Sold – “A Declaration, which has had much credit in the World.”

How few remain. Three in Massachusetts I believe are a majority of the surviving signers of a Declaration, which has had much credit in the World

The signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 revolutionized the relationship between the American colonies (now states) and England.  The men who did it put their lives and fortunes on the line and accepted that if their effort ended in failure, they would be brought up on charges of sedition and treason.  But the impact was more than situational – it was global.  People from all around the world were inspired by how the Americans stood up to a global superpower, and the perception of the relationship between ruler and ruled changed dramatically.  It helped spark a populist era based on intense nationalism that would filter through Europe in the 19th century. The Signers of the Declaration, learned men well steeped in the affairs and history of Europe, understood the broader impact of their signatures on that paper.  

Two of these men, close friends and colleagues for decades, were Elbridge Gerry and John Adams. Their relationship helped forge many events around the world, particularly with regard to American relations with England and France during Adams’ presidency, and specifically in the XYZ Affair, when Adams sent Gerry (with John Marshall and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney) to France to represent American interests. Adams himself had spent years abroad, serving as Minister to Great Britain and earlier to the Netherlands.  In 1813, Gerry was inaugurated  as James Madison’s Vice President. That same year, Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Pennsylvania, died.  Rush had been close to both men, but particularly to Adams, who wrote Gerry on April 26, 1813 expressing his sadness at the death of his good friend and lamenting that few men remained who had signed the Declaration (6, including himself and Thomas Jefferson).  

Richard Rush was the son of Benjamin Rush. In February, he joined Gerry in the Madison Administration as Attorney General.  Less than 2 months later, Gerry wrote Rush, quoting Adams on the global impact of the Declaration of Independence, expressing sadness that the number of Signers still alive was dwindling, and reflecting the great esteem with which men of that era held Benjamin Rush.  

Autograph Letter Signed as Vice President, Washington, April 8, 1814, to Attorney General Richard Rush. “Enclosed is the extract which I mentioned to you, as a document which ought to be placed in the archives of your venerable father, our highly & respected friend the late Doctor Rush. The extract is from a letter of Mr. Adams, late President of the United States, of the 26th of April last & expresses an opinion in unison with my own. Accept my best wishes; yours sincerely & respectfully E Gerry. ‘A few facts I wish to put upon paper, & an awful warning to do it soon has been given me by the sudden death of our Friend Rush. Livingston & Clymer had preceeded him in the same year, the same spring. How few remain. Three in Massachusetts I believe are a majority of the surviving signers of a Declaration, which has had much credit in the World. As a man of Science, Letters, Taste, Sense, Philosophy, Patriotism, Religion, Morality, Merit, Usefulness, taken all together, Rush has not left his equal in America; nor that I know in the World. In him is taken away, & in a manner most sudden & unexpected, a main prop of my Life. Why should I grieve, when grieving I must bear? John Adams.’”

Though six Signers survived at the writing of this letter, soon it would be five.  Gerry died seven short months after writing this letter.  Letters from Signers of the Declaration referencing the signing are extremely rare, this being the first we’ve had.