Editing Beith (section)

===Rev. John Witherspoon===
A signatory of the [[American Declaration of Independence]], [[John Witherspoon|the Rev. John Witherspoon]], was a former minister of one its [[Church of Scotland]] parishes between 1745 and 1757.<ref name="S1_Beith_Witherspoon"/><ref name="Declaration of Independence">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/witherspoon.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607151155/http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/signers/witherspoon.htm|url-status=dead|title=Signers of the Declaration of Independence: John Witherspoon|archivedate=7 June 2015|website=www.ushistory.org}}</ref> In 1745 he led the men of Beith to Glasgow to defend King George III against the Young Pretender in the '45 rebellion. Despite receiving orders to return to Beith, Witherspoon carried on, was captured at the [[Battle of Falkirk (1746)|Battle of Falkirk]] and imprisoned for a time in [[Doune Castle]].<ref name="S1_Beith_Witherspoon"/> He later emigrated and became a member of the [[US congress]] and in July 1776 he voted for the ''Resolution for Independence''. In answer to an objection that the country was not yet ready for independence, according to tradition, he replied that it "''was not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it.''"{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} Witherspoon was also the sixth president of [[Princeton University]] and showed great commitment to liberal education and republican government.<ref name="Witherspoon Institute">{{cite web|url=http://www.winst.org/index.php|title=The Witherspoon Institute|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410182134/http://www.winst.org/index.php|archive-date=2010-04-10}}</ref> He died in 1794 on his farm that he had built"''Tusculum,''" just outside [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]], and is buried in the [[Princeton Cemetery]]. –His direct descendants include actress [[Reese Witherspoon]],<ref>Registrar-General, DSDI (www.dsdi1776.com)– confirms that Reese is NOT a descendant of John Witherspoon, the Signer</ref> and he is commemorated by statues in [[Washington D.C.]], [http://www.dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0001640.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202025835/http://dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0001640.htm |date=2 December 2014 }} at the [[University of the West of Scotland]] in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]], and a plaque, placed by DSDI in 2009 in Beith town centre.