SILVER LAKE — Madelynne Hunter, a senior at Avon High School near Indianapolis, is one of the eight lineal descendants of a Signer of the Declaration of Independence who will ceremoniously ring the Liberty Bell on July 4.  The annual event in Philadelphia is held at 2 p.m. at the same hour the bell was rang in 1776.

Madelynne Hunter

“It is an honor to be able to represent my family lineage, Abraham Clark, and the other Signers of the Declaration of Independence by ringing the Liberty Bell this July 4th,” Hunter said.

The honor is only bestowed upon lineal descendants of a Signer between the ages of 8 and 17 who are junior members of the Society of the Descendants of the Declaration of Independence.  The ceremony held in the Liberty Bell Pavilion, is attended by the Mayor of Philadelphia and other dignitaries, and will be carried on YouTube, local Philadelphia TV and print media.

Abraham Clark, Hunter’s seventh great-grandfather, was one of the New Jersey delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress.  On the morning of July 4, 1776 in a letter written to Colonel Elias Dayton, Clark stated, “Our Congress Resolved to Declare the United Colonies Free and Independent States. A Declaration for this purpose, I expect, will this day pass Congress, it is nearly gone through, after which it will be proclaimed with all the State & Solemnity Circumstances will admit. It is gone so far that we must now be a free independent State, or a Conquered Country.”

Hunter continued, “The vision, courage, and sacrifice of the Signers for this amazing country is a humbling reminder of not only what they did for me, but for what I in turn owe to the next generation.”

Hunter is the daughter of Indianapolis area residents Dustin and Jill Hunter, Avon; granddaughter of Kent and Judy French, Silver Lake; Larry and Lana Hunter, Akron; great-granddaughter of Marian Hunter and the late Howard Hunter, Akron, IN; and the grand-niece of Ron and Shirley Smith, Fishers.