Archives International Auctions Auction 73 January 18, 2022 U.S., Chinese & Worldwide Banknotes, Scripophily, Colonial Banknotes, Colonial Fiscal Documents, Historic Ephemera and Security Printing Ephemera

Archives International Auctions - Sale 73 63 January 18, 2022 Archives International Auctions www.archivesinternational.com 331 331 RevolutionaryWar Connecticut, June 7, 1776 Handwritten Promissory Note Signed by Oliver Ellsworth Connecticut. June 7th, 1776. Handwritten Promissory note to pay John Graham the sum of 96 Pounds, 14 Shillings, and 5 Pence “for the purchase of and Premium on…Salt Petre, by him made in and to this Colony,” signed by Committee Pay- Table member Oliver Ellsworth, and Connecticut Treasurer John Lawrence. Black handwriting, VF condition, especially for its age, which dates less than a month before the ratification of the United States Declaration of Independence. Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807) was an American lawyer, judge, politician, and diplomat. He was a framer of the United States Constitution, a United States Senator from Connecticut, and the third Chief Justice of the United States. In 1777, he became the state attorney for Hartford County, Connecticut and was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress, serving during the remainder of the American Revolutionary War. He served as a state judge during the 1780s and was selected as a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which produced the United States Constitution. While at the convention, Ellsworth played a role in fashioning the Connecticut Compromise between the more populous states and the less populous states. He also served on the Committee of Detail, which prepared the first draft of the Constitution, but he left the convention before signing the document. His influence helped ensure that Connecticut ratified the Constitution, and he was elected as one of Connecticut’s inaugural pair of Senators, serving from 1789 to 1796. He was the chief author of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which shaped the federal judiciary of the United States and established the Supreme Court’s power to overturn state supreme court decisions that were contrary to the United States Constitution. Ellsworth served as a key Senate ally to Alexander Hamilton and aligned with the Federalist Party. He led the Senate passage of Hamiltonian proposals such as the Funding Act of 1790 and the Bank Bill of 1791. He also advocated in favor of the United States Bill of Rights and the Jay Treaty. In 1796, after the Senate rejected the nomination of John Rutledge to serve as Chief Justice, President George Washington nominated Ellsworth to the position. Ellsworth was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, and served until 1800, when he resigned due to poor health. He subsequently served on the Connecticut Governor’s Council until his death in 1807. John Lawrence (1719-1802) served as treasurer of the Connecticut colony, and later as the Connecticut State Treasurer from 1769 to 1789, spanning the crucial period of colonial rule, through the American revolution, and into the early years of the United States. During the Revolutionary War, Lawrence was commissioner of loans for the new nation. Rare and unique piece of military history at a pivotal time in the Revolutionary War. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Est. $250-375 332 332 Continental Battalion, 1777 Promissory Note Issued to Andrew Fitch Connecticut, February 24th, 1777. Fantastic piece of history, a promissory note issued to and signed by Captain Andrew Fitch for the sum of 500 Pounds to pay out for “inlisting his own Company, in the Continental Battalion to be commanded by John Durkee, Esq. Colonel,” and that the state will be charged. Signed by Thomas Seymour and Ezekiel Williams as Pay-Table members. Thomas Seymour (1735-1829) was a central figure in Hartford, Connecticut during his lifetime. After graduating from Yale, he served as the King’s Attorney in 1767, and after the Revolution, as the State’s Attorney. During the Revolution he was commissioned a Captain of Militia in 1773, promoted to Lt. Col. in 1774, and led three regiments to aid the Continental Army in New York during the summer of 1776. Seymour also served as Head of the Committee of Pay Table. He was the first Mayor of Hartford, serving from 1774-1812. Ezekiel Williams (1729-1818) was a successful Wethersfield, Connecticut merchant who served throughout the war as Commissary of Prisoners held in Connecticut, and sheriff of Hartford County from 1767 to 1789. Andrew Fitch was Captain in the 4th Connecticut Regiment under the command of Colonel John Durkee. The regiment was re-organized and participated in the Defense of Philadelphia Campaign, including the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Whitemarsh in Pennsylvania. The regiment went on to winter at Valley Forge between 1777 and 1778, and went on to fight in the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, and the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. Fine-VF condition. Fascinating and unique piece of military history from the American Revolution. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Est. $350-700