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William Paca
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William Paca (October 31, 1740 October 13, 1799), was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland.
iam Paca was born on October 31, 1740 in Abingdon, Harford County, in the British colony of Maryland. He was the child of John Paca (c.1712-1785), a wealthy planter in the area, and his wife Elizabeth Smith (?-c.1766). He was the second son of the family, after his elder brother Aquila, and had five sisters.
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Encyclopedia
William Paca (October 31, 1740 October 13, 1799), was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland.
Early life
William Paca was born on October 31, 1740 in Abingdon, Harford County, in the British colony of Maryland. He was the child of John Paca (c.1712-1785), a wealthy planter in the area, and his wife Elizabeth Smith (?-c.1766). He was the second son of the family, after his elder brother Aquila, and had five sisters. The brothers entered school at the Philadelphia Academy and Charity School in 1752, and the younger Paca went on to attend the The College of Philadelphia (now merged into and known as the University of Pennsylvania), graduating in 1759 with a bachelor of arts degree. He was also to receive a master of arts degree from the College in 1762, though this required no further study, only that Paca request it and be in good standing.
After graduating from college, Paca returned to Maryland, studying law in the colonial capitol of Annapolis under the tutelage of a local lawyer named Stephen Bradley. By 1761, he was licensed to practice law, and in 1764 was admitted to the provincial bar, having stayed in Annapolis to establish his practice. Professional success was mingled with personal success, as the previous year he had courted Mary Chew, the daughter of a prominent Maryland planter, and they were married on May 26, 1763. They would go on to have three children, though only their son John Philemon survived into adulthood.
Political career
Among the other young lawyers in Annapolis at the time was Samuel Chase, who would become a close friend and political colleague of Paca. Together, Paca and Chase led local opposition to the British Stamp Act of 1765 and established the Anne Arundel County chapter of the Sons of Liberty.
He was elected to the Maryland legislature in 1771 and appointed to the Continental Congress in 1774. He was reelected, serving until 1779, when he became chief justice of the state of Maryland. In 1782 he was elected governor of Maryland. In 1789 he became federal district judge for the state of Maryland, and served as such until his death.
Paca died in 1799 at his estate of Wye Hall in Queen Anne's County, Maryland and was buried in the family cemetery there.
Legacy
In Maryland, three elementary schools are named for him: one is in Landover, one is in Baltimore city (#83) and the other in his home town of Abingdon. Paca Street in Baltimore bears his name as do a dormitory on the campus of St. John's College in Annapolis and a new residence hall that opened August, 2008 at Towson University (Baltimore County). Outside of Maryland, William Paca Middle School in Mastic Beach, New York; and P.S. 155 William Paca School in New York City are also named after him. In 2008 the William Paca house was added as a new residence hall in Towson University.
Ancestry
It is commonly claimed Paca was of partially Italian ancestry.
According to Stanley South, "[t]he rumor that the name was Italian came from a remark made in 1911 by Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, who commented that he thought a relationship existed between Paca and the Italian family Pecci". In a July 18, 1937, letter to the New York Times, a self-described descendant of Paca claims:
The ancestors of William Paca were of Italian and English origin. The name is said to have originally been spelled Pacci [sic].
However, in an interview with Giovanni Schiavo, the letter writer apparently attributed the suggestion that the name was Pecci to Cardinal Gibbons. Schiavo also reports that Paca mentioned Pope Leo XIII (1879-1903), whose surname was Pecci, during the interview.
Stiverson and Jacobsen report that spellings of the surname of William Paca's immigrant ancestor Robert include Peaker, Pecker, Peaca, Peca, and Paka. Neither "Pecci" nor "Pacci" (nor "Pacca") are attested.
Furthermore, Stiverson and Jacobsen find that:
…the suggestion that Robert Paca, the immigrant, was born in Italy or that his family had recently moved to England from that country cannot be substantiated and probably has no basis in fact.
Stanley South similarly found no support for the notion, despite the prospect of a $10,000 grant if he could prove a link to Italy.
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