Thomas Heyward Jr signed the constitution
... Thomas Heyward, Jr. ... Thomas Heyward Jr. ... His father, Colonel Daniel and mother, Mary (Miles) Heyward raised their eldest son, Thomas in a wealthy old house plantation, named, “Old House,” a self-made but extremely wealthy plantation, making the Colonel one of the wealthiest men in South Carolina. Thomas was selected to go to one of the best schools in the providence for young men. Heyward, who by his diligence was quite conversant of Latin, and the classical education, studied law with a Charleston attorney before leaving South Carolina to study law in the Middle Temple in London in 1765. ... Thanks to this, Heyward became a member of the South Carolina Committee of Safety, and was elected to fill a vacancy in the Continental Congress that was created by the recall of John Rutledge who was called back to assist in defending the state against a threatened invasion. Heyward declined, thinking it was the modest thing to do. ... Heyward signed the Declaration of Independence five days after his thirtieth birthday.