The Lives and Times of Our Founding Fathers - 15
In this post: George Taylor, John Hart, Philip Livingston
Founding Fathers Series
Step into history like never before.
Starting today and on a daily basis (Mon thru Fri), we will be posting 2 to 3 videos, about 5 minutes worth of videos, presenting the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the ladies of the American Revolution come alive through vivid, first-person storytelling.
This Series will be tagged on the right column of our blog as Founding Father Series
You may not know some, that does not devalue the contributions they provided in the founding of our country.
Their courage, sacrifice, and triumph unfold in gripping moments that shaped America’s founding.
George Taylor
George Taylor, an American Founding Father, was a politician and ironmaster who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania. Born around 1716 in Northern Ireland, Taylor immigrated to Philadelphia at the age of 20. He was one of only eight immigrants to sign the Declaration of Independence and one of three signers born in Ireland. Many details of his early life are unknown, though some sources state his father was a Protestant minister. Other accounts suggest he was born into poverty.
Taylor arrived in America as an indentured servant, finding employment at an ironworks in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, owned by Samuel Savage. He began as a manual laborer but was later found to be more useful as a clerk. After Savage’s death, Taylor married his widow, Ann Taylor Savage, and took over the management of the ironworks, accumulating significant wealth. Taylor leased various iron furnaces throughout his career, including Warwick Furnace and Durham Furnace, where he produced cannon shot for the American Revolutionary War and became the first provider of munitions to the Continental Army. In July 1776, Taylor was appointed to the Second Continental Congress, replacing a delegate who refused to approve the Declaration of Independence. He signed the final document on August 2, 1776, solidifying his status as a Founding Father. Taylor also briefly served on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council before his death on February 23, 1781, at approximately 64 or 65 years old.
John Hart
John Hart was an American Founding Father and a politician in colonial New Jersey who is recognized for signing the Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was one of five delegates sent by the provincial congress of New Jersey in June 1776 with instructions to vote for independence from Great Britain. Hart’s exact birth date is not definitively known, with estimates placing it between 1706 and 1713, and he was baptized on December 31, 1713. He died on May 11, 1779, before the end of the Revolutionary War, while still actively involved in patriotic efforts.
Hart was born in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, or possibly Stonington, Connecticut, before moving to Hopewell at an early age. His father, Captain Edward Hart, was a farmer, public assessor, justice of the peace, and a leader of a local militia during the French and Indian War. John Hart married Deborah Scudder in 1741, and they had twelve or thirteen children. He was known as a farmer and a prominent member of his community, earning the nickname “Honest John Hart.” Hart began his political career in 1750, being elected to his county’s Board of Freeholders, and later served in the New Jersey Colonial Assembly from 1761 to 1771. He also donated land in 1747 for local Baptists to build a church.
As tensions with Great Britain increased, Hart was appointed to New Jersey’s Committee of Safety and Committee of Correspondence, becoming a vocal advocate for independence. After signing the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776, Hart returned to New Jersey. He served as the first Speaker of the General Assembly for the newly formed state of New Jersey. His property was looted during the war, and his wealth was diminished. Hart suffered from “gravel,” an 18th-century term for kidney stones, and died from the illness at the age of 65.
Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and slave trader from New York City. He was born in Albany, New York, to Philip Livingston, the second Lord of the Manor, and Catherine Van Brugh Livingston. He grew up in the Albany area, dividing his time between his father’s Albany townhouse and the manor house in Linlithgo. Livingston graduated from Yale College in 1737 and subsequently returned to Albany for a mercantile apprenticeship under his father. Through his father’s influence, he obtained clerkships in Albany’s municipal government, later moving to New York City to build his own successful business as an importer and merchant.
Livingston’s contributions to the founding of the United States included representing New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress and serving as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778. He favored imposing economic sanctions on Great Britain to pressure the British Parliament to repeal the Intolerable Acts, and he signed the Declaration of Independence as a New York delegate. Livingston was also a significant figure in New York City, advocating for the founding of King’s College (now Columbia University), helping to organize the New York Public Library, and founding the first Chamber of Commerce.