JULY 4, 2026 – 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.
Pennsylvania had nine delegates, the most of the colonies. This week’s profile features three of these delegates: John Morton, George Ross and Dr. Benjamin Rush. Their signatures are grouped the top third column from the right of the document.
John Morton Jr.
Morton was born to John Morton Sr., a farmer, and Mary Archer, in Ridley Township, Chester County (present-day Delaware County), Pennsylvania in 1725. His father died before Morton was born. His mother married John Sketchley around 1733.
Morton had little formal education but instead was tutored by his stepfather in reading, math and surveying. He also helped on the family farm.
In 1748, Morton married Ann Justice, and they had three sons and six daughters. Morton was grateful to his stepfather for providing him with valuable career training, so he named one of his sons Sketchley Morton. That son would later serve in the state militia during the Revolutionary War.
In 1756, Morton was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. He was appointed justice of the peace for Chester County in 1757, a position he held until 1764. In 1766, Morton was appointed county sheriff after the death of the previous sheriff, Phillip Ford, and voluntarily gave up his seat in the assembly to take the position.
After Morton’s service as sheriff, he was reelected to the assembly in 1769 and became speaker of the assembly. In 1774, he represented Pennsylvania in the First Continental Congress. That same year, he was appointed associate justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Morton helped draft the Articles of Confederation, which were ratified after his death from tuberculosis on April 1, 1777.
He and his wife, who died in 1799, were buried in Old St. Paul’s Church Burial Ground in Chester.
In 1845, an 11-foot obelisk marking his grave was erected by his descendants to honor his role in the American Revolution. Because of Morton’s Finnish ancestry, he has been recognized in Finland for his contributions to the new nation. Also, the John Morton Center for North American Studies at the University of Turku in Finland was named for him.
George Ross
Ross was born to the Rev. George Ross, an Anglican minister, and Anna Catherine Van Gezel, in New Castle, Delaware, May 10, 1730. He had two brothers, six sisters, three half-brothers and two half-sisters.
After being homeschooled, Ross studied law in Philadelphia and after being admitted to the bar in 1750, he practiced law in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In 1751, he married Ann Lawler and the couple had two sons and a daughter. His nephew’s wife was Betsy Ross, the seamstress who is credited with sewing the first American flag.
Ross served as the crown prosecutor until 1768 when he was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly where he began to understand the colonists’ dissatisfaction with Britain. He went on to serve as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774, and later in the Second Continental Congress where he became a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
During the Revolutionary War, Ross served as a colonel in the Pennsylvania militia and accepted a commission as colonel in the Continental Army in 1776.
He died July 14, 1779, and was buried at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. His wife died May 28, 1773, and was buried in the St. James Episcopal Church Cemetery in Lancaster.
Dr. Benjamin Rush
Rush was born to John Rush, a gunsmith and farmer, and Susanna Hall, Dec. 24, 1745, in the Township of Byberry, Pennsylvania. He had six siblings.
After his father’s death, Rush was sent to Nottingham Academy in Colora, Maryland, at age 9. In 1760, Rush graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and in 1766, he attended the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where he earned a medical degree in 1768.
In 1769, he returned to Philadelphia and established a medical practice. That year, he became a chemistry professor at the College of Philadelphia. He was known for advocating psychiatric treatment and is regarded as the father of American psychiatry. He also wrote the first U.S. chemistry textbook and many influential patriotic essays.
On Jan. 11, 1776, Rush married Julia Stockton. They had 13 children, nine survived infancy.
Ross was active in the Sons of Liberty, a political organization that resisted British taxation and participated in events that lead to the American Revolution, and he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He also consulted with Thomas Paine while he wrote the “Common Sense” pamphlet.
During the Revolutionary War, he was a doctor in the Continental Army, traveling with troops during battle and treating combat casualties. He was later appointed surgeon general of the Continental Army.
After the war, he opened the nation’s first free medical clinic in Philadelphia. He was also an abolitionist and believed women should be allowed to pursue higher education.
Rush was appointed treasurer of the U.S. Mint by President John Adams, serving from 1797 to 1813.
Rush died April 19, 1813, and his wife died on July 7, 1848. They were buried in Christ Church Cemetery in Philadelphia.
The American Medical Association dedicated a statue of Rush which stands on the grounds of the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington. The Medical Society of Pennsylvania established a Benjamin Rush Award for those who made significant contributions to healthcare.
The Benjamin Rush Elementary School in Redmond, Washington, the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush High School in Philadelphia, and the Benjamin Rush Institute in Half Moon Bay, California, were all named in his honor.
Rush County, Indiana, and Rush Street in Chicago are also named for him, along with Benjamin Rush State Park in Philadelphia and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
This is the fifth 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.
By David Vergun, Pentagon News