William Paca

William Paca ( born October 30, 1740 in Abingdon, Maryland, † October 23, 1799 in Queen Anne's County, Maryland ) was a lawyer and politician of Italian descent. He signed for Maryland Declaration of Independence of the United States, making it one of America's founding fathers.

Pacas family has Italian ancestors. He was educated at home, then attended the Philadelphia College and graduated at age 18 from a master. Paca studied in Annapolis in a law office law and was then trained in the Inner Temple in London. He returned home to practice from 1764 to Annapolis as a lawyer.

Paca took part in the political resistance against a control of the royal governor before the outbreak of the American independence movement and became a prominent leader of the patriotic movement. He was elected in 1771 in the Provincial Assembly of Maryland and took part in the First Continental Congress in 1774. Paca was re-elected and remained until 1779 delegate, when he was Chief Justice of Maryland; meantime he sat from 1777 to 1779 in the Senate of Maryland. In 1782 he was elected governor of his state, where he prevailed against Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer. In 1789 he became a judge at the Federal District Court for Maryland and remained there until his death in office.

Paca died at his country seat Wye Hall in Queen Anne 's County and was buried there in the family cemetery. He was since May 26, 1763 Mary Chew, the daughter of a major plantation owner, married, with whom he had three children, of whom only a son reached adulthood.