The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-10-07
Our @lio.
Signing The Declaration.

In looking at the signatures to the Dec
laration, not one is written with tremD-
ling hand except Stephen Hopkins 1t
was not fear that made him tremble, for
he was as true patriot as any of them,
but he was afflicted with the palsy. , a
But one of the residences OF the slgners
is attached to his name, and that is OF
Charles Carroll. It is said that some one
was looking over his shoulder when ne
wrote his name, and said to him, 'There
are several of your name, and if we are
unsuccessful they will not know whom to
arrest" He Immediately wrote "of Car
rollton," as much as to say if there IS re-
proach connected with this, | wish to bear
nv share, if any danger, l am ready to
face it. There was genuine patriotism; :,
1t was rather amusing, after they had
signed their names, to hear Benjamin
Franklin say to Samuel Adams: "Now, |
think we will all hang together" eyes,
said Mr.. Adams, cor we shall all hang
separately" Many have supposed that
ali the names were signed on the Attn OF
July, 1776. Not SO. 1t was signed on
that day by the President, John Hancock,
and with his signature it was sent forth to
the world. On the second day Of August
it was signed by all but one Of the fifty
six signers whose names are appended to 1t.
The other attached his name in November.
The signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence were all natives OF American soil
with the exception of eight. Sixteen OF
them were from the Eastern or New Eng
land Colonies, fourteen from the Middle and
eighteen from the Southern Colonies.
One was a native of Maine, nine were ma
tives of Massachusetts,, two of Rhode Is
land, four of Connecticut, three of New
Jersey, five Of Pennsylvania, two of Della
ware, five of Maryland, nine of Virginia
and four of South Carolina. Two were
born in England, three in Ireland, two in
Scotland, and one was born in Wales.
Twenty-seven of the signers had been
regularly graduated in colleges, or about
one-half. Twenty others had received a
thorough academic education, and the re-
mainder had each been taught at plain
school or at home. Of the ifty-six signers
25 had studied the institutions of Great
Britain while sojourning in that country
All had something to lose if the strug-
gle should result in failure to them. Many
of them were very wealthy, and with very
few exceptions, all of them were blessed
with a competence. .#r
Thirty-four of the signers were lawyers,
thirteen were planters or farmers, nine
were merchants, five were mechanics, one
was clergyman, one mason, and one
surveyor The youngest member OF Con
gress when the Declaration was signed
1Rutledge) was twenty seven years of age
the eldest one (Dr Franklin) was seventy
Forty-two of the ffty-six were between
thirty and fifty years of age; the average
age of all was forty-three years and ten
months. e
They all lived to good old age. The
average of ffty-three at the time Of theil
decease was over sixty-eight years Th'
last survivor was Chas Carroll, Of Carroll
ton, being over ninety when he died
Fourteen signers lived to be eighty year
old, and four past ninety. The pen use'
by the signers is preserved in the Massa
chusetts Historical Society at Boston
What tales that pen could speak Wha
history there is connected with it
Not one of the signers ever fell from tn
high estate to which the great act had el
evated him. 1t has been well said that tn
"annals of the world can present no pohti
cal body the lives of whose members, mi
nutely traced, exhibit so much of the yea
of the patriot, dignifed and chastened b
the virtues of the man."