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DES MOINES, IOWA -- The following is a press release from the State Historical Society of Iowa:

Senator Dennis Black of Lynnville has located a copy of the Declaration of Independence at the state of Iowa Historical Building while researching a Central Iowa family’s Civil War roots.

The document is a rare, original 1843 print from the historic W. J. Stone copperplate, which is now on display in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

“This print is an absolute treasure and is owned by the citizens of Iowa,” Senator Black said. “It will now receive the special treatment it deserves and be put on public display for special occasions.”

Black reported, “This print is the strongest link our state has to the founding of our nation.”  “It was given to the state of Iowa by the Reverend Mary Thornton Davenport. It is not presently known when the Thornton’s moved to Iowa, but the family lived on the border between Jasper and Polk counties, northwest of Vandalia.  According to Black, “She was the granddaughter of Samuel E. Thornton, a Civil War soldier of the Iowa 39th Infantry, and a relative of Matthew Thornton, the last signer of the Declaration of Independence and a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Hampshire.”

Black is writing a book, entitled A Kiss for Mary, from stories contained in a collection of original Civil War letters between Samuel E. Thornton and his wife, Mary.  Along with the owner of the letters, the pair discovered in the letter box a 1947 receipt issued to the Rev. Mary Thornton Davenport for her donation of the Declaration of Independence print to the state museum. That receipt, containing many clues, led Senator Black and the letters owner to the State Historical Building, where they discovered the document in the State Historical Society of Iowa’s Archives/Special Collection.

The highly valued document, printed on rice-paper, has now been matted and encased in an inert environment to further its protection.

According to Cyndi Peterson, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, “Plans are being made for this copy of the Declaration of Independence to be unveiled by Governor Culver, and placed on public display for this year’s Independence Day’s celebrations at the State Historical Building in Des Moines. Senator Black will provide those in attendance with a brief history of the manuscript.”

“This is a remarkable and inspirational document that has a true Iowa pedigree,” Black said. “Viewing it should inspire us all to contemplate the beginnings of this great nation, and cause us to strive to return to the democracy our Founding Fathers envisioned.”