Katie Hargrave / Counties Located Between the 39th and 40th Parallel: Counties Named
for the Pennsylvanian Signers of the Declaration of Independence
(text from brochure created for the County Museum)
Information Regarding the Counties named for their Pennsylvanian Forefathers.
The Pennsylvanian Signers of the Declaration of Independence are:
George Clymer
Benjamin Franklin
Robert Morris
John Morton
Benjamin Rush
George Ross
James Smith
James Wilson
George Taylor
George Clymer
Clymer was a patriot partisan and leader in the disturbances in Philadelphia resulting from the Tea Act and the Stamp Act,
and as such was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776 and served several years on important committees like the
Board of War and the Treasury.
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin was appointed clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1736, and as Postmaster the following year. He was elected
to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 and served as an agent for Pennsylvania to several European powers. He was
elected to the Continental Congress in 1775, where he played a crucial role in the rebellion against Britain.
Robert Morris
Elected to the Continental Congress in 1775, he served on many of the committees involved in raising capital and provisions for the Continental Army. Following the war, he served in the Pennsylvania Legislature. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and thereafter an advocate for the new constitution.
John Morton
In 1756 Morton was elected to the Provincial Assembly, and was elected president of the Assembly in 1775. He attended the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. He filled numerous civil offices in Pennsylvania, including Justice of the Peace, High Sheriff, Presiding Judge of the General Court and the Court of Common Pleas.
Benjamin Rush
In June of 1776 he was elected to attend the provincial conference to send delegates to the Continental Congress. He was
appointed to represent Philadelphia that year and so signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1777 he was appointed
surgeon-general of the middle department of the Continental Army.
George Ross
In 1774 he was elected to the provincial conference that would select delegates to attend the General Congress, and was
selected as a representative of Pennsylvania that same year In 1776 he was again elected to the Continental Congress,
while serving as a provincial legislator, and a Colonel in the Continental Army.
James Smith
He was appointed to the provincial convention in Philadelphia in 1775, the state constitutional convention in 1776, and
was elected to the Continental Congress the same year.
James Wilson
In 1775 he was elected to the Continental Congress, where he assumed a position with the most radical members:
demand for separation from Britain.
George Taylor
Taylor was elected to the provincial assembly for Pennsylvania in 1764, and was reelected for five consecutive years.
In 1775 he was appointed to replace a member of the Pennsylvania delegation who refused to support Independence. He
arrived too late to vote, but did sign the Declaration.