Milford chronicle., 1930-07-04

boldly wrote his name, which, from
that moment, has been the synonym
for signature" Turning to his col
league, he exclaimed: "The British
King can read that name without
spectacles; let them double their re-
ward"
Signers Not Yet Members
Of the men who affixed their sig
natures to the document some were
not even members of the Congress
which approved the draft on July 4.
Rush, Clymer, Smith, Taylor and
Ross, whose names appear as sign
ers, were not appointed as delegates
until the State convention met on
July 20, 16 days after the Declara-
tion of independence was ratified.
The Declaration was ordered to
be engrossed on July 10, and was
submitted to Congress on August 2
for approval.
There is no actual proof as to who
engrossed the document, although
credit has been given to Timothy
Matlock. He was appointed clerk
in the office of Charles Thompson,
secretary of the Congress, in May,
1775, and the work bears a striking
similarity to other documents which
it is known he did engross.
When the engrOssed copy was pre-
sented to the Congress on August 2
it was only signed by a. few of the
delegates. It was not until the fol-
lowing November when Thornton, of
New Hampshire, affixed his sigma
ture that every member signed the
document.
Excited ThrOngs In Streets
OF the scenes and events on July
4, 1776, outside the chamber in
which the grave-featured delegates
of the Colonies were casting their
ballots on the Declaration, J. T.
Headley has written:
"In the morning, before Congress
assembled, the streets were filled
with excited men, some gathered in
groups engaged in eager discussion,
and others moving toward the State
House. All business was forgotten in
the momentous crisis which the
country had now reached. No soon
er had the members taken their
seats than the multitude gathered in
a dense mass around the entrance.
The bellman mounted to the belfry,
to be ready to proclaim the joyful
tidings of freedom as soon as the
final vote was passed. A bright-eyed
boy was stationed below to give the
signal.
"Around the bell, brought from
England, had been cast, more than
20 years before, the prophetic mot
to: Proclaim liberty throughout all
the land, unto all the inhabitants
thereof. Although its. loud clang
had often sounded over the city, the
proclamation engraved on its iron
lip had never yet been spoken aloud.
"It was expected that the final
vote would be taken without delay;
but hour after hour wore on, and
no report came from the mysterious
hall where the fate of continent
was in suspense. The multitude grew
impatient. The old man leaned over
the railing, straining his eyes down
ward, till his heart misgave him and
hope yielded to fear. But at length,
about 2 o'clock, the door of the hall
opened and a voice exclaimed, 1t
has passed.
"The words leaped like lightning
from lip to lip, followed by huzzas
that shook the building. The boy
sentinel turned to the belfry, clap
ped his hands and shouted: Ring!
Ring!' The desponding bellman,
electrified into life by the joyous
news, seized the iron tongue and
hurled it backward and forward with
slang that startled every heart in
Philadelphia like a bugle blast.
"'Clang! Clang!' the bell of Lib
erty resounded on, higher and clear
er and more joyous, blending in loud
and long accents over all the land
the motto that encircled it."
Built BY Hamilton
The old State House, which was
built by Andrew Hamilton, the de-
signer of Christ Church, also was
the scene of the drafting of the Ar
ticles of Confederation, the Consti-
tuition of the United States and the
appointment of Washington as COM
mander-in-chief of the Colonial
forces.
It was started in 1929 and finish
ed in 1874 as place of meeting for
the Colonial Assembly. When the
Second Continental Congress assem-
bled it was decided to move to the
State House, due to the fact that it
IakfOvaey k1anr1
Carpenters Hall where the First |
Congress had gathered.
The two wings to the east and !
west were added as late as 1889 or |
1740. Old records say that the site |
was once covered by a whortleberry |
swamp.
The Walnut street side of the |
State House yard was much higher
than at Chestnut street, which fore
ed the builders to remove 2100 loads |
of dirt at cost of nine pence a load, |
according to records in the Con-
gressional Library in Washington.
Originally the yard was enclosed
by brick fence, which had ponder
GUS high gates, with brickwork
above it, in the center of the Wal
nut street side.
On the Sixth street side the
ground sloped away from the street
and was barely two feet lower than
the wagon tracks. A shed was built
against the wall for the use of In
iians who came to the city on busi-
ness. The shed was turned into an