John MORTON, Congress, PA (1724-1777)
MORTON, John, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born near the old Morris Ferry (now the Darby Creek Bridge), Ridley Township, Delaware County, Pa., in 1724; attended the common school for about three months and received some tutoring in surveying; a land surveyor for many years; became justice of the peace in 1757; member of the colonial general assembly 1756-1766 and 1769-1775 and served as speaker 1771-1775; member of the Stamp Act Congress in 1765; high sheriff 1766-1770; appointed as a judge in 1770, serving as president judge of the court of general sessions and common pleas of the county, and in April 1774 was appointed an associate justice of the supreme court of appeals of Pennsylvania; member of the Continental Congress 1774-1776; was a signer of the Declaration of Independence; died in Ridley Park, Delaware County, Pa., in April 1777; interment in St. Paulâs Burial Ground, Chester, Pa.
Bibliography
Morton, John S. A History of the Origin of the Apellation Keystone State as Applied to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Together with Extracts from Many Authorities Relative to the Adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress, July 4th, 1776; To Which is Appended the New Constitution of Pennsylvania with an Alphabetical Contents. Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, 1874.Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
