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1733-1798
Representing Delaware at the Continental Congress
Born: September 18, 1733 Died: September 21, 1798
Birthplace: North East, Maryland
Education: Private school - Chester Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
College, Law studies (Judge)
FRIENDS: JOHN DICKINSON, GEORGE ROSS, JOHN MOLAND
Work: Admitted to Philadelphia Bar, 1753; Attorney General (in
Delaware), 1761; Member of Delaware Committee of
Correspondence, 1774; Elected to Continental Congress,
1774-1776; Member of Delaware Constitutional
Convention, 1776; Acting Governor of Delaware, 1777; Judge,
Court of Appeals, 1780; State Senator 1791, 92; Chief
Justice of the State of Delaware, 1793-98.
George Read was born on his family farm near the village of
North East in Cecil County, Maryland in 1733.Read'smother was the
daughter of a Welsh planter, and his Dublin-born father a
landholder of means. Soon after George's
birth, his family moved to New Castle, Delaware, where the
youth, who was one of six sons, grew up.He attendedschool at
Chester, Pennsylvania then the Philadelphia Academy, a religious
academyand Rev. Francis Alison'sacademy at New London, Pennsylvania
under the tutelage of Doctor Allison. At fifteen he graduated and
proceededto study law at the office of lawyer John Molandin
Philadelphia. In 1753, Read was admitted to the Philadelphia
Bar
and began to practice. The next year, he journeyed back to New
Castle, hung out his shingle and established a new
practice the following year. Before long, Read had enlisted a
clientele that extended into Maryland. During this period
he resided in New Castle but maintained Stonum, a country
retreat near the city. In 1763, he wed Gertrude Ross Till,
the widowed sister of George Ross, like Read a future signer of
the Declaration of Independence. She bore four
sons and a daughter. In 1764, the period leading up to the stamp
act protests, Read had joined the Delaware
Committee of Correspondence and was active in the patriot
movement. While crown attorney general, Read
protested against the Stamp Act. He established quite a
reputation in New Castle and was appointed Attorney
General to the Three Lower Counties of Delaware (now known as
just Delaware), an office which he resigned in 1774
when he was elected to the first Continental Congress.At the
Continental Congress he found Lee's Resolution forIndependence to
be too hasty and voted against it. When it was adopted, however, he
joined the majority in working
toward independence. In 1765, he began a career in the colonial
legislature that lasted more than a decade. A
moderate Whig, he supported nonimportation measures and
dignified protests. His attendance at the Continental
Congress (1774-77) was irregular. Like his friend John
Dickinson, he was willing to protect colonial rights but was
wary of extremism. He voted against independence on July 2,
1776, the only signer of the Declaration to do so,
apparently either bowing to the strong Tory sentiment in
Delaware, or believing reconciliation with Britain was still
possible. That same year, Read gave priority to state
responsibilities. He presided over the Delaware constitutional
convention, in which he chaired the drafting committee, and
began a term as speaker of the legislative council, which
in effect made him vice president of the state. When the British
took Wilmington the next fall, they captured the
president, a resident of the city. At first, because Read was
away in Congress, Thomas McKean, speaker of the lower
house, took over as acting president. But in November, after
barely escaping from the British himself while he and his
family were en route to Dover from Philadelphia, newly occupied
by the redcoats, Read assumed the office and held
it until the spring of 1778. Back in the legislative council in
1779, he drafted the act directing Delaware congressional
delegates to sign the Articles of Confederation.In 1776 Read was
called upon to join the Constitutional Convention in Delaware, Age
at Convention: 53 where he
served as president of the committee that drafted the document.
In 1777 the British captured Delaware governor
John McKinley and Read took over as governor in the emergency.
He led the state through the crisis of the war,
raising money, troops, and supplies for the defense of his
state.
In 1779 he suffered a bout of poor health and had to retire from
official duties. He recovered, however, and was
appointed Judge in Court of Appeals in admiralty cases three
years later. Read went on to be twice elected State
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Senator under the new constitution, and later still was
appointed Chief Justice of the State of Delaware. He served in
that office until his death in 1798.
Occupation: Lawyer, Public Security Interests, Lending and
Investments, Planter and Slave holder
Prior Political Experience: State Upper House of Delaware
1776-1779, Speaker 1776-1778, President of State
Constitutional Convention 1776, Acting Governor of Delaware
1777-1778, Continental Congress 1774-1777, Voted
against Independence July 2, 1776, Signed the Declaration of
Independence July 4, 1776, Attended Annapolis
Convention 1786
Committee Assignments: Third Committee of Representation,
Committee of Trade
Convention Contributions: Arrived May 25, was present through
the signing of the Constitution. He signed the
Constitution twice, signing once for himself and once for John
Dickinson who was home sick with a migraine. William
Pierce stated that "his legal abilities are said to be very
great, but powers of Oratory are fatiguing and tiresome to the
last degree."
New Government Participation: Supported ratification of
Constitution in Delaware. Served as Delaware's firstSenator
(1789-1793).
Biography from theNational ArchivesDuring 1779, in poor health,
Read resigned from the legislative council,
refused reelection to Congress, and began a period of
inactivity. During the years 1782-88, he again sat on the
council and concurrently held the position of judge of the court
of appeals in admiralty cases.
Meantime, in 1784, Read had served on a commission that adjusted
New York-Massachusetts land claims. In 1786
he attended the Annapolis Convention. The next year, he
participated in the Constitutional Convention, where he
missed few if any sessions and championed the rights of the
small states. Otherwise, he adopted a Hamiltonian
stance, favoring a strong executive. He later led the
ratification movement in Delaware, the first state to ratify.
In the U.S. Senate (1789-93), Read's attendance was again
erratic, but when present he allied with the Federalists.
He resigned to accept the post of chief justice of Delaware. He
held it until his death at New Castle five years later,
just three days after he celebrated his 65th birthday. His grave
is there in the Immanuel Episcopal Churchyard.
George Read (1733-1798) is one of our greatest men. He was one
of only six men to sign both the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution. He was elected a U.S. Senator
from 1789-1793. Read was the President of the
Delaware State Constitutional Convention, where he wrote the
rough draft of the State Constitution in 1776. A High-
Federalist, Read wanted a strong central government, with a
Constitution that strictly protected States' Rights. Once
the Constitution granted his requests, his state was the first
to ratify. Read was an Orthodox Christian, who died three
days after his 65th birthday, and was buried at Immanuel
Episcopal Churchyard.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/constitution/founding_fathers.htmlhttp://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/constitution/founding_fathers.htmlhttp://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/constitution/founding_fathers.htmlhttp://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_freedom/constitution/founding_fathers.html
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