:''Other notable people share this name. See Thomas Lynch (disambiguation).'' Thomas Lynch (1727–1776) was an American planter and statesman from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He was a delegate to the

Stamp Act Congress The Stamp Act Congress (October 7 – 25, 1765), also known as the Continental Congress of 1765, was a meeting held in New York, New York, consisting of representatives from some of the British colonies in North America. It was the first gat ...

of 1765 and the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

from 1774 to 1776, and signed the 1774

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against B ...

Political career

Lynch was born in St. James Parish,

Berkeley County, South Carolina Berkeley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 229,861. Its county seat is Moncks Corner. After two previous incarnations of Berkeley County, the current county was created in 1882. B ...

, in 1727. He served in the Colonial Legislature of South Carolina and represented the colony in the Stamp Act Congress, heading the committee which drafted the petition to the House of Commons. Elected to both the First and Second

es, Lynch joined

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

and

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

on a committee sent to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to confer with General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

upon "the most effectual method of continuing, supporting, and regulating the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

." In the ensuing discussions, Washington told the committee of his plan to arm ships to prey upon British supply lines. The gentlemen from Congress approved of the scheme and recommended it to Congress, thus giving essential political support to the establishment of "George Washington's Navy," the first organized naval force of the new nation.

Family

Thomas Lynch's wife, Hannah Motte, was a sister of

Isaac Motte Isaac Motte (December 8, 1738 – May 8, 1795) was an American soldier and statesman from Charleston, South Carolina. He served as a colonel in the Revolutionary War and represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress The Contine ...

, who became a South Carolina Congressman. Following her death during childbirth, Lynch married Annabella Josephiné Dé'Illiard; after Lynch's death, his widow Annabella married South Carolina Governor

William Moultrie William Moultrie (; November 23, 1730 – September 27, 1805) was an American planter and politician who became a general in the American Revolutionary War. As colonel leading a state militia, in 1776 he prevented the British from taking Charle ...

. His daughter Elizabeth married James Hamilton; their son James Hamilton Jr. was elected as governor of South Carolina in 1830. Following Lynch's death from a stroke, their son Thomas Lynch Jr. was appointed to his seat in Congress and continued in a political career.

References

* 1727 births 1776 deaths Continental Congressmen from South Carolina 18th-century American politicians American planters American slave owners Signers of the Continental Association {{SouthCarolina-politician-stub

Political career

Family

See also

References