No. VIII. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS BEFORE THE ADOPTION OF This list is collected from the Journals of the Old Congress; and, owing to the manner in which the Journals were kept, it is necessarily imperfect. The credentials were not always inserted, and it is only from these that a complete list of the members can be formed. Before the adoption of the Constitution, Congress, with very few intermissions, was continually sitting. Hence it was a custom with several of the States to appoint more delegates than were expected to attend at the same time, and they relieved each other in turn. It is hardly possible to ascertain, from the Journals of Congress, how long each member attended. The dates in the table indicate the times of their appointment. Where these are not known, the times at which their names first appear in the Journals are noted and included in brackets. Asterisks are prefixed to the names of those who signed the Declaration of Independence. |
