Andrew McNair (custodian)

Last updated

Andrew McNair is best known for being the custodian who served the Continental Congress. A member of the Masonic Order, he served as official ringer of the Liberty Bell from 1759 to 1776, and he likely rang it to announce independence, on July 8, 1776 (the announcement was delayed four days to allow the Declaration of Independence to be printed). His services were terminated September 15, 1776, upon his death. [1] There are no records of where he was buried. The records of the American Philosophical Society record that on March 22, 1768, the Society contracted McNair to make the fires, light and extinguish candles, and keep its meeting room clean, for four shillings a night. [2]

McNair was played in the play and movie 1776 by William Duell. [3]

In his poem, "The Liberty Bell," Charles Brockden Brown describes McNair, not by name as follows:

Far aloft in that high steeple,
  Sat the bellman, old and gray.
He was weary of the tyrant
  And his iron-sceptered way. [4]

In 2006, McNair's descendant, Edward McNair, offered a ring on eBay made from metal Andrew McNair had supposedly broken from the Liberty Bell (with a "buy it now" price of $75,000). After the chief caretaker of the Bell opined that Andrew McNair could not have done so, the ring was withdrawn from sale. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas McKean</span> American Founding Father and politician (1734–1817)

Thomas McKean was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he signed the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation. McKean served as a President of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Declaration of Independence</span> 1776 American national founding document

The Declaration of Independence, formally titled The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America in the engrossed version and original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, who convened at Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in the colonial era capital of Philadelphia. These delegates became known as the nation's Founding Fathers. The Declaration explains why the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as independent sovereign states no longer subject to British colonial rule, and has become one of the most circulated, reprinted, and influential documents in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Bell</span> Symbol of American independence and liberty

The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell today is located across the street from Independence Hall in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park.

<i>1776</i> (musical) 1969 musical by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone

1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The show is based on the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, telling a story of the efforts of John Adams to persuade his colleagues to vote for American independence and to sign the document. The show premiered on Broadway in 1969 where it received acclaim and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The original production starred William Daniels as Adams, Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, and Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Thomson</span> American Founding Father and patriot leader (1729–1824)

Charles Thomson was an Irish-born patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson, a Founding Father of the United States, prepared the Journals of the Continental Congress, and his and John Hancock's names were the only two to appear on the first printing of the United States Declaration of Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Livingston</span> American Founding Father and politician (1723–1790)

William Livingston was an American politician and lawyer who served as the first governor of New Jersey (1776–1790) during the American Revolutionary War. As a New Jersey representative in the Continental Congress, he signed the Continental Association and the United States Constitution. He is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a Founding Father of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Clymer</span> American Founding Father and politician (1739–1813)

George Clymer was an American politician, abolitionist and Founding Father of the United States, one of only six founders who signed both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. Clymer was among the earliest patriots to advocate for complete independence from Britain. He attended the Continental Congress and served in political office until the end of his life. He was a Framer of the Constitution where he attempted unsuccessfully to regulate the importation of slaves. Clymer was himself a minor slave owner, at least briefly when seven years old through inheritance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Button Gwinnett</span> American Founding Father and politician

Button Gwinnett was a British-born American Founding Father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Gwinnett was also, briefly, the provisional president of Georgia in 1777, and Gwinnett County was named for him. He was named in honor of his mother’s cousin, Barbara Button, who became his godmother. Gwinnett was killed in a duel by rival Lachlan McIntosh following a dispute after a failed invasion of East Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Witherspoon</span> American Founding Father and minister (1723–1794)

John Witherspoon was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. Politically active, Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence. He was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration. Later, he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness</span> Phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence

"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the unalienable rights which the Declaration says have been given to all humans by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect. Like the other principles in the Declaration of Independence, this phrase is not legally binding, but has been widely referenced and seen as an inspiration for the basis of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence Hall</span> Historic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of the United States. The structure, which is the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park, was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Dickinson</span> Founding Father of the United States (1732–1808)

John Dickinson, a Founding Father of the United States, was an attorney and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware. Dickinson was known as the "Penman of the Revolution" for his twelve Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, published individually in 1767 and 1768, and he also wrote "The Liberty Song" in 1768.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Allen (Pennsylvania politician)</span> American politician (1740–1825)

Andrew Allen was a lawyer and official from the Province of Pennsylvania. Born into an influential family, Allen initially favored the colonial cause in the American Revolution, and represented Pennsylvania in the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1776. Like many other wealthy elites in Pennsylvania, however, he resisted radical change, and became a Loyalist after the Declaration of Independence and the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Belle (comics)</span> Fictional characters in comics

The Liberty Belle is the name of three superheroines. Two are from DC Comics: Libby Lawrence and Jesse Chambers, and the other is from Charlton Comics: Caroline Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syng inkstand</span> U.S. founding document inkstand

The Syng inkstand is a silver inkstand used during the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the United States Constitution in 1787. Besides paper documents, it is one of four still-existing objects that were present during the Constitutional Convention, along with the Liberty Bell, the chair that George Washington sat in as the convention's presiding officer, and Independence Hall itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Reed (politician)</span> American Founding Father, lawyer, military officer, and politician (1741–1785)

Joseph Reed was an American lawyer, military officer, politician, and Founding Father of the United States. He served as aide-de-camp to George Washington, as adjutant general of the Continental Army and fought in several key battles during the American Revolutionary War. He is credited with designing the Pine Tree Flag used during the war.

<i>1776</i> (film) 1972 historical musical drama film by Peter H. Hunt

1776 is a 1972 American historical musical drama film directed by Peter H. Hunt and written by Peter Stone, based on his book for the 1969 Broadway musical of the same name, with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Set in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776, it is a fictionalized account of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The film stars William Daniels, Howard da Silva, Donald Madden, John Cullum, Ken Howard and Blythe Danner.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, has appeared in popular culture as a character in novels, films, musicals, comics, and video games. His experiment, using a kite, to prove that lightning is a form of electricity has been an especially popular aspect of his biography in fictional depictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice Bell (Valley Forge)</span> 1915 replica of the Liberty Bell

The Justice Bell is a replica of the Liberty Bell made in 1915. It was created to promote the cause for women's suffrage in the United States from 1915 to 1920. The bell is on permanent display at the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Park in Pennsylvania.

Hercules Mulligan was an Irish-American tailor and spy during the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty.

References

  1. Archived November 20, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Society, American Philosophical (1884). Early Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge. Press of McCalla & Stavely. p.  12. Andrew McNair.
  3. "Aisle Say (NY): 1776". aislesay.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  4. Whipple, Wayne (1910). The Story of the Liberty Bell. Henry Altemus Company. p.  122. Andrew McNair.
  5. "The Genealogue: It Didn't Have the Ring of Truth". genealogue.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.