William Paca was a Founding Father of the United States who was a signatory to the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence.
21 Facts About William Paca
2.
William Paca was a Maryland delegate to the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress, governor of Maryland, and a district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
3.
William Paca was to receive a Master of Arts degree from the same institution in 1762, though this required no further study, only that Paca request it and be in good standing.
4.
William Paca attended the Inner Temple in London and read law in 1761 with Stephen Bordley and was admitted to the bar that year.
5.
William Paca was the second son of the family, after his elder brother Aquila, and had five sisters.
6.
William Paca was a member of the lower house of the Maryland Proprietary Assembly from 1767 to 1774.
7.
William Paca was a delegate to the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress from Maryland from 1774 to 1779.
8.
William Paca was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.
9.
William Paca was a member of the Maryland Senate from 1776 to 1777, and from 1778 to 1780.
10.
William Paca was a judge of the Maryland General Court in 1778.
11.
William Paca was a judge of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture from 1780 to 1782.
12.
William Paca was governor of Maryland from 1782 to 1785.
13.
William Paca was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1786.
14.
William Paca was influential in establishing Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, in 1786.
15.
William Paca was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States.
16.
In that case, William Paca argued on solid precedents of international and British law that the District Court did not have jurisdiction over the awarding of prizes brought into American ports by foreign privateers.
17.
William Paca was admitted as an honorary member of The Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Maryland in 1783.
18.
The club cites the fact that William Paca was the only Italian-American besides Caesar Rodney to sign the Declaration of Independence as the reason for bestowing him this honor.
19.
William Paca has been described as being of Italian ancestry, from Abruzzo.
20.
The ancestors of William Paca were of Italian and English origin.
21.
Schiavo reported that William Paca mentioned Pope Leo XIII, whose surname was Pecci, during the interview.