LYNCH, Thomas, Congress, SC (1727-1776)

LYNCH, Thomas, (father of Thomas Lynch, Jr.), a Delegate from South Carolina; born in St. James Parish, Berkeley County, S.C., in 1727; attended the common schools; engaged in planting, with extensive rice plantations on the Santee River and elsewhere; served in the commons house of assembly 1751-1757, 1761-1763, 1765, 1768, and 1772; delegate to the Colonial Congress in 1765; member of the general committee 1769-1774; delegate to the First and Second Provincial Congresses in 1775 and 1776; member of the first State general assembly in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1774-1776, but was unable to sign the Declaration of Independence because of illness; died in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Md., in December 1776 while en route to his home; interment in St. Anne’s Churchyard, Annapolis, Md.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present