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Volume 39 • No. 3 • September 2005 The PublishedPIRIT byPIRIT the Descendants of the Signers of OF OFthe Declaration of Independence SS 98th Annual Congress’76’76 in Philadelphia n Sunday July 3rd, we dedicated a bench in honor of the seven Signers WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE buried in Christ Church’s Burial President-General’s Message . 2 OGrounds and in their Church Yard. The bench Info for Spirit . 2 honors: Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Hewes, The Summer Meeting in Philadelphia . 3 Francis Hopkinson, Robert Morris, George Signers Restoration and Recognition Report . 4 Ross, Benjamin Rush, James Wilson. The October 2005 Meeting . 5 bench was placed The Signers from Pennsylvania . 6 near the gravesite of DSDI State Society News . 8 Benjamin Franklin. Attention Past Bell Tappers . 8 We had over 50 225th Siege of Charleston . 9 members, spouses Registrar-General’s Report . 10 and guests present. Future Meetings . Back Page Nina Hopkins came from Florida to On Monday the fourth, some of our members place the wreath, Nina attended the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of is descended from the Revolution (PSSR) luncheon along with the George Ross. Grace four Tappers and their parents. Our Junior Staller officiated and Members who symbolically tapped the Liberty President-General Bell this year were, Luther D. Shank IV and Independence Hall Thomas Heyward gave Douglas, Jessica and Kristy Scordino. We are a moving talk on the very proud of them and it was an honor for them dedication, and of the personal heroism of all of and their parents. the Signers of the Declaration. Rev. Timothy B. Safford, our honorary Chaplain from Christ The Normandy Bell was on exhibition in Church, accepted the bench and is looking for- Philadelphia for the holiday. The bell is a gift ward to having the pub- from the French Government to the lic use the bench to rest United States. The Bell is an exact repli- and reflect on the deeds ca of the Liberty Bell and was made of our Founding Fathers. with the use of lasers and designed Following the dedication without the crack so as to make the there was a private tour sound as near as possible to what it of the Burial Grounds by sounded like in 1776. The French a colonial dressed guide. Government built the Bell a year ago in In the evening we board- honor of the 60th anniversary of the ed The Spirit of Normandy Invasion in France. The bell Philadelphia cruise ship, will travel around the country after a for a dinner cruise on stay in Philadelphia. Our President- the Delaware River. General Thomas Heyward along with Everyone had a good The Liberty Bell the President of the PSSR and other dig- time. Fred Pyne our nitaries pulled the cord at the same time Registrar-General especially liked dancing to the that our Tappers tapped the Liberty Bell. The Latin music. sound was chilling and wonderful. Continued on page 3 Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence Officers, 2005-2006 ______ Board of Governors President-General THOMAS GAILLARD HEYWARD, SR. P.O. Box 353, 31 Foreman Hill Road, Bluffton, SC 29910 2005-2006 First Vice-President DONALD CROSSET WARD 15 Wards Way, Boyertown, PA 19512 ______ Second Vice-President TRUXTUN ENNAILS BRODHEAD 58 Oswegatchie Hills Road, Niantic, CT 06357 NEW HAMPSHIRE - Mrs. Kenneth S. Peterson MASSACHUSETTS - Ms. Marianne M. Brinker Chaplain-General MS. NINA HILL HOPKINS 3300 Binnacle Drive, #210, Naples, FL 34103 RHODE ISLAND - Blaine Hunting Worth Registrar-General REV. FREDERICK WALLACE PYNE 3137 Periwinkle Court, Adamstown, MD 21710 CONNECTICUT - Lindsay Downs Assistant-Registrar JAMES HERBERT ALEXANDER 7157 SE Reed College Place, Portland, OR 97202 NEW YORK - Melvin Philip Livingston Historian-General CARTER BRAXTON WORTH 200 E. 66th Street, New York, NY 10021 NEW JERSEY - Emery Livingston Flannery PENNSYLVANIA - Mrs. Grace Keiper Staller Assistant Historian EDWARD RIDLEY FINCH, JR., ESQ. 860 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021 DELAWARE - Luther Dreher Shank III Treasurer-General DANIEL HEYWARD McNAMARA 8507 Henrico Avenue, Richmond, VA 23229 MARYLAND - Mrs. Linda Coley Teare Assistant Treasurer ROBIN LEIGH RAWL 2528 Heyward Street, Columbia, SC 29205 VIRGINIA - Mrs. Page L. Warden NORTH CAROLINA - Janet Anderson McKean Secretary-General THORNTON CALEF LOCKWOOD 17 Duck Pond Road, Demarest, NJ 07627 SOUTH CAROLINA - Ms. Laura A. Heyward Assistant Secretary PHILIP ROBERT LIVINGSTON 77 Oak Knoll Road, Glen Rock, NJ 07452 GEORGIA - Mrs. Julie Burnet McLaurine Chancellor-General T. MICHAEL KENNEDY, ESQ. 100 Flintshire Way, Coppell, TX 75019 WASHINGTON, DC - Danielle E. M. Bielenstein Dear friends, “Summer time and the living is easy”. So wrote my cousin Dubose Heyward when he penned the words to this famous song. Having spent most of his life in Charleston, he wrote “Porgy”, which became “Porgy and Bess”, which was a huge success. Our Annual Congress was another great event. Meeting in Independence Hall is a spiritual affair. As a grandchild of one (or more) of the fifty-six patriots who actually founded this great nation, one can easily drift back in time and almost hear the voices of our ancestors as they debated the question of Independence. Membership in this society means that you are someone special. As we enter our ninety-eight year, our society is poised for growth. Plans have been laid for a huge, very special cel- ebration at Williamsburg, VA in October of 2007. I do hope that you start to plan now to attend. Why not make it a family affair? Plan to bring all the children. They must know their heritage. They should learn it from you. A new Scholarship Committee has been named. More information about this scholarship which is only available to DSDI members will be posted on our web-site later in the fall. The Committee on the By-Laws is busy refreshing the rules we govern by. The Grave-site Recognition Committee is also hard at work. Our records are now in order and in a new data base available to our officers who need that information. The new Editor of “The Spirit of ‘76” is up and running and on the job. And your ideas are always welcome. I’m looking forward to an exciting meeting at Princeton in October. And, I sure would enjoy sharing that experience with you. Sincerely yours, Info for Spirit To send information to The Spirit of ’76 editor, Johnny Alexander: Thomas G. Heyward Phone – 503 393-2386 President-General Mail – PO Box 425, Salem, OR 97308-0425 Fax – 503 581-0152 Email – [email protected] 2 SUMMER MEETING in PHILADELPHIA Annual Banquet speaker Ringing the Normandy bell. Paul Longthorpe and daughter Carolyn Franz Stephen Sitarski of the by steps to Bell Tower in Independence Hall. National Park Service Paul and Carolyn traveled the furthest to attend the Annual Meeting (from Seattle, Continued from page 1 Washington) and Paul was also the oldest member in attendance (age 86). In the evening we all met at Independence Park, for a private tour by Stephen Sitarski, who is the Chief of Interpretation and Visitors Services. Our 98th Annual Meeting was held in the historic LONG ROOM on Left to right: Joanie, Tom and Laura Heyward. the second floor of Independence Hall. The Declaration was read by William King III, from Richmond VA., who brought the words to life for all of us. Dinner was at the Omni Hotel, Stephen Sitarski was Left to right: Thorny Lockwood, Nina Hopkins our guest speaker and his topic was “Lesser Known and Lenora Lockwood. Stories of the Signers and Independence Hall” it was wonderful, and brought us closer to the world of our Sandy Stromberg with William Grandfathers. King who is the young college student who was attending his On Tuesday July 5th, the dedication of the plaque for first meeting. William gave the Philip Livingston was held in York, PA. There were great reading of The twelve in attendance, eight were direct descendants. Declaration of Independence at our meeting. They were Mel Livingston, Philip Livingston, Elaine Livingston, and Cynthia, Douglas, Kristy, Jessica Scordino, Edward Finch. Mel Livingston gave a moving account of the Don Ward flanked by two beautiful ladies. life and heroic deeds of Philip Livingston. Prospect Hill Cemetery catered a surprise lunch in our honor. There were two more dedications of DSDI on the 4th of July. One was in Litchfield, Connecticut. Herrick Jackson, a descendant of Oliver Wolcott, and his wife were on hand to place the wreath with Lindsay Downs our Governor in Connecticut, both men spoke on the life and service of Sandy Stromberg, Oliver Wolcott. The DAR hosted the celebration, as they do Past President- General and each year. Various dignitaries were on hand for the occasion, Thomas Heyward, many were dressed in colonial costume. There were about President-General sixty people at the gathering to honor Oliver Wolcott. at Annual Banquet Emily Bagwill, dedicated our DSDI plaque and placed a wreath on the grave of Mayor John Street, Jessica, Kristy, and Douglas William Ellery, in Newport, RI., she read an account of William Ellery’s life. Scordino and Luther Shank. Emily goes every year to the cemetery and is always the honored guest of the DAR, the American Legion and various groups, Emily is the only descendant in PENNSYLVANIAthe area, and has been faithful to her Signer. Respectfully submitted Grace Staller, DSDI Governor of PA 3 Signers Restoration and Recognition Project On July 3, 2005, we honored seven Signers at Christ Church with a pres- entation and dedication of a DSDI bench. The seven honored included: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, JOSPEH HEWES, FRANCIS HOPKINSON, ROBERT MORRIS, GEORGE ROSS, BENJAMIN RUSH and JAMES WILSON.