaping the new nation. He helped found Dickinson College, taught at the University of Pennsylvania, and served as treasurer of the US Mint and also became a leading advocate for prison reform and the abolition of slavery. He was a complex figure though, and he also faced controversy during his lifetime. But his contributions to medicine, education, and reform left a lasting legacy. Dr. Rush died in 1813 at the age of 67. He’s buried right here in Christ Church Burial Ground.

And one interesting thing about Benjamin Rush’s role with the founding fathers. He actually is the reason that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson came back together in their old age and became friends again. At least that’s how the story goes. So he’s attributed with reconciling that legendary friendship which I believe there is a lot of truth to that when you look at the primary resources in the letters, and we all should be thankful for that because the slew of letters written between Adams and Jefferson in their later years is just an absolute treasure trove. And similar to some of the others, Rush has this really nice plaque on the side and here’s the actual grave itself. It’s kind of hard to read the inscription there on the front, but here on the side, they have another plaque dedicated to Dr. Rush. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia celebrating its bicentennial restored and rededicated the grave of Benjamin Rush, MD, a founder of the college. Was April 26, 1987, this plaque was placed.

And there you have it. The seven signers that are buried here in Philadelphia. And Christ Church and Christ Church Burial Ground hold so much history and so many well-known folks are buried within here. So when you come to Philadelphia, definitely set aside some time to come pay your respects and learn some of their stories and learn the history. But that’s going to be it for this one. Now it’s on to the next journey.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.