Richard Stockton (1730-1781), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a member of the Continental Congress, 1776, an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, 1774-76, as well as a member of the Executive Council of New Jersey, 1768-76.

In his Will, Richard Stockton wrote:

"As my children will have frequent occasion of perusing this instrument, and may probably be peculiarly impressed with the last words of their father, I think proper here, not only to subscribe to the entire belief of the great leading doctrine of the Christian religion... but also in the heart of a father's affection, to charge and exhort them to remember 'that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'"  - In his Will.  Edward J. Giddings, "American Christian Rules," p. 463. Stephen Abbot Northrop, D.D., "A Cloud of Witnesses" (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987), pp. 431-432.