Description:

Oliver Ellsworth
Hartford, CT, November 4, 1776
1776 Oliver Ellsworth Signed Pay Order for Continental Express "Hors[e] Hire"
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A 1p autograph document signed by Connecticut politician Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807) as "O. Ellsworth" at lower right recto. Hartford, Connecticut. November 4, 1776, just four months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Inscribed on cream laid paper. Docket information confirming receipt of payment verso, signed by voucher recipient Ebenezer Barnard, Jr. as well as a government auditor. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and isolated ink bleed-through, else near fine. 8.625" x 4.625."

Pay order No. 5683 instructed Connecticut state treasurer Jonathan Lawrence to pay seven shillings and three pence to one Ebenezer Barnard, Jr. "for Hors[e] hire to a Continental Express…" The specific objective of this Continental Express mission is unknown, but it probably related to preparations for war. Connecticut delegates had signed the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, and Governor Jonathan Trumbull, a close friend and ally of George Washington, was dedicated to the cause. Patriots suffered substantial losses that autumn. Less than two weeks after Oliver Ellsworth signed this pay order, on November 16, 1776, the British captured 3,000 prisoners at Fort Washington in Washington Heights when General Washington strategically retreated. In late December 1776, the Patriots abandoned the revolutionary capital in Philadelphia.

The Continental Express was a fast mail and delivery service accomplished entirely by horseback at breakneck speed. Express riders delivered important messages like summons to assemble, political decisions made by higher-ups, or military directives. Riders also carried official documents such as warrants and military commissions. The pay recipient Ebenezer Barnard, Jr., who provided the express rider the horse, was a shipowner from Hartford. The next year, in 1777, Barnard, Jr. received permission to import wool, flax, salt, lard, rye, and Indian corn into Connecticut from Massachusetts on one of his vessels.

Oliver Ellsworth was one of Connecticut's first state senators. He was very involved in revolutionary politics, and helped draft the U.S. Constitution. The Yale and Princeton graduate also trained as a lawyer and was appointed by George Washington to serve as the 3rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court between 1796-1800.

Jonathan Lawrence is an interesting historical figure in that he served as treasurer before, during, and after the American Revolution, when Connecticut was first a colony and then a state.

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: 8.625" x 4.625"
  • Medium: ADS

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July 16, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
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