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Signers of The Articles of Confederation

The signers of America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, are less well-known than those of the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, but they are no less important to our history. Some basic demographic information about these men is presented below.

Name State Place of Birth Birth Date Death Date Occupation Religion
Adams, Andrew Connecticut Stratford, CT 1/1736 11/26/1797 Lawyer ?
Adams, Samuel Massachusetts Boston, MA 9/27/1722 10/2/1803 Merchant CO
Adams, Thomas Virginia New Kent Co., VA 1730 8/1788 Businessman ?
Banister, John Virginia Petersburg, VA 12/26/1734 9/30/1788 Lawyer ?
Bartlett, Josiah New Hampshire Amesbury, MA 11/21/1729 5/19/1795 Physician CO
Carroll, Daniel Maryland Upper Marlboro, MD 7/22/1730 7/5/1796 Farmer RC
Clingan, William Pennsylvania Chester Co., PA 1721 5/9/1790 Judge ?
Collins, John Rhode Island Newport, RI 6/8/1717 3/4/1795 Lawyer ?
Dana, Francis Massachusetts Charlestown, MA 6/13/1743 4/25/1811 Lawyer ?
Dickinson, John Delaware Trappe, MD 11/19/1732 2/14/1808 Lawyer QU/EP
Drayton, William Henry South Carolina Charleston, SC 9/1742 9/3/1779 Lawyer ?
Duane, James New York New York, NY 2/6/1733 2/1/1797 Judge ?
Duer, William New York Devonshire, England 3/18/1747 5/7/1799 Judge ?
Ellery, William Rhode Island Newport, RI 12/22/1727 2/15/1820 Lawyer/Merchant CO
Gerry, Elbridge Massachusetts Marblehead, MA 7/17/1744 11/23/1814 Merchant EP
Hancock, John Massachusetts Quincy, MA 1/12/1737 10/8/1793 Merchant CO
Hanson, John Maryland Charles Co., MD 4/3/1715 11/22/1783 Planter ?
Harnett, Cornelius North Carolina Chowan Co., NC 4/20/1723 4/28/1781 Merchant/Farmer ?
Harvie, John Virginia Albemarle Co., VA 1742 2/6/1807 Lawyer ?
Heyward Jr., Thomas South Carolina St. Helena Parish, SC 7/28/1746 3/6/1809 Lawyer/Plantation Owner ?
Holten, Samuel Massachusetts Danvers, MA 6/9/1738 1/2/1816 Doctor ?
Hosmer, Titus Connecticut West Hartford, CT 1736 8/4/1780 Lawyer ?
Huntington, Samuel Connecticut Windham, CT 7/5/1731 1/5/1796 Lawyer CO
Hutson, Richard South Carolina Prince William Parish, SC 7/9/1748 4/12/1795 Lawyer CO?
Langworthy, Edward Georgia Savannah, GA 1738 11/2/1802 Teacher ?
Laurens, Henry South Carolina Charleston, SC 3/6/1724 12/8/1792 Merchant ?
Lee, Francis Lightfoot Virginia Mt. Pleasant, VA 10/14/1734 1/11/1797 Plantation Owner ?
Lee, Richard Henry Virginia Stratford, VA 1/20/1732 6/19/1794 Plantation Owner/Merchant ?
Lewis, Francis New York Llandaff, Wales 3/21/1713 12/30/1802 Merchant ?
Lovell, James Massachusetts Halifax, NS 10/31/1737 7/14/1789 Teacher ?
Marchant, Henry Rhode Island Martha's Vineyard, MA 4/9/1741 8/30/1796 Lawyer ?
Mathews, John South Carolina Charleston, SC 1744 11/17/1802 Lawyer ?
McKean, Thomas Delaware Chester Co., PA 3/19/1735 6/24/1817 Lawyer PB
Morris, Gouvernour New York Bronx, NY 1/31/1752 11/6/1816 Lawyer EP
Morris, Robert Pennsylvania Liverpool, England 1/31/1734 5/8/1806 Merchant EP
Penn, John North Carolina Caroline Co., VA 5/6/1740 9/14/1788 Lawyer ?
Reed, Joseph Pennsylvania Trenton, NJ 8/27/1741 3/5/1785 Lawyer ?
Roberdeau, Daniel Pennsylvania Mauritius 1727 1/5/1795 Merchant ?
Scudder, Nathaniel New Jersey Long Island, NY 5/10/1733 10/17/1781 Doctor ?
Sherman, Roger Connecticut Newton, MA 4/19/1721 7/23/1793 Lawyer CO
Smith, Jonathan Bayard Pennsylvania Portsmouth, NH 2/21/1742 6/16/1812 Merchant ?
Telfair, Edward Georgia Town Head, Scoland 1735 9/17/1807 Merchant ?
Van Dyke, Nicholas Delaware New Castle Co., DE 9/25/1738 2/19/1789 Lawyer ?
Walton, John Georgia VA 1738 1783 Planter ?
Wentworth Jr., John New Hampshire Somersworth, NH 7/17/1745 1/10/1787 Lawyer ?
Williams, John North Carolina Hanover Co., VA 3/14/1731 10/10/1799 Soldier ?
Witherspoon, John New Jersey Gifford, Scotland 2/5/1723 11/15/1794 Minister PB
Wolcott, Oliver Connecticut Windsor, CT 11/20/1726 12/1/1797 Lawyer CO

Religion key:

AN = Anglican
CO = Congregationalist
DE = Deist
EP = Episcopal
PB = Presbyterian
RC = Roman Catholic
UN = Unitarian

Sources:
Birth places, birth and death dates, and occupations: Declaration Signer's Factsheet from NARA, Biographies of the Founding Fathers from Colonial Hall, Wikipedia. Religion: A Note on the Signers of the Declaration of Independence and God & Country.

Note on religion: Pinning down the religion of some people on this list is notoriously difficult. The "Deist" label, in particular, is a difficult one to assign. The best attempt has been made to assign labels accurately - the assignment can be debated, and this fact is readily acknowledged.

Note on dates: in 1752, the British Empire, of which America was a member at the time, adopted the Gregorian calendar. To do so required jumping ahead 11 days. Most of the signers of the Articles were born before this shift. Many people at the time shifted their own birth date 11 days as well - someone born on January 1, 1740, might have considered his birth date to be January 12 in future years. When I have no information about a pre-shift date, I have used the most widely cited date. When I do, I have used the pre-shift date.


URL: //www.usconstitution.net/artsigndata.html
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