The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1919-06-27

der the supervision of the committee
previously appointed to prepare it, and
that copies thereof be distributed to
all state assemblies and to the COM
manding officers of the army.
In accordance. with the above or
der, the Declaration was issued as
printed broadside on July 5, with the
heading: SIN Congress, July 4, 1776.
A Declaration by the Representatives
of the United States of America in
General Congress assembled 1t
bore the name in print of John Han
cock, president of the congress, and
was attested by Secretary Charles
Thomson, but bore no other names.
On July 10 it was resolved in con-
gress:
"That the Declaration passed on the
fourth be fairly engrossed on parch-
ment, with the title and stile (style)
of The unanimous declaration of the
thirteen United States of America,
and that the same, when engrossed,
be signed by every member of con-
gress."
1t could not have been headed
Unanimous on July 4, for the New
York delegates had not then been au-
thorized to agree to it, and it was not
until July Is that it was announced
in the continental congress that the
assembly of New York had approved
the Declaration, and thus made 1t
unanimous.
. On August 2, 1776, the Declaration
of independence, being engrossed and
compared, was signed by the mem
bers; those who were not present on
August 2 affixing their signatures at
later dates, all but one signing before
January Is, TIT. \
1t has been ascertained that of the
ifty-six signers, more than one-fourth
were not present on July 4, 1776, and
seven of them Thornton, Williams,
Rush, Ciymer, Smith. Taylor and Ross
were not members on that date. On
the other hand, seven members on
that date George Clinton, John Al
sop, r. r.. Livingston, Henry Wisner,
Thomas Willing, Charles Humphreys
and John Rogers-had not the privi
lege of becoming .signers," for the
membership of all but one had ceased
prior to August 2.
The first official issue of the Dec
laratfon bearing the names of the.
signers was printed as a broadside in
Baltimore under the resolution of
January IS, 1777, ordering that copies
be sent to each of the United States.
There are only four copies of this is
sue now known to exist, one of which
| is in the library of congress at Wash
| ington. 1t is authenticated in writing
by John Hancock. as president of con-
gress and attested by Secretary Thom-
son.
Contrary to popular opinion, there
| fore, it is seen that the Declaration
was not signed on July 4, the day 1T
passed, but between August q 1776,
and January Is, 1777, after it had
been engrossed and compared, and
then only by 80 members, all of whom
were ordered to do so by the resolu-
tion passed July 10. 17T6. The name
of Thomas Mexican. which does not
appear among the signers in the
printed copy, was added later-pos-
.sibly not until 1871, making the fifty
sixth signer.
But little has ever been done to
perpetuate the memory of these Sc
early Americans: only few of whom
are well-known. but it is interesting
to know that the National Society of
the Sons of American Revolution, in
cooperation with the Society of De-
scendants of the signers, is locating
the graves of those patriots, and pre-
pairing memorial volume to include
biography of each individual.