John Hancock III (1737 - 1793)
Governor
John
"President 2nd Cont Congress"
Hancock
III
Born in Braintree (now Quincy), Province of Massachusetts Bay
Ancestors 
Son of John Hancock Jr.
and Mary (Hawke) Perkins
Brother of
Ebenezer Hancock and Eva Jane Hancock
Husband of
Dorothy (Quincy) Scott
— married
(to ) in Thaddeus Burr Mansion in Fairfield, Connecticut
Father of
Lydia Henchman Hancock and John George Washington Hancock
Died in Hancock Manor, Boston, Massachusetts
Hancock-2 created 13 Nov 2008 | Last modified | Last edit: 6 Jul 2017
13:29: EditBot WikiTree edited the Biography for John Hancock III. (Renaming category: Sons of Liberty) [Thank EditBot for this]
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Categories: Sons of Liberty, American Revolution | Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence | Signers of the Articles of Confederation | President of the Continental Congress | Massachusetts Governors | Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Massachusetts | Namesakes US Counties | Notables | American Founding Fathers.
| John Hancock III is notable. Join: Notables Project Discuss: notables |
| Event years 1773-1789. Join: 1776 Project Discuss: 1776 |
| Preceded by Office created October 25, 1780 2nd Governor James Bowdoin |
John Hancock 1st Governor of Massachusetts 1780—1785  1787—1793 |
Succeeded by Acting Governor Thomas Cushing 4th Governor Samuel Adams |
Contents |
Biography
1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
John Hancock (1737-1793), orphaned as a boy, was adopted by a rich uncle who had no children of his own. He was educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard University. Just ten years after graduating from college, he inherited his uncle's very lucrative business and became the richest man in America at the time.
The influence of being a workingman, and then one of means may be what made Hancock so in touch with the people. He despised blind authority and those beliefs lead him to use his contacts and resources in the aid of the independence of the colonies. He spoke out strongly regarding British Rule and was often engaged revolutionary politics at first as a financier and later a outspoken public critic of British rule.
On March 5, 1774, the fourth anniversary of the Boston Massacre, he gave a speech strongly condemning the British. In the same year, he was elected president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.
On May 24, 1775, he was elected President of the Second Continental Congress. In August of the same year, he married Dorothy Quincy.
Hancock is best remembered for his large, flamboyant signature on the Declaration of Independence, so much so that the word “John Hancock” is synonymous with “signature”.
Because of the popularity of the Hancock name, many people claim to be direct descendants. However, Mr. Hancock and his wife had two children neither of whom lived to see their teenage years. Lydia Henchman Hancock died an infant and John George Washington Hancock died at age 9, fell through the ice while skating in a pond in Massachusetts.
John Hancock was son of Rev. John Hancock of Braintree and Mary (Hawke )Thaxter of Hingham. After his father died in 1744 he lived with an uncle and aunt, Thomas Hancock and Lydia (Henchman) Hancock.'
Legacy
- Ten US states have counties named in John Hancock's honor. They are: Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Sources
- Find A Grave Memorial# 440
- John Hancock on wikipedia
- John Hancock and "The Declaration of Independence"
Acknowledgments
- Thanks to Raymond Nichols for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Raymond and others.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share DNA with John:
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share DNA with John:
- R (Baker) B : 23andMe, GEDmatch M907435 + AncestryDNA, GEDmatch A961190, Ancestry member Roland_H_Baker_III + Family Tree DNA Family Finder, GEDmatch A961190, FTDNA kit #340616
Have you taken a DNA test for genealogy? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Family Tree DNA.
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On 9 Mar 2015 at 21:28 GMT Cathryn (Hallett) Hondros wrote:
From the National Archive:
On 30 Oct 2013 at 22:18 GMT Raymond Nichols R-CTS1751 wrote:
John is my 15th cousin 7 times removed.
On 7 Mar 2011 at 20:53 GMT Virginia Hancock wrote:
did john hancock have no siblings? member's of my father's family claim to have traced our family back to him, so i thought for most of my teen's and 20's to have been a descendant of his. i've since learned they were wrong, so the info has gotten skewed somewhere. would love to find out
John is 14 degrees from Kevin Bacon, 32 degrees from Laura Bozzay, 16 degrees from James Douglas and 15 degrees from Queen Elizabeth II Windsor on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.