We all think about Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin being true entrepreneurs before the word was even in use. But what about the other Founding Fathers?
In an 1829 book, Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich we learn more. As it turns out, most of those who signed the Declaration of Independence were entrepreneurs.
There are some inspiring tales of self-made men. As we celebrate the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, here are some of their stories.
The Lawyers and Doctors
Walk into just about any legislature now, and you’ll see plenty of law degrees on the walls. The politicians of the earliest days of the United States were no different.
There are many lawyers among those who signed the Declaration of Independence, too many to list, but they had to hustle for clients, argue and advise, and work hard to collect fees just like today’s entrepreneurs. Among the most prominent was a future president, John Adams of Massachusetts.
A great story is that of Maryland’s Thomas Stone, who practiced law until he was able to “discharge the obligations under which he had laid himself for his education,” and then go into farming. (He practiced law until he paid off his student loans and then found something he was more passionate about.)
Another big profession of the time — medicine — was well represented. Among the doctors were Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania and Matthew Thornton and Joshua Bartlett of New Hampshire.
Oliver Wolcott of Connecticut studied to be a doctor as well, but never practiced, as he had already inherited a fortune and didn’t need the money.
The Heirs
There were quite a few “gentlemen of good birth” who inherited significant fortunes. Some of these heirs further expanded their fortunes and became entrepreneurs. John Hancock, who signed so boldly that his name became a synonym for a signature itself, took over his uncle’s business and “secured profitable government contracts” during the French and Indian War. His fellow Massachusetts native, Sam Adams, however, “lost the entire capital which had been given him by his father” in his business exploits.
Virginian Carter Braxton inherited “a considerable fortune”. Braxton used much of his fortune to help finance pro-Revolutionary causes, but he eventually lost much of it. His fellow Virginian, Francis Lightfoot Lee had done so little with his considerable inheritance, that the best Goodrich could say was that he devoted his early years “to reading and to the enjoyment of his friends.”
The Self-Made Men
The most interesting stories come from the men who built their own fortunes. Born in Ireland, George Taylor arrived in the New World “entirely destitute,” and went to work as a manual laborer, starting with the job of feeding a coal furnace. Taylor was promoted to clerk, and when his boss died Taylor wound up with the man’s widow. He took over the man’s businesses as well and ultimately built “a considerable estate.”
George Walton, the last of the Georgia delegation, was a carpenter’s apprentice whose boss “not only kept him closely at labor during the day, but refused him the privilege of a candle, by which to read at night.” Undeterred, Walton would scrounge wood to be able to read by the fire. He learned enough that he was eventually able to study as a lawyer.
Roger Sherman of Connecticut began as a shoemaker when his father’s death left him responsible to provide for his family, and eventually became a successful merchant. New York’s Francis Lewis, a Welsh immigrant, became a trader throughout Europe, but lost most of his fortune during the Revolution, and spent his last days “in comparative poverty.”
Another orphan, Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, apprenticed in a “counting house” and eventually went into business with a friend, Thomas Willing, in 1754. The two men worked together for 39 years.
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Enjoy a safe holiday weekend!
