Other notable people share this name. See Thomas Lynch

Thomas Lynch

Thomas Lynch, Tom Lynch or Tommy Lynch may refer to:*Thomas Lynch , South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress*Thomas Lynch, Jr...

.

Thomas Lynch (1727–1776) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 planter and statesman from South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. He was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress

Stamp Act Congress

The Stamp Act Congress was a meeting on October 19, 1765 in New York City of representatives from some of the British colonies of North America. They discussed and acted upon the Stamp Act recently passed by the governing Parliament of Great Britain overseas, which did not include any...

 of 1765 and the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 from 1774 to 1776.

Political career

Thomas Lynch was born in St. James Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina

Berkeley County, South Carolina

Berkeley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,651. The 2005 Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 151,673. Its county seat is Moncks Corner....

, in 1727. He served in the Colonial Legislature of South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 and represented the Colony in the Stamp Act Congress, heading the committee which drafted the petition to the House of Commons.

Elected to the Continental Congress

Elected to both the First and Second Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

es, Lynch joined Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

 and Benjamin Harrison on a committee sent to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to confer with General George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 upon “the most effectual method of continuing, supporting, and regulating the Continental Army.”

In the ensuing discussions, Washington told the committee of his plan to arm ships to prey upon British supply lines. The gentlemen from Congress approved of the scheme and recommended it to Congress, thus giving essential political support to the establishment of “George Washington’s Navy,” the first organized naval force of the new Nation.

Family

Thomas Lynch’s wife was a sister of South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 Congressman Isaac Motte

Isaac Motte

Isaac Motte was an American soldier and statesman from Charleston, South Carolina. He served as a Colonel in the Revolutionary War and represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782....

; after Lynch's death after a stroke, she married South Carolina Governor William Moultrie

William Moultrie

William Moultrie was a general from South Carolina in the American Revolutionary War.He was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He fought in the Anglo-Cherokee War and served in the colonial assembly before the advent of the American Revolution....

. His son, Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina; his father was unable to sign the Declaration of Independence because of illness.-Biography:...

 took his place in the Congress. His daughter Elizabeth was the mother of South Carolina Governor James Hamilton, Jr.