Local grave sites recognized
(Providence-AP) -- A national organization wants a plaque placed at the gravesites of two Rhode Islanders who signed the Declaration of Independence.
The Rhode Islanders were William Ellery and Stephen Hopkins.
Ellery was a lawyer elected to Congress just three months before the declaration's signing. His grave is in Newport.
Hopkins was a palsied, 69-year-old when he signed the document.
He was a former governor and was chief justice when rebellious Rhode Islanders burned the British schooner Gaspee in one of the most celebrated acts in state history.
Fifty-six Colonial leaders are believed to have signed the historic document.
The group that seeks the recognition is called the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
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