His brother-in-law, Elias Boudinot, served a term as President of the Continental Congress, signed the Treaty of Paris, and founded the American Bible Society.
His son, Richard, was a U.S. Senator from New Jersey.
His grandson, Robert, a U.S. Navy Commodore, was a hero of the War of 1812; helped freed slaves found Liberia, West Africa; and in 1846, defeated the Mexican army and captured California, being its first military governor. The city of Stockton, California, was named for him.
His name was Richard Stockton.
In 1767, Richard Stockton traveled to England, where he met with Edmund Burke, the Marquis of Rockingham, the Earl of Chatham, and even King George III, acknowledging the repeal of the Stamp Act.
Stockton traveled to Scotland, where, as a trustee of Princeton College, he met up with a young Princeton graduate attending medical school there, Benjamin Rush, and together they persuaded Rev. John Witherspoon to be Princeton’s new President.
Benjamin Rush later married Richard Stockton’s daughter, Julia.
In 1776, Richard Stockton, Benjamin Rush and John Witherspoon all signed the Declaration of Independence.
When the British invaded New Jersey, Richard Stockton and his family had to flee for their lives.
Richard was betrayed, dragged from his bed at night and imprisoned in New York.
His farm was pillaged and his library, one of the best in the country, was burned.
With his health broken from over a year in the British prison, Richard Stockton died bankrupt at age 51 on FEBRUARY 28, 1781.
New Jersey placed statue of Richard Stockton in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
Richard Stockton wrote in his Will:
“As my children…may be peculiarly impressed with the last words of their father, I think proper here, not only to subscribe to the entire belief of the great leading doctrine of the Christian religion…
but also in the heart of a father’s affection, to exhort them to remember ‘that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'”
William J. Federer is a nationally known speaker, best-selling author, and president of Amerisearch, Inc., a publishing company dedicated to researching America’s noble heritage.
To learn more about the author please visit William Federer
Featured image: Courtesy of New York Public Library
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