Happy Independence Day

 Happy Independence Day everybody! I have a standard post I usually share today but I have decided to change it up this year.

  I live about 1/2 mile away from Josiah Bartlett’s home and his grave-site so I thought I would share a little local Revolutionary history this year. Most of you are probably asking yourselves who is this Josiah Bartlett? And it is not surprising because this man has been mostly forgotten by history among the more famous names from the Revolutionary period.

 Josiah Bartlett was appointed as a delegate for New Hampshire to the second Continental Congress in 1776. When the vote was taken for independency New Hampshire was called upon first and Josiah Bartlett cast the first vote in the affirmative.

  When the Declaration of Independence was signed, Josiah Bartlett was the second person to sign. According to local folklore, Josiah Bartlett personally took the pen from John Hancock before he attached his signature directly below the most famous signature in United States history. We do not know if this is how it actually happened, probably not, but the fact remains New Hampshire played a key role albeit it is largely forgotten.

  I drove around my neighborhood yesterday and took a few pictures to share. First up is the historical marker across the street from his house:

  Next up is a picture of his house. His house is still lived in today, until recently it was owned by the family but a couple of years ago it was sold to another family and is currently up for sale again. One of the owners of the house was sitting on the farmer’s porch on the side of the house so I just took one picture from across the street. Here it is:

And here are a couple from his grave:

  It is pretty cool living so close to such a historical figure and I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about one of the lesser known figures of the time.

  If you are interested here is more on Josiah Bartlett: https://americaswatchtower.com/my-towns-claim-to-fame/