William Paca
Caring and generous, Paca was blessed in wealth and in deed.
Offering time and money, he helped Maryland in need.
Paca graduated from the The College of Philadelphia. In Maryland, he studied law under the tutelage of a local lawyer. By 1761, he was licensed to practice law, was later admitted to the provincial bar, and stayed in Annapolis to establish his practice.
Among the other young lawyers in Annapolis at the time was Samuel Chase, who became a close friend and political colleague of Paca. Together, Paca and the fiery Chase led local opposition to the British Stamp Act and established a local chapter of the Sons of Liberty.
Image by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress
Paca was elected to the Maryland legislature in 1771 and appointed to the Continental Congress in 1774. He served until 1779 when he became chief justice of the state of Maryland and was later elected governor of Maryland. As Governor, he also served on the Board of Visitors and Governors of the new Washington College. Known for his adlubescence of reading, he promoted literature and religion with private donations and executive support:
"......The sufferings of the ministers of the gospel of all denominations, during the war, have been very considerable; and the perseverance and firmness of those who discharged their sacred functions under many discouraging circumstances, claim our acknowledgments and thanks. The bill of rights and form of government recognize the principle of public support for the ministers of the gospel, and ascertain the mode. Anxiously solicitous for the blessings of government, and the welfare and happiness of our citizens, and thoroughly convinced of the powerful influence of religion, when diffused by its respectable teachers, we beg leave most seriously and warmly to recommend, among the first objects of your attention on the return of peace, the making such provision as the constitution, in this case, authorizes and approves." William Paca
His proclamation was approved by the assembly, which passed several acts to propagate denominations of Christians in Maryland. In 1789 he became federal district judge, appointed by President Washington, for his state and served as such until his death.
"William Paca was a pure and active patriot, a consistent Christian, and a valuable citizen, in every sense of the word. His death was mourned as a public calamity; and his life, pure and spotless, active and useful, exhibited a bright exemplar for the imitation of the young men of America." B. J. Lossing, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, George F. Cooledge & Brother: New York (1848) [reprinted in Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, WallBuilder Press: Aledo, Texas (1995)], page 156.
The Sons of Liberty was initially a secret organization of American Patriots which originated in the Thirteen Colonies before the American Revolution. British authorities and loyalists considered the Sons of Liberty to be nothing more than rebels prone to violence and iniquity. As war approached, patriots attacked symbols of British authority and power such as property, Customs officers, their tea, and vocal loyalists. http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?encquery=7ef430175294135bb2f5d04fe259d750&invocationType=keyword_rollover&ie=UTF-8
Matthew 12:35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
