resting_place death_date birth_place birth_date known_for signature image article_title name occupation
trinity church cemetery , new york city 31 december 1802 llangurig , powys , wales 21 march 1713 signer of the united states declaration of independence francis lewis signature.png francis lewis.jpg francis lewis
 francis lewis merchant , politician
francis lewis

francis lewis -lrb- march 21 , 1713 -- december 31 , 1802 -rrb- was a signer of the united states declaration of independence as a representative of new york .
born in llangurig , powys , wales , he was the child of morgan lewis and anne pettingale .
he was educated in scotland and attended westminster school in england .
he entered a mercantile house in london , then moved to whitestone , new york in 1734 .
he was taken prisoner and shipped in a box to france while serving as a british mercantile agent in 1756 .
on his return to america , he became active in politics .
he was a member of the committee of sixty , a member of the new york provincial congress , and was elected a delegate to the continental congress in 1775 .
in 1778 , he signed the united states articles of confederation .
from 1779 to 1780 , lewis served as the chairman of the continental board of admiralty .
his home , located in whitestone , in queens , new york , was destroyed in the american revolutionary war by british soldiers , who also arrested his wife and denied her a change of clothing or adequate food for weeks while in captivity .
his son morgan lewis served in the army during the revolutionary war and later held many offices in new york state , including governor .
