Description:

Revolutionary War
Hartford, CT, October 26, 1776
1776 Fort Saybrook Guards Connecticut River During Revolutionary War
MDS

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Thomas Seymour, Manuscript Document Signed, Order to John Lawrence, October 26, 1776, Hartford, Connecticut. 2 pp., 8.5" x 4.75". Expected folds; general toning.

This pay order authorizes Treasurer John Lawrence to pay £50 to John Cochran of Saybrook for supplies to build the fort at Saybrook. Cochran endorsed the order to have Lawrence pay the funds to Benjamin Williams, who acknowledged receipt of the £50 three days later.

Complete Transcript
"Sir
Pay to John Cockran the Sum of fifty pounds in Bills it being for Supplies towards building the Fort at Saybrook ? order Govr & Council of Safety & Charge the State Octr 26th 1776.
T Seymour } Comtee
John Lawrence Esqr
Treasurer
£50"

[Endorsement on verso:]
"Sd Pleas to pay ye Contents to Benjamin Williams EQr
Jno Cochran"

[Receipt:]
"Recd Octr 29th 1776 of Treasurer Lawrence fifty pounds L Money the Contents
? Benjn Williams"

Historical Background
In 1776, Connecticut Patriots constructed an earthen fort at Saybrook Point at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Equipped with six guns, it was garrisoned by a company of state troops to protect the mouth of the river from British incursions.

The Pay Table handled the military finances for the colony of Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. Also known as the Committee of Four, its members at different times included Oliver Ellsworth, Jedidiah Huntington, William Moseley, Hezekiah Rogers, Jesse Root, Thomas Seymour III, Fenn Wadsworth, Eleazer Wales, Ezekiel Williams, John Chenward, Oliver Wolcott Jr., and Samuel Wyllys.

The person who received payment for Cochran was either Benjamin Williams (ca. 1726-1800), who served as a captain during the French and Indian War and represented Saybrook in the General Court and Assembly in 1775, 1776, and 1786, or his son Benjamin Williams (1752-1822), who was a blacksmith, operated a saw and gristmill, and kept a tavern in Saybrook from 1803 to 1822.

Thomas Seymour III (1735-1829) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale College in 1755. He married Mary Ledyard, with whom he had seven children. He received an appointment as King's Attorney in 1767 and served as State's Attorney after the Revolutionary War. Commissioned as a captain of militia in 1773, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1774 and led three regiments of light cavalry in support of the Continental Army in New York during the summer of 1776. The General Assembly appointed Seymour in April 1775 to be one of the Committee on the Pay Table. He represented Hartford in the Connecticut General Assembly at eighteen sessions between 1774 and 1793 and served as Speaker five times. He served in the Connecticut Senate from 1793 to 1803. He also served as mayor of Hartford from its incorporation in 1784 until his resignation in 1812.

John Lawrence (1719-1802) served as treasurer of the colony and then the state of Connecticut for twenty years from 1769 to 1789. During the Revolutionary War, he was also commissioner of loans for the United States.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 4.75"
  • Medium: MDS

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