Hewes, Joseph

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Hewes, Joseph

HEWES, JOSEPH. (1730–1779). Signer. North Carolina. Born in Kingston, New Jersey, on 23 January 1730, Hewes moved to Edenton, North Carolina, in 1755, becoming a successful merchant. Reared a Quaker, he had left the sect by the beginning of the Revolution. He was elected to the colonial assembly in 1766 and in 1773 became a member of the Committee of Correspondence. He went to all the provincial congresses and in 1774 was elected to the Continental Congress. Active on several committees, including the Secret Committee responsible for getting supplies for the Continental army, he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was not reelected in 1777. Returning to Congress in 1779, he died on 10 November.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Morgan, David T., and William J. Schmidt. North Carolinians in the Continental Congress. Winston-Salem, N.C.: J. F. Blair, 1976.

                              revised by Michael Bellesiles

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