- 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 Nelson Jr.
Thomas Nelson Jr. was born in Yorktown, Virginia, December 26, 1738. He was educated in England, and returned to America in 1761. He soon entered public life, and was elected to the House of Burgesses, where he became a firm supporter of colonial rights.
He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1775, and was present at the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, to which he affixed his signature. He was a zealous patriot, and contributed both his fortune and personal efforts to the cause of liberty.
In 1781 he was elected Governor of Virginia, and during the siege of Yorktown, he commanded the Virginia militia. It is said that he ordered artillery to fire upon his own house, then occupied by British officers.
He died January 4, 1789, in the fifty-first year of his age, honored for his patriotism and public service.
Source:
Lossing, Benson J. The Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1855. Patriot Echoes Archive
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