FRANCIS LEWIS, SIGNER NUMBER 17

Born in Wales in 1713, the only son of an Episcopal clergyman, and left an orphan at the age of five years, Francis Lewis was raised by a maiden aunt and received a good education becoming proficient in Gaelic, the language of Scotland.  He served an apprenticeship with a merchant and at age twenty one invested his money in merchandise and sailed for New York.  There he formed a business partnership and left part of his goods with him and went to Philadelphia with the rest of his goods.  There he remained for two years.
On returning to New York he married the sister of his partner and they had seven children together.  He spent a lot of time in Europe until the French and Indian war when he became aide to Colonel Mercer at Oswega, when the fort was captured by Montcalm in 1757.  He was held prisoner in Canada until the end of the war.
He was given 5,000acres of land by the British as payment for his service.
He became a delegate for New York in the Colonial Congress in 1765 and when the Stamp Act shut down commerce he retired from business to his country home.  Then he was called to service again and elected a delegate to the General Congress in 1775 and again selected a delegate in 1776 where he became a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  Francis remained a member of the  Congress until 1778 and was a staunch opponent of the Tories and while the British possessed Long Island his property was destroyed and his wife confined in prison for several months without a bed or a change of clothes.  Her health was broken and she died two years later.
Lewis died in 1803 at the age of 90 years...Medicineman!