text: He was named to the Continental Congress, but not until delegates refused to sign the Declaration of Independence. Taylor added his name on Aug. 2, 1776, a few inches below that of Benjamin Franklin. By signing his name, Taylor essentially sealed his fate as a traitor if the Colonies lost the war, said Jill Youngken, assistant director of the Lehigh County Historical Society.
  "He's taking a huge risk. They all are," Youngken said of the signers. "It didn't take six, it didn't take 10, it took all 56 [delegates]. And he was one of them."
  Ironically, his convictions led to his financial fall. He had long ceded the Warwick Furnace to Savage's son when he came of age. But he was doing well leasing the Durham Furnace in Bucks County, which turned out cannon shot for the British during the French and Indian War.