Overview
Thomas Lynch was a South Carolina planter, legislator, and delegate to the Second Continental Congress who supported and signed the Declaration of Independence. Educated in England and active in early Patriot politics, he helped draft South Carolina’s 1776 constitution and served briefly as a Captain in the 1st South Carolina Regiment before illness forced him from public life. He and his wife were lost at sea in 1779 while seeking recovery for his declining health.
Personal Facts
- Born: August 5, 1749, in Georgetown, South Carolina.
- Parents: Thomas Lynch Sr. (father), Elizabeth Allston (mother).
- Spouse: Elizabeth Shubrick (1772).
- Died: Lynch died in 1779, but the exact date is unknown because he was lost at sea. He was 30.
- Buried: Unknown.
- Part of: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Significance
Thomas Lynch Jr. is important to American History for his role in the Patriot Cause in South Carolina, the American Revolution, and the American Revolutionary War. As a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, he is one of the nation’s Founding Fathers.
Biography
Early Life
Thomas Lynch was born on August 5, 1749, on Hopeswee Plantation near Georgetown, South Carolina. He was the third child and eldest son of Thomas Lynch Sr. and Elizabeth Allston.
Lynch studied at the Indigo Society School in Georgetown before traveling to England, where he studied at Eton and Cambridge and trained in law at the Middle Temple from 1764 to 1772.
Lynch returned to South Carolina in 1772, where he decided he did not want to practice law and convinced his father to let him leave the profession.
- His father supported his move into public life and gave him the Peach Tree plantation in St. James Parish on the North Santee.
- Lynch married Elizabeth Shubrick on May 14, 1772, and started working as a planter.
AHC Notes
- Thomas Lynch, Sr. (c. 1727–1776) — Lynch was a successful planter from Charleston, South Carolina. He is important because he participated in several key events that shaped the American Revolution, including the Stamp Act Congress, the First Continental Congress, and the Second Continental Congress.
Patriot Cause
Lynch benefited from being the only son of a wealthy and influential South Carolina politician, and he won election to several important civil offices.
- Lynch served in the First and Second South Carolina Provincial Congresses from 1774 to 1776.
- He participated in the Charleston Arms and Powder Raid in 1775.
- Lynch served on South Carolina’s constitutional committee in 1776.
- He was elected to the first South Carolina General Assembly in 1776.
- Lynch represented South Carolina in the Second Continental Congress from 1776 to 1777.
On June 12, 1775, the South Carolina Provincial Congress elected Lynch as a Captain in the 1st South Carolina Regiment. He accepted the command, even though his father wanted him to secure him a higher rank.
- In July, he traveled to North Carolina to recruit men for his company.
- During the trip, he contracted a fever, which weakened his health for the rest of his life.
AHC Notes
- Charleston Arms and Powder Raid (April 21–22, 1775) — South Carolina Patriots successfully seized and removed gunpowder and weapons from various locations in and around Charleston, South Carolina. The maneuver was carried out by the South Carolina Patriots at the request of the South Carolina Secret Committee of Five.
Declaration of Independence
On March 23, 1776, the South Carolina General Assembly elected him to the Second Continental Congress as the state’s sixth delegate. This was done so that he could assist his ailing father, who had been paralyzed by a stroke. Although his own health was fragile, he was present to vote for independence and signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.
Death at Sea
Lynch left Congress after his health worsened. He returned home with his father, who died during the journey.
- After more than two years of illness, Lynch and his wife sailed for the West Indies late in 1779, hoping to continue to the south of France for treatment.
- The ship was never heard from again, and it is likely that all on board were lost at sea.
