Presently we are working diligently to document the ancestry of all 146 Signers of the four Founding Documents. Be patient; this will take a little time, and we now know we will not be able to finish this project before Charter Membership closes on September 17, 2024. Nevertheless, we want to be able to offer Charter Membership to as many people as possible. Remember: there were Signers from every Colony.
There are a number of Signers who have royal descent. Thus far, we have identified the following Gateway Ancestors behind Signers. Our list has grown from 16 Gateway Ancestors to 41, and there may be more! The Gateway is first (and in alphabetical order), followed in parentheses by the Signer descendant(s). Remember, a Gateway Ancestor is an immigrant who has provable royal descent and is therefore your Gateway to royal ancestry.
(updated 23 Aug 2024)
Jane (Allen) Bulkeley, 1st wife of Peter Bulkeley (John Hancock)
Samuel Appleton of MA (William Whipple)
Audrey (Barlow) Almy of RI (William Ellery)
James Blount of NC (William Blount)
Christopher Branch of VA (Thomas Jefferson)
Edward Bromfield of MA (Thomas Cushing)
Peter Bulkeley of MA (John Hancock)
Pierce Butler of SC (himself, via Loftus in England)
John Cadwalader of PA (John Dickinson)
Henry Corbin of VA (Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee)
Edward Digges of VA (Daniel Carroll)
Margaret (Domville) Hatton Banks of MD (Charles Carroll, Daniel Carroll)
Thomas Dudley of MA (John Langdon)
Alice (Eltonhead) Corbin of VA (Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee)
Martha (Eltonhead) Conway of VA (James Madison)
Judith (Everard) Appleton of MA (William Whipple)
Catherine (Hamby) Hutchinson of MA (Nicholas Gilman)
Benjamin Harrison, the Immigrant, of VA (R. H. Lee, F. L. Lee, B. Harrison [V])
Henry Isham of VA (Thomas Jefferson)
Mary (Launce) Sherman of MA (Robert Treat Paine)
Robert Livingston (the elder) of NY (Philip Livingston, William Livingston)
Anne (Lovelace) Gorsuch of VA (John Dickinson)
Jane (Lowe) Sewall Calvert of MD (Charles Carroll, Daniel Carroll)
Percival Lowell of MA (William Whipple)
Roger Ludlow of MA (William Anson Floyd)
Sarah (Ludlow) Carter of VA (Benjamin Harrison [V])
Philip Ludwell of VA (Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee)
Elizabeth (Mansfield) Wilson of MA (Thomas Cushing)
Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson of MA and RI (Nicholas Gilman)
Richard Palgrave of MA (Roger Sherman)
Robert Peyton of VA (Peyton Randolph)
William Randolph of VA (Thomas Jefferson)
Col. George Reade of VA (George Washington)
William Rodney (III) of DE (Caesar Rodney)
Anthony Savage of VA (James Madison)
Henry Sewall of MD (Charles Carroll, Daniel Carroll)
Abigail (Smith) Burwell of VA (Benjamin Harrison [V[)
Mary (Towneley) Warner of VA (George Washington)
Thomas Trowbridge of CT (Francis Dana, Jared Ingersoll)
Col. John Washington of VA (George Washington)
William Wentworth of NH (John Wentworth)
Separately, we also have identified the following Mayflower pilgrims or Mayflower connections behind one or more Signers, though there may be more:
John Alden (John Adams)
James Chilton (Nicholas Gilman)
Stephen Hopkins (Robert Treat Paine)
John Howland (Nathaniel Gorham)
William Mullins (John Adams)
John Tilley (Nathaniel Gorham)
John Winslow [brother of the Mayflower pilgrims] (Nicholas Gilman)
Josiah Winslow [brother of the Mayflower pilgrims] (Robert Treat Paine)
Remember that the wives of one or more of these Mayflower pilgrims may establish a kinship to a Signer via an English ancestor. Equally, some of these pilgrims have known siblings. Descendants of those siblings also qualify for membership in this Society.
Visit often to learn of additional discoveries.
– Alex Bannerman
Scions of Freedom Signers 