{"id":75791,"date":"2012-07-04T10:00:09","date_gmt":"2012-07-04T17:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/?p=75791"},"modified":"2012-07-03T18:02:36","modified_gmt":"2012-07-04T01:02:36","slug":"happy-independence-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.geni.com\/blog\/happy-independence-day-75791.html","title":{"rendered":"Happy Independence Day!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Happy Independence Day, everyone! Today the U.S. celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence<\/a>. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson<\/a>, the document declared the 13 American colonies’s freedom and independence from the British Empire. Did you know that the original July 4 United States Declaration of Independence manuscript was lost?<\/p>\n

Most people will have today off to celebrate with family, barbeque, and watch fireworks. Will you get together with your family this holiday?\u00a0Be sure to take advantage of your time and jot down some valuable genealogy material. You never know, you might discover that you are related to one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence!<\/p>\n

In honor of the holiday, check out these related genealogy projects on Geni<\/a> to learn more about the genealogy of the people who helped shape our nation.<\/p>\n

Signers of the “Declaration of Independence”: Colonial America in 1776<\/a><\/h3>\n