Richard Stockton

Richard Stockton

Richard Stockton was born in Princeton, New Jersey on October 1, 1730 and died on February 28, 1781 at the age of 50 in Princeton, New Jersey. Stockton, a continental congressman, was an American lawyer, jurist, legislator, and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Richard Stockton represented the New Jersey colony that was split evenly in the sense of sides during the revolutionary war. One-third supported the rebels and were patriots, one-third supported England and were loyalists and the other third remained neutral. New Jersey was an important state during the Revolutionary War because of its location near the center of the thirteen colonies and between New York City and Philadelphia. Because of this, more battles were fought in New Jersey than in any other state. The Americans and British fought 100 battles, both large and small, here. The tension between the Colonies and the mother country caused Stockton much concern, as shown in his letters and published writings. When the rupture drew near, he adopted the cause of the Colonies, at considerable sacrifice to himself, and separated himself from the Royal Council, all but two of who were Loyalists or neutral, and to who, as individuals, he was attached to. In 1774 he sent Lord Dartmouth "an expedient for the Settlement of the American Disputes", in which he proposed a plan of self-government for the Colonies; and applied an alert opposition to the British measures, until actual bloodshed began. Stockton was appointed by Congress, along with fellow signer George Clymer, to an exhausting two-month journey to Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga and Albany, New York to assist the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. On his return to Princeton, he traveled 30 miles east to the home of a friend, John Covenhoven, to evacuate his family to safety, and away from the path of the British army. While there, on November 30, 1776, he and Covenhoven were captured in the middle of the night, dragged from their beds by loyalists, stripped of their property and marched to Perth Amboy and turned over to the British. The day Stockton was captured, General William Howe had written a Proclamation offering protection papers and a full and free pardon to those willing to remain in peaceable obedience to the King, George III. Although many took the pardon, Stockton never did and was marched to Perth Amboy where he was put in irons, and brutally treated as a common criminal. He was then moved to Provost Prison in New York where he was intentionally starved and subjected to freezing cold weather. After nearly five weeks of brutal treatment, Stockton was released on parole, his health ruined. When his health permitted, Stockton attempted to earn a living by reopening his law practice and teaching new students. Two years after his parole from prison he developed cancer of the lip that spread to his throat. He was never free of pain until he died on February 28, 1781, at his home.