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Delegates to the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The 56 delegates who signed the formal break from Britain are all considered Founding Fathers.
Virginia had seven delegates. This week's profile features Benjamin Harrison V, Francis Lightfoot Lee and Carter Braxton. Their signatures are grouped at the bottom of the document, third column from the left.
Benjamin Harrison V
Harrison was born on April 5, 1726, at a 1,000-acre Berkeley Plantation in Virginia. His father, Benjamin Harrison IV, was the sheriff of Charles City County, Virginia, and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. His mother was Anne Carter. The couple had 10 children; Harrison was the eldest son.
He attended William and Mary College, but in 1745, at the age of 19, he left school to return home and manage the plantation after his father and youngest sister were killed by lightning. Through his inheritance, he became one of the wealthiest landowners in Virginia.
In 1748, Harrison married Elizabeth Bassett, niece of Martha Washington, and they had eight children. His family produced two presidents: his son, William Henry Harrison, became the ninth president in 1841, and his great-grandson, Benjamin Harrison, became the 23rd president in 1889.
Harrison served in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1749 and was known for his early opposition to British colonial policies. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a lieutenant in his county militia.
In 1778, he was elected speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates and then the fifth governor of Virginia, serving from 1781 to 1784. He also successfully lobbied for the Bill of Rights. Harrison was well known for his sense of humor and for his large stature. Before signing the declaration, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound man joked that he would die quickly if he were hanged for committing treason.
Harrison died on April 24, 1791. He is buried alongside his wife, who died a year later, at his Virginia estate.
The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge, which spans the James River near his estate, is named for him, as is Harrison County, West Virginia.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Lee was born Oct. 14, 1734, on a tobacco plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents were Thomas Lee and Hannah Ludwell, and he had five brothers and two sisters. The family was wealthy from generations of tobacco and fur sales, but when Lee was 16, both of his parents died.
Lee didn't attend college; instead, he was educated by a private tutor. When his parents died, he inherited a large estate in what would soon become Loudoun County, Virginia, where he entered public service. In July 1758, Lee was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
In 1769, he married 16-year-old Rebecca Plater Tayloe. They had no children, but later in life, they raised two of their young nieces when their mother died.
Lee won a second term in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1769, which he held until he left for the Second Continental Congress in 1775. He and his older brother, Richard Henry Lee, both signed the Declaration of Independence — the only brothers to do so.
Lee helped draft the Articles of Confederation, and he served in the Virginia Senate from 1778 to 1782. After contracting a respiratory illness, Lee died Jan. 11, 1797, just four days after the death of his wife. Both were buried at Mount Airy in Richmond County, Virginia.
Lee lived a quiet life, but his name lives on. The SS Francis L. Lee was a World War II Liberty ship launched in March 1942. His family's tobacco plantation was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960. In April 2002, a plaque honoring Lee was unveiled in the main terminal of Dulles International Airport in Virginia, as it partially sits on land he once owned in Loudoun County.
Carter Braxton
Braxton was born on the Newington Plantation in King and Queen County, Virginia, Sept. 10, 1736. His parents were George Braxton Jr. and Mary Carter. He had an older brother, and his mother died seven days after giving birth to him.
Death and debt continued to be a theme throughout his life. Braxton's father died when he was 13, and he attended the College of William and Mary shortly thereafter.
He graduated in 1755 at age 19 and married Judith Robinson, who died two years after the birth of their second child. Shortly after the death of his wife, Braxton traveled to Europe and returned to America nearly three years later. He married Elizabeth Corbin in May 1760, and they had 16 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood.
Braxton was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1761, where he represented King William County until 1775. Also, in 1761, his older brother died, leaving Braxton the family estate, but also substantial debt.
Braxton played a key role in averting violence during the Virginia Gunpowder Crisis of 1775, an early event of the American Revolution. In his role as a member of the House of Burgesses, Braxton was part of the group that responded to the seizure of Virginia's gunpowder and flintlocks by the royal governor.
He confronted Patrick Henry and a group of volunteer militia who were marching to Williamsburg, Virginia, to demand the return or reimbursement of the gunpowder. Braxton, who at the time was cautious about breaking away from Britain, pledged to have the gunpowder paid for out of his father-in-law's royal accounts and settled the matter.
He helped finance the Continental Navy and other military efforts during the Revolutionary War, going from one of the wealthiest men to insolvency.
From 1776 to 1786, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Braxton died Oct. 10, 1797, in Richmond, Virginia. He was buried at Chericoke Plantation in King William County, Virginia, without a grave marker because he was heavily in debt. In 1910, his family attempted to locate his remains, along with those of other family members. His grave could not be found, but a memorial marker dedicated to him now stands in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.
In 1836, Braxton County, West Virginia, was named for him, and the SS Carter Braxton, a World War II Liberty ship, launched in January 1942. His birthplace was destroyed by fire in 1775. However, in March 2010, the archaeological site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is administered by the National Park Service.
This is the ninth installment in a series of articles about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, representing the 13 colonies, are all considered Founding Fathers.
