Volume 15 , Issue 18

Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

Doing some research, we have come across some information concerning the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and its relationship to the Declaration of Independence of 1776. Do not know how factual this is, and I will let you decide for yourself.

The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is claimed by some to be the first declaration of independence made in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution. It was supposedly signed on May 20, 1775, at Charlotte, North Carolina, by a committee of citizens of Mecklenburg County, who declared independence from Great Britain after hearing of the battle of Lexington.

If the story is true, the Mecklenburg Declaration preceded the United States Declaration of Independence by more than a year. The authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration has been disputed since it was first published in 1819, forty-four years after it was reputedly written. There is NO conclusive evidence to confirm the original document's existence, and NO reference to it has been found in extant newspapers from 1775.

There are some that believe the Declaration was written in art from sermons from Rev. Alexander Holmes Craighead (1705-1766) (great grandfather of husband of my 2nd great grand aunt, Nancy MCGILL (1814-1898), wife of Samuel Geddes Craighead; and daughter of my 3rd great grandfather, William Nathan MCGILL Jr. (1783 - 1832) and Nancy Anne Luttrell, 3rd great grandmother, (1787-1860). Rev. Alexander Craighead, pioneer preacher and patriot, who some believed inspired the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775.

There was also a question that was raised: "Did Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the American Declaration of Independence, use the Mecklenburg Declaration as a source?"   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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