McKean, Thomas, 1734-1817

Thomas McKean (March 19, 1734 – June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer, politician, and a Founding Father of the United States from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the Continental Association, United States Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation. McKean served as a President of Congress. He was at various times a member of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties. McKean served as President of Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and Governor of Pennsylvania.

Born in New London Township, Province of Pennsylvania, his education began at the Reverend Francis Allison's New London Academy. At the age of sixteen, he went to New Castle, Delaware, to begin the study of law under his cousin, David Finney. In 1755 he was admitted to the bar of the Lower Counties, as Delaware was then known, and likewise in the Province of Pennsylvania the following year. In 1756 he was appointed deputy attorney general for Sussex County. From the 1762/63 session through the 1775/76 session, he was a member of the General Assembly of the Lower Counties, serving as its Speaker in 1772/73. From July 1765, he also served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and began service as the customs collector at New Castle in 1771. At the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, McKean and Caesar Rodney represented Delaware. In November 1765 his Court of Common Pleas became the first such court in the colonies to establish a rule that all the proceedings of the court be recorded on un-stamped paper. In 1768, McKean was elected to the revived American Philosophical Society.

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