Appendix A — The Signers

The 56 men who signed this declaration — listed by colony — were essentially signing their own death warrants. By signing, they committed high treason against the Crown, punishable by hanging and quartering.

The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania (70). The youngest was Edward Rutledge of South Carolina (26). Two signers, Thomas Lynch Jr. and Robert Treat Paine, never married. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day — July 4, 1826 — the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Charles Carroll of Carrollton (Maryland) was the wealthiest signer and the last surviving, dying in 1832.

The famous parchment with all 56 signatures is an “engrossed” copy written in clear handwriting by Timothy Matlack, clerk of the Continental Congress. The first printed version, called the Goddard Broadside (printed by Mary Katherine Goddard of Baltimore in January 1777), was the first to list all 56 signers by name. The original engrossed parchment is housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Fate of the Signers: Many were captured by the British, had their homes burned, and lost their fortunes. They did not “pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” lightly.