Edward RUTLEDGE, Congress, SC (1749-1800)

RUTLEDGE, Edward, (brother of John Rutledge and uncle of John Rutledge, Jr.), a Delegate from South Carolina; born in Christ Church Parish, S.C., November 23, 1749; completed preparatory studies; studied law at the Middle Temple in London; returned to South Carolina; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in 1773; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1776; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; was a delegate to the first provincial congress in 1775 and to the second provincial congress 1775-1776; appointed a member of the first board of war in June 1776; member of the general assembly in 1778; elected a Member of the Continental Congress in 1779 but did not take his seat; captain in the Charleston Battalion of Artillery in the Militia of South Carolina in the Revolution; taken prisoner when the British captured Charleston May 12, 1780, imprisoned at St. Augustine until July 1781, when he was exchanged; member of the state house of representatives in 1782, 1786, 1788, and 1792; member of the state constitutional convention in 1790 and was author of the act abolishing the law of primogeniture in 1791; was tendered the appointment of Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1794 by President Washington, but did not accept; elected governor of South Carolina and served from December 6, 1798, until his death in Charleston, S.C., January 23, 1800; interment in St. Philip's Churchyard.

Bibliography

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present