Signers of the Declaration of Independence: South Carolina, Part 1

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.

Four delegates represented South Carolina. The week's profile features Thomas Heyward Jr. and Thomas Lynch Jr.

Thomas Heyward Jr.

Heyward was born to Daniel Heyward and Mary Miles July 28, 1746, on the sprawling Old House Plantation in St. Luke's Parish, South Carolina, present-day Jasper County. He was the eldest son of their six children. His father served in the South Carolina militia, rising to the rank of colonel, and was also a wealthy rice planter and a staunch loyalist who retained allegiance to the British Crown and disapproved of his son's revolutionary activities.

Heyward was educated at home by private tutors and later sent to private academies; he also studied law under a local attorney. When he was 19, he traveled to London to study law at Middle Temple, where he became keenly aware of the prejudice against colonists, reinforcing his belief in American independence.

After returning to South Carolina in 1771, Heyward was admitted to the Charleston, South Carolina bar and established a law practice. He also became involved in local politics, including revolutionary committees and was elected to the Commons House of Assembly, a provincial legislature in South Carolina.

Heyward married Elizabeth Mathews April 20, 1776, and only one of their six children survived to adulthood. His wife died during childbirth, Aug. 16, 1782, and was buried in St. Peter's Episcopal Churchyard in Philadelphia. On May 4, 1786, he married Elizabeth Savage, and they had three children who survived to adulthood.

Heyward became one of the last delegates in the Second Continental Congress to sign the Declaration of Independence on Aug. 2, 1776. He also signed the Articles of Confederation in 1778, which shaped the early framework of the United States.

He assumed a judicial role after he served as a South Carolina delegate in 1778 and presided over Charleston's criminal courts, where individuals were tried for treason against the revolutionary government. Those convicted of treason were executed, which made Heyward a target of British hostility.

During the Revolutionary War, he served as a captain in the Charleston Artillery Company, part of the South Carolina militia. As commander of the unit, Heyward led troops in the defense of South Carolina's Lowcountry. He fought in the Feb. 3, 1779, Battle of Port Royal Island near Beaufort, South Carolina, alongside fellow Founding Father Edward Rutledge. Heyward was wounded in the arm during the battle but recovered sufficiently to fight again.

Heyward and Founding Fathers Arthur Middleton, Josiah Smith and Rutledge, along with many other leaders of the Revolution, were captured by British forces during the Siege of Charleston after they took the city May 12, 1780. They were initially detained in Charleston and then transported to St. Augustine, Florida, where they were imprisoned for 11 months. They were freed during a prisoner exchange in July 1781.

Upon his release, Heyward narrowly escaped death when he fell overboard from the ship carrying him to Philadelphia. He survived by clinging to the ship's rudder until he was rescued.

After the war, Heyward returned to South Carolina, where he resumed his judicial role, until he retired in 1789. In 1785, he established the South Carolina Agricultural Society and served as its first president, overseeing and promoting agricultural development in the state. The society still exists today and promotes agricultural excellence.

Heyward also had a hand in shaping South Carolina's constitution while serving as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention in 1790. He remained an influential figure in South Carolina until his death March 6, 1809.

He was buried in the Heyward family cemetery at Old House Plantation near Ridgeland, South Carolina.

The Heyward-Washington House in Charleston, built in 1772 by Heyward's father, served as the residence of Heyward and his first wife when they were not at White Hall Plantation; it was also his base for revolutionary activities and legal practice. Heyward hosted President George Washington at the house during a weeklong stay in Charleston in May 1791, which led to the house becoming known as the Heyward-Washington House. Heyward sold the house in 1794, and it was added to the National Registry of Historic Places April 15, 1970. It houses a museum that's open to the public.

The main structures of the Old House Plantation, Heyward's birthplace, were destroyed by fire in 1865 and never rebuilt. Today, the plantation remains a historic and archeological site with a preserved cemetery and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Established in 1970, the Thomas Heyward Academy, a private, college-preparatory school for prekindergarten to 12th grade in Ridgeland, was named for Heyward.

The Liberty ship SS Thomas Heyward launched in 1942 to support World War II, and in 1983 the cargo ship SS Thomas Heyward was named for him.

Thomas Lynch Jr.

Lynch was born Aug. 5, 1749, on the Hopsewee Plantation in Prince George's Parish, South Carolina, present-day Georgetown County. He was the only son of Thomas Lynch Sr., a wealthy rice planter, and Elizabeth Allston. He had two older sisters and a younger half sister.

He attended local school until he was 13, when he was sent to England for undergraduate studies at Eton College and Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge, England. Lynch went on to study law at Middle Temple in London.

Shortly after returning to South Carolina, he decided he did not want to practice law, so his father gifted him the family plantation, and Lynch married his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Shubrick, May 14, 1772.

In June 1775, he was commissioned as a captain in the First South Carolina Regiment, and the following month, while on a recruiting excursion in North Carolina, he fell ill with a severe fever. It was likely malaria and permanently affected his health.

After his father suffered a debilitating stroke, Lynch was elected to fill his vacancy in the Second Continental Congress representing South Carolina. At 26, he was one of the youngest delegates to sign the declaration in August 1776. Hoping his father would also sign, Lynch left a gap. However, his father suffered a second stroke in December 1776 and died.

After signing the Declaration of Independence, Lynch's health continued to deteriorate, and he returned to South Carolina, retiring from politics in early 1777. In late 1779, Lynch and his wife embarked on a trip to the West Indies to take a merchant ship to the South of France, hoping to improve his worsening health. However, their ship encountered a storm and vanished; Lynch and his wife were presumed lost at sea.
The Hopsewee Plantation, Lynch's birthplace, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972, and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the plantation is open to visitors, offering guided tours, workshops and dining.

The Liberty ship SS Thomas Lynch launched in August 1942 to support World War II. In South Carolina, the Lynches River and Lynches River County Park both honor him.

This is the 21st 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.