John Morton
Born: 1724 or 1725
Died: April 1777
Colony/State: Pennsylvania
Occupation / Public Role: Farmer, surveyor, legislator, judge, delegate to the Continental Congress
Contribution to the Founding Era: Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Stamp Act Congress, and an important Pennsylvania vote for independence.
John Morton was born in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, and rose into public life through practical work rather than elite polish. The U.S. House notes that he had only brief formal schooling, received tutoring in surveying, and worked for many years as a land surveyor. He later moved into law and government, serving as a justice of the peace, a member of the colonial general assembly, and eventually speaker of that body.
Before independence, Morton had already become one of Pennsylvania’s important public figures. He served in the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, was high sheriff from 1766 to 1770, and then became a judge, including service as president judge of the court of general sessions and common pleas and later as an associate justice of the supreme court of appeals of Pennsylvania. In other words, he was already carrying a pretty heavy public load before the Revolution hit full boil.
Morton served in both the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independence as one of Pennsylvania’s delegates. The National Constitution Center notes that Morton cast the deciding vote among Pennsylvania’s delegation in favor of separation, helping bring his colony into line behind independence. That is a pretty big historical moment for a man many people now only remember after somebody squints at the signer list long enough.
Morton’s role in the founding era did not stop with the Declaration. Historical accounts note that he chaired the committee that drafted the Articles of Confederation, though he died before he could sign them. The National Archives and related signer summaries also note that he was the first signer of the Declaration to die, passing away in 1777 less than a year after independence was declared.
John Morton died in Pennsylvania in April 1777. He is not one of the loudest names of the founding era, but he was one of Pennsylvania’s real working founders: surveyor, legislator, judge, Continental delegate, signer, and key vote for independence. Not flashy, but very much one of the beams holding the ceiling up.
Related Links
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
- Declaration of Independence
- George Clymer
- Benjamin Franklin
- Robert Morris