Senior traces ancestry to George Read, other founding fathers

Senior Meredith Clymer, a descendant of founding father George Read, says she feels a strong sense of connection to UD, where a new residence hall is named for her ancestor.

9:10 a.m., Nov. 7, 2005--UD senior Meredith Elizabeth Clymer said she felt at home the minute she stepped on campus six years ago. Then still a junior in high school, the communication and women’s studies double major from East Millstone, N.J., said the sense of connection was so striking that it prompted her to opt for early decision and forgo tours of other colleges. But, she added, what she didn’t know was that one of her ancestors, George Read, also had chosen the University early in his own career, and likely for similar reasons.

“I didn’t pick [the University of] Delaware knowing that George Read was affiliated with it,” Clymer said, “but I think it’s a happy coincidence.

“I’d known that Read was an ancestor of mine and that he was only one of the six founding fathers who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, but it wasn’t until I read an article about how Read Hall got its name that I learned Read had attended the University,” she said.

Clymer, who can trace her lineage to George Read through six generations on her father’s side, also is a direct descendant of George Clymer, another local founding father who signed the U.S. Constitution.

“We’ve done a lot of genealogy and can trace direct descendancy to Read and Clymer through my dad’s father’s side,” Clymer said, “and although it’s not as clear-cut, it would be a good assumption to believe there may be four or five others signers of the Declaration of Independence I’m related to, as well.”

Although Clymer said that family anecdotes about the famous relatives were kept to a minimum in her home, she said that she does cart around a certain amount of legacy with her name.

“I was named after George Clymer’s wife, Elizabeth Meredith,” she said, “and that was changed to Meredith Elizabeth for me, to keep “M” as the first initial in my first name, for other family reasons.”

Clymer said that, while she doesn’t plan to pursue a career in either politics or law, she feels she’s gotten more than a name from her famous ancestors in both leadership and writing abilities, as well.

“I do feel I’m a proficient writer, and I have leadership skills,” she said. “And, since I eventually hope to go into event planning, I think these assets will serve me in good stead with marketing and organizing and delegating tasks.”

By logging approximately 20 hours a week at UD’s Office of Admissions, Clymer already is testing some of these abilities outside of the classroom. Involved with planning admissions office events that coincide with tours by prospective students, Clymer also supports the student efforts behind the VDay organization, a nonprofit, worldwide entity that distributes funds to programs that work to stop violence against women.

“It’s taken me awhile to learn that Read was a student here, but I’m glad he was,” Clymer, who upon graduation plans to enter graduate school, said. “The founding fathers were great, inspired men, and I’m humbled that I can claim descendancy.”

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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