Signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Cecil co., MD, on the 18th of September 1733. His father had come from Ireland in 1726 and eventually settled in New Castle co., DE. The son was educated under Rev. Francis Allison and studied law in Philadelphia. Being admitted to the bar, he settled at Newcastle, and in 1763 he was made attorney-general of Delaware. He resigned this office on being chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774. In 1776, though he did not vote for the passage of the Declaration of Independence, he afterwards signed it. He also presided at the convention which framed the constitution of Delaware, and in 1777 he became its chief executive on the capture of Pres. McKinly. He was made, in 1782, a judge of the Court of Appeal in admiralty cases. In 1788 he assisted in framing the Federal Constitution, and under it he was elected to the U.S. Senate. At the close of his term in 1793 he was made chief-justice of Delaware and held this office till his death on the 21st of September 1798. His Life and Correspondence was published by his grandson, William Thompson Read (Philadelphia, 1870).
