LEWIS, FRANCIS
1803
Francis Lewis of New York was among the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He was born in 1713 in Llandaff, Wales and immigrated to the American colonies in 1735 where he became a successful merchant. He sided with the Patriots during the Stamp Act Crisis and was a member of the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1779. He became a vestryman of Trinity Church from 1784 to 1786, joining the Whig Episcopalians led by James Duane in their takeover of the formerly loyalist Church. Francis Lewis died at the age of 90 on December 30, 1802. On January 1, 1803, he was buried somewhere in the Trinity Churchyard but the exact location is unknown.
In 1947, the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence requested of the Rector and the Vestry that they be permitted to erect a bronze plaque honoring Francis Lewis. The plaque was placed in a ceremony performed on December 30, 1947. The inscription reads: Near this spot are interred the remains of/Francis Lewis, 1713-1803/Signer of the Declaration of Independence/Vestryman of Trinity Church/Erected by the Society of/the Descendants of the Signers/of the Declaration of Independence/1947.
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