Search Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence which was created between June – July of 1776 and unanimously ratified on July 4, 1776. Originally published and distributed as a broadside, the Declaration listed 27 grievances against King George III from the colonies. It has since become a well-known statement on human rights and was the inspiration for other similar documents in other countries including Austria, Belgium, and Liberia. By the time it was adopted, the 13 Colonies and Great Britain had been at war for more than a year.

These records document the descendants of these 56 men and offer a standardized lineage, which allows family historians to determine any possible connection to the Signers. The most famous is undoubtedly John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress, who chose to sign in large letters. It is also signed by two future Presidents: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Benjamin Harrison V was the father and great-grandfather of two other presidents, Edward Rutledge was the youngest at age 26, and at age 70, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest. Many had familial connections to Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The signers were:

Adams, John

Adams, Samuel

Bartlett, Josiah

Braxton, Carter

Carroll, Charles

Chase, Samuel

Clark, Abraham

Clymer, George

Ellery, William

Floyd, William

Franklin, Benjamin

Gerry, Elbridge

Gwinnett, Button

Hall, Lyman

Hancock, John

Harrison, Benjamin

Hart, John

Hewes, Joseph

Heyward Jr., Thomas

Hooper, William

Hopkins, Stephen

Hopkinson, Francis

Huntington, Samuel

Jefferson, Thomas

Lee, Francis Lightfoot

Lee, Richard Henry

Lewis, Francis

Livingston, Philip

Lynch Jr., Thomas

McKean, Thomas

Middleton, Arthur

Morris, Lewis

Morris, Robert

Morton, John

Nelson Jr., Thomas

Paca, William

Penn, John

Read, George

Rodney, Caesar

Ross, George

Rush, Benjamin

Rutledge, Edward

Sherman, Roger

Smith, James

Stockton, Richard

Stone, Thomas

Taylor, George

Thornton, Matthew

Treat Paine, Robert

Walton, George

Whipple, William

Williams, William

Wilson, James

Witherspoon, John

Wolcott, Oliver

Wythe, George

The images in this collection come from the Frank Willing Leach Collection, housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

While records vary from family to family, the materials in this collection are presented in a traditional genealogical text style, with the primary subject at the top of each page or section, and their children, or Issue, listed below. Each generation follows in a similar format. When it was available, information on locations, dates, marriages, spouses, and other vital genealogical data is included.

Many of the pages include handwritten edits that were inserted after the original publication was created, as ongoing research revealed new information or corrections.

Researchers should be attentive to any additional notes or citations offered for each family, and should verify this information against original documents, as you would with any other published genealogical research.

While the vast majority of the information will be from the United States, families will include information from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Euorpe, South America, Australia, and other areas around the globe, depending on where the family may have ventured to over several generations.

Copyright: Findmypast; images courtesy Historical Society of Pennsylvania