William Floyd: Signer of the Declaration of Independence

William Floyd was a farmer, father, patriot, soldier. To create a country, he put his name to a document that changed the world.

Tributes to a founder of our country are all around us: William Floyd Parkway, schools, a library, and a town; his estate is a federal park, and the structures he built are National Historic Landmarks. One of 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence as a New York Delegate to the Continental Congress, he joined notables such as Benjamin Franklin and future presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in declaring “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.”

Floyd's endorsement of the message to the King of England came with great personal risk as the document itself acknowledges: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” As did many of his compatriots, Floyd backed up his words with deeds, fighting in the Revolutionary War that followed and rising to the rank of Major General. His home in Mastic Beach was taken over by the British after the Battle of Long Island and he spent the next seven years in the Suffolk Militia fighting to take it back.

The William Floyd Estate in Mastic Beach Robert Chartuk

The Major General also had a hand in the politics of his fledgling country. He was a presidential elector in 1792, voting for George Washington and George Clinton. He repeated the role in 1800, electing Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, and again in 1804, voting for Jefferson and George Clinton. He also served as a member of the state senate in 1808 after an unsuccessful run for Lieutenant Governor with Robert Yates on the Democratic-Republican ticket, having been defeated by Federalists John Jay and Stephen Van Rensselaer. Later in life, Floyd was honored again as a presidential elector but did not attend the meeting of the Electoral College. Martin Van Buren, a future president, was appointed to fill the vacancy and elected James Monroe.

Floyd’s family is a Who’s Who of early America. He was the father of three with Hannah Jones of Southampton. Their eldest son, Nicoll Floyd, married Phoebe Gelston, the daughter of David Gelston, collector of the Port of New York. Their daughter Mary Floyd married Revolutionary War hero Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, who was in charge of President George Washington's Culper spy ring. After Phoebe died, Floyd married Joanna Strong of the Setauket Strong family and had two daughters: Ann Floyd, who married George Washington Clinton, son of George Clinton, the fourth Vice President of the United States and the first Governor of New York, and Elizabeth Floyd, who married James Platt, the youngest son of Continental Congressmen Zephaniah Platt.

After the war, Floyd gave his 4,400-acre estate to Nicoll and moved to upstate Oneida County, where the Town of Floyd is named for him, as well as an elementary school. A library in Greenport is also named for the founding father. The William Floyd House in Westernville is a national landmark built by Floyd on 1,000 acres given to him for his service to the country. He was buried there after passing away in 1820 at the age of 86. The National Park Service maintains the William Floyd Estate, purchased by William Floyd’s father from William Tangier Smith, Lord of the Manor of St. George. The lands surrounding the colonial-era home in Mastic Beach are open to visitors.