William Floyd
1734–1821 · Long Island landowner who signed the Declaration; his family fled when the British occupied his estate.
William Floyd was born in 1734 in Brookhaven, on Long Island, and inherited a large estate there. He represented New York in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence after the New York convention, which had abstained from the July vote, authorized its delegates to join the other colonies. When British forces occupied Long Island, Floyd's family fled to Connecticut and his house and lands were used by the enemy for years. He returned after the war to a damaged property and later served in the first federal Congress. In old age he moved to western New York, then a frontier, and died there in 1821. Floyd was a large landowner in a slaveholding society; enslaved labor was part of the estate economy on Long Island in his time.
See also: Signers of the Declaration · Philip Livingston · Francis Lewis · Lewis Morris
Key dates
- 1734 Born in Brookhaven, Long Island
- 1776 Signs the Declaration after New York authorizes its delegates
- 1776–1783 Family is driven from the Long Island estate during the British occupation
- 1789 Serves in the First Congress
- 1821 Dies in western New York
Read about them
Grades 6–8
- The Founding Documents · In the library
More lives
John Adams · Samuel Adams · Josiah Bartlett · Carter Braxton · Edmund Burke · Charles Carroll of Carrollton