Difference between revisions of "George Read"
(add template) |
m (cats) |
||
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| + | {{DEFAULTSORT:Read, George}} | ||
[[Category:Founding Fathers]] | [[Category:Founding Fathers]] | ||
[[Category:American Revolution]] | [[Category:American Revolution]] | ||
Revision as of 20:06, December 6, 2011
| Founding Fathers | |
|---|---|
| |
| George Read | |
| State | Delaware |
| Religion | Christian- Episcopalian [1] |
| Founding Documents | Declaration of Independence |
George Read (b. September 18, 1733; d. September 21, 1798) is an American Founding Father. He was a shrewd, talented lawyer and Attorney General of lower Delaware. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly and president of the state constitutional convention. Also, a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress that signed the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, George Read became interim governor of Delaware. Read was a state Senator, judge of admiralty for the United States Court of Appeals. He was a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention and Chief Justice of Delaware.
Early Life
George Read was born in Cecil County, Maryland to an Irish-born father. George and his five brothers were given a classical education. They attended private schools in Chester and afterward at the Reverend Francis Alison's Academy. At fifteen he graduated and proceeded to study law at the office of John Moland in Philadelphia. [2] In 1753, George was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar at age nineteen. He would move back to New Castle and started a law practice. Read would marry widow Gertrude Ross Till, the sister of George Ross. [3] She bore him five children.
Politics
As Attorney General of lower Delaware, Read would list the colony grievences to Britain. He would resign his position in protest due to the unattended offenses and unchanged attitude of King George III. Read secured his seat in the Continental Congress following the Stamp Act. He was known as a tireless delegate exhausting all possible means of reconciliation with Britian. At first he would vote against independence but a month later he joined the majority and adopted the resolution. In 1777, the British captured Delaware governor John McKinly and George Read took over as governor in the emergency.
In 1779 he had retired from his duties due to poor health. From 1782 to 1788, Read would be a state senator and he was appointed Judge in the Court of Appeals. He would resign in 1793 to become Chief Justice of Delaware, a post he filled until his death in 1798.
Death
George Read died at his mansion in New Castle, Delaware and is buried at Immanuel Churchyard. [4]
Bibliography
Dictionary of American Biography; Boughner, D. Terry, Jr. “George Read and the Founding of Delaware State, 1781-1798.” Ph.D. dissertation, Catholic University, 1970; Read, William T. Life and Correspondence of George Read. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1870.
