- March 6, 1809, 217 years ago — Death of Thomas Heyward Jr..
- March 6, 1724, 302 years ago — Birth of Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress.
- March 7, 1707, 319 years ago — Birth of Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- March 7, 1699, 327 years ago — Birth of Susanna Boylston Adams, mother of John Adams.
Thomas Lynch Jr.
LYNCH, Thomas, Jr., signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Prince George Parish, S.C., 5 August, 1749; lost at sea in 1779.
He was educated in England and studied law at the Middle Temple. Lynch returned to South Carolina and was elected to the provincial congress. When his father, Thomas Lynch Sr., fell ill while serving in the Continental Congress, Lynch Jr. was appointed to take his place.
He signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, one of the youngest delegates to do so. His health declined shortly after, and he sailed to the West Indies in 1779 for recovery. The ship was lost at sea, and he was never heard from again.
Lynch’s brief but symbolic role in the founding of the republic is remembered for its generational continuity and sacrifice.
Source:
Wilson, James Grant, and John Fiske, eds. Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1887. Patriot Echoes Archive
Founders:
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