WikiTree Genealogy Guide American Founding Fathers

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The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen (and women) who participated in the American Revolution by:

• Signing the United States Declaration of Independence
• Establishing the United States Constitution
• Signers of the Articles of Confederation.

Although the Founding Fathers had no official membership the lists below are generally recognized as being complete.

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Signers of the Continental Association

1. Peyton Randolph President of First Continental Congress
2. Nathaniel Folsom New-Hampshire
3. John Sullivan New-Hampshire
4. Thomas Cushing Massachusetts Bay
5. Samuel Adams Massachusetts Bay
6. John Adams Massachusetts Bay
7. Robert Treat Paine Massachusetts Bay
8. Stephen Hopkins Rhode-Island
9. Samuel Ward Rhode-Island
10. Eliphalet Dyer Connecticut
11. Roger Sherman Connecticut
12. Silas Deane Connecticut
13. Isaac Low New-York
14. John Alsop New-York
15. John Jay New-York
16. James Duane New-York
17. Philip Livingston New-York
18. William Floyd New-York
19. Henry Wisner New-York
20. Simon Boerum New-York
21. James Kinsey New-Jersey
22. William Livingston New-Jersey
23. Stephen Crane New-Jersey
24. Richard Smith New-Jersey
25. John De Hart New-Jersey
26. Joseph Galloway Pennsylvania
27. John Dickinson Pennsylvania
28. Charles Humphreys Pennsylvania
29. Thomas Mifflin Pennsylvania
30. Edward Biddle Pennsylvania
31. John Morton Pennsylvania
32. George Ross Pennsylvania
33. Caesar Rodney The Lower Counties^[1]
34. Thomas McKean The Lower Counties
35. George Read The Lower Counties
36. Matthew Tilghman Maryland
37. Thomas Johnson, Jr. Maryland
38. William Paca Maryland
39. Samuel Chase Maryland
40. Richard Henry Lee Virginia
41. George Washington Virginia
42. Patrick Henry Virginia
43. Richard Bland Virginia
44. Benjamin Harrison Virginia
45. Edmund Pendleton Virginia
46. William Hooper North-Carolina
47. Joseph Hewes North-Carolina
48. Richard Caswell North-Carolina
49. Henry Middleton South-Carolina
50. Thomas Lynch South-Carolina
51. Christopher Gadsden South-Carolina
52. John Rutledge South-Carolina
53. Edward Rutledge South-Carolina

Signers of the Articles of Confederation

1. Andrew Adams
2. Samuel Adams
3. Thomas Adams
4. John Banister
5. Josiah Bartlett
6. Daniel Carroll
7. William Clingan
8. John Collins
9. Francis Dana
10. John Dickinson
11. William Henry Drayton
12. James Duane
13. William Duer
14. William Ellery
15. Elbridge Gerry
16. John Hancock
17. John Hanson
18. Cornelius Harnett
19. John Harvie
20. Thomas Heyward Jr.
21. Samuel Holten
22. Titus Hosmer
23. Samuel Huntington
24. Richard Hutson
25. Edward Langworthy
26. Henry Laurens
27. Francis Lightfoot Lee
28. Richard Henry Lee
29. Francis Lewis
30. James Lovell
31. Henry Marchant
32. John Mathews
33. Thomas McKean
34. Gouverneur Morris
35. Robert Morris
36. John Penn
37. Joseph Reed
38. Daniel Roberdeau
39. Nathaniel Scudder
40. Roger Sherman
41. Jonathan Bayard Smith
42. Edward Telfair
43. Nicholas Van Dyke
44. John Walton
45. John Wentworth Jr.
46. John Williams
47. John Witherspoon
48. Oliver Wolcott

Signers of the Declaration of Independence

1. John Adams
2. Samuel Adams
3. Josiah Bartlett
4. Carter Braxton
5. Charles Carroll
6. Samuel Chase
7. Abraham Clark
8. George Clymer
9. William Ellery
10. William Floyd
11. Benjamin Franklin
12. Elbridge Gerry
13. Button Gwinnett
14. Lyman Hall
15. John Hancock (presiding)
16. Benjamin Harrison
17. John Hart
18. Joseph Hewes
19. Thomas Heyward, Jr.
20. William Hooper
21. Stephen Hopkins
22. Francis Hopkinson
23. Samuel Huntington
24. Thomas Jefferson
25. Francis Lightfoot Lee
26. Richard Henry Lee
27. Francis Lewis
28. Philip Livingston
29. Thomas Lynch, Jr.
30. Thomas McKean
31. Arthur Middleton
32. Lewis Morris
33. Robert Morris
34. John Morton
35. Thomas Nelson, Jr.
36. William Paca
37. Robert Treat Paine
38. John Penn
39. George Read
40. Caesar Rodney
41. George Ross
42. Benjamin Rush
43. Edward Rutledge
44. Roger Sherman
45. James Smith
46. Richard Stockton
47. Thomas Stone
48. George Taylor
49. Charles Thomson, Secretary (attesting)
50. Matthew Thornton
51. George Walton
52. William Whipple
53. William Williams
54. James Wilson
55. John Witherspoon
56. Oliver Wolcott
57. George Wythe

Convention Delegates who Signed the Constitution

1. Abraham Baldwin
2. Richard Bassett
3. Gunning Bedford, Jr.
4. John Blair
5. William Blount
6. David Brearly
7. Jacob Broom
8. Pierce Butler
9. Daniel Carroll
10. George Clymer
11. Jonathan Dayton
12. John Dickinson
13. William Few
14. Thomas Fitzsimons
15. Benjamin Franklin
16. Nicholas Gilman
17. Nathaniel Gorham
18. Alexander Hamilton
19. Jared Ingersoll
20. William Jackson, Secretary (attesting)
21. Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
22. William Samuel Johnson
23. Rufus King
24. John Langdon
25. William Livingston
26. James Madison
27. James McHenry
28. Thomas Mifflin
29. Gouverneur Morris
30. Robert Morris
31. William Patterson
32. Charles Pinckney
33. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
34. George Read
35. John Rutledge
36. Roger Sherman
37. Richard Dobbs Spaight
38. George Washington (president of the Convention)
39. Hugh Williamson
40. James Wilson

Delegates who left the Convention without signing

1. William Richardson Davie
2. Oliver Ellsworth
3. William Houston
4. William Houstoun
5. John Lansing, Jr.
6. Alexander Martin
7. Luther Martin
8. James McClurg
9. John Francis Mercer
10. William Pierce
11. Caleb Strong
12. George Wythe
13. Robert Yates

Convention delegates who refused to sign

1. Elbridge Gerry
2. George Mason
3. Edmund Randolph

Other founders

The following people are referred to in the cited reliable sources as having been fathers or founders of the United States.

1. Ethan Allen, military and political leader in Vermont.
2. Richard Allen, African-American bishop.
3. Egbert Benson, politician from New York.
4. Richard Bland, VA delegate to Continental Congress.
5. Elias Boudinot, NJ delegate to Continental Congress.
6. Aaron Burr, VP under Jefferson.
7. George Rogers Clark, army general.
8. George Clinton, NY governor and VP of the U.S.
9. Tench Coxe, economist in Continental Congress.
10. Albert Gallatin, politician and Treasury Secretary.
11. Horatio Gates, army general.
12. Stephen Girard, banker and philanthropist.
13. Nathanael Greene, army general.
14. Nathan Hale, captured U.S. soldier executed in 1776.
15. Patrick Henry, Virginia governor.
16. James Iredell, advocate for Constitution, judge.
17. Andrew Jackson, Revolutionary War POW, POTUS.
18. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States.
19. John Paul Jones, navy captain.
20. Henry Knox, army general.
21. Tadeusz Kościuszko, army general.
22. Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette, army general.
23. Henry Lee III, army officer and VA governor.
24. Robert R. Livingston, diplomat and jurist.
25. William Maclay, PA politician and U.S. Senator.
26. Dolley Madison, spouse of President James Madison.
27. John Marshall, fourth Chief Justice of the United States.
28. Philip Mazzei, Italian physician, merchant and author.
29. James Monroe, fifth President of the United States
30. Daniel Morgan, military hero and VA Congressman.
31. James Otis, Jr., MA lawyer and politician.
32. Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense.
33. Edmund Pendleton, VA politician, lawyer and judge.
34. Andrew Pickens, army general and SC congressman.
35. Timothy Pickering, U.S. Secretary of State from MA.
36. Israel Putnam, army general.
37. Peyton Randolph, VA politician, lawyer, president of first two Continental Congresses.
38. Comte de Rochambeau, army general.
39. Thomas Sumter, SC military hero and congressman.
40. Haym Solomon, financier and spy for Continental Army.
41. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian officer.
42. Joseph Warren, doctor, revolutionary leader.
43. Mercy Otis Warren, political writer.
44. Anthony Wayne, army general and politician.
45. Noah Webster, writer, lexicographer, educator.
46. Thomas Willing, banker.
47. Paine Wingate, last survivor, Continental Congress.
48. Elizabeth Griscom aka Betsy Ross, maker of first American flag.

WikiTree Linking

If you know of a profile of a founding father within WikiTree please post a comment with the name and profile number and we will edit the link appropriately. If you believe a name should be added to this list please provide a source for any suggested additions. Original source list is based on the Wikipedia page American Founding Fathers

External Links

• A complete list of America's founding fathers. From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States

References

1. ↑ Delaware Colony in the North American Middle Colonies was a region of the Province of Pennsylvania although never legally a separate colony. From 1682 until 1776 it was part of the Penn proprietorship and was known as the lower counties. In 1701 it gained a separate Assembly from the three upper counties but had the same Governor as the rest of Pennsylvania.