Timothy Matlack probably handwrote the engrossed parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence, central to America250.
Matlack was a Pennsylvania clerk and political figure known for his penmanship. The engrossed copy is the formal parchment version signed by members of Congress and now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the original draft, but he did not create the final handwritten parchment copy. This distinction explains why Jefferson is associated with the wording while Matlack is associated with the document's physical transcription.
The word “probably” matters because the evidence identifies Matlack as the likely scribe rather than providing a modern equivalent of a signed production record. The document was later named in a congressional resolution as “The unanimous declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”