Franklin suggested the motto “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God,” which, as we have seen, was incorporated in the proposed reverse of the seal. It so much pleased Jefferson that he took it as his own motto, and had it cut upon his private seal. It was current in the colonies as part of a fictitious epitaph over the body of John Bradshaw, president of the court which condemned Charles I to death. Thomas Hollis, of England, born in London in 1720, and one of the early patrons of Harvard College, in his memoirs, states:[15] The following Epitaph is often seen pasted up in the houses in North America. It throws some light upon the principles of the people, and may in some measure account for the asperity of the war carrying on against them. The original is engraved upon a cannon at the summit of a steep hill near Martha Bray [Bay] in Jamaica: STRANGER Ere thou pass, contemplate this cannon, Nor regardless be told That near its base lies deposited the dust Of JOHN BRADSHAW; Who, nobly superior to selfish regards, Despising alike the pageantry of courtly splendor, The blast of calumny, And the terrors of royal vengeance, Presided in the illustrious band of Heroes and Patriots, Who fairly and openly adjudged CHARLES STUARD Tyrant of England To a public and exemplary death; Thereby presenting to the amazed world, And transmitting down through applauding ages, The most glorious example Of unshaken virtue, Love of Freedom, And impartial justice, Ever exhibited on the blood-stained theater Of human actions. Oh, Reader, Pass not on, till thou hast blest his memory! And never, never forget, That REBELLION TO TYRANTS IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD. A copy of this supposititious epitaph, in Jefferson’s handwriting, was given to his young friend, De Lyon, one of the Frenchmen who was with Lafayette on his tour of America in 1824. The manuscript was dated 1776, and stated that the inscription had been found three years earlier on the cannon at Martha Bay, Jamaica. A note, evidently by Mr. Jefferson himself, his biographer states, says: From many circumstances there is reason to believe there does not exist any such inscription as the above, and that it was written by Dr. Franklin, in whose hands it was first seen.[16]