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Lot 112
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G. Washington Signed Archive Also Signed by African American Involved, 10 Items
G. Washington Signed Archive Also Signed by African American Involved, 10 Items
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Description:

G. Washington Signed Archive Also Signed by African American Involved, 10 Items 

This partially-printed sea letter, in parallel French, English, and Dutch, authorized the passage of The Nancy, under the command of Joseph W. Clark, to leave New York, New York, with a cargo of foodstuffs and dry goods, bound for the West Indies.

Among the crew was African American Ceasar Brown, almost certainly a former slave, who served as a sailor at a rate of $10 per month. He signed the contract with a mark. A man named Ceasar Brown lived in Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1816, when he entered a labor agreement to work three and a half months for $7.50 per month.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, Partially Printed Document Signed, Sea Letter for Nancy, January 10, 1797, New York, New York. Also signed by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, New York Mayor Richard Varick, and New York Collector of Customs John Lamb. Includes two blind embossed paper seals, one attached by string. 1 p., 15.5" x 13.5". Fold marks, some toning.

Excerpt
[Sea Letter:]
"Be it known, That leave and permission, are hereby given to Joseph W Clark master or commander of the sloop called The Nancy of the burthen of 39 &19/95 tons or thereabouts, lying at present in the port of New York bound for the West Indies and laden with Pork, Beef Flour Candles soap Dry Goods and Lard to depart and proceed with the said Sloop on his said voyage, such Sloop having been visited, and the said Joseph W Clark having made oath before the proper officer that the said Sloop belongs to one or more of the citizens of the United States of America, and to him or them only.
"In witness whereof, I have subscribed my name to these Presents, and affixed the Seal of the United States of America thereto, and caused the same to be countersigned by John Lamb Collector at New York the Tenth day of January in the Year of our Lord Christ, one thousand seven hundred and ninety seven.
"Go: Washington
"By the President
"Timothy Pickering Secretary of State."

Accompanied by nine related documents, including:
- Partially Printed Document, Wage contract for Crew of Sloop Nancy on Voyage from New York to the West Indies and back, January 11, 1797. "An Act for the Government and Regulation of Seamen in the Merchant's Service," July 20, 1790, printed on verso. 2 pp., 13.5" x 16.25".
Entries for Joseph W. Clark, Master, $15 per month; Clement Miner, Mate, $30 per month; Abijah Gilbert, Sailor, $17 per month; Lebbeus Lockwood, Seaman, $17 per month; Ceasar Brown, Sailor, $10 per month (signed with a mark); John Taylor, Boy, $6 per month; and Thomas Rathbury, $17 per month.

- French Consulate of New York, Autograph Document Signed, granting sloop Nancy, commanded by William Clark free passage to Puerto Rico, ca. January 13, 1797; with embossed paper and wax seal. 1 p., 8" x 13". In French

- Clement Miner, Partially Printed Document Signed, Bill of lading for sloop Nancy, March 15, 1797. 1 p., 9.5" x 5.25".
"Shipped in good order, and well conditioned, by Joseph W Clark in and upon the sloop called the Nancy whereof is Master, for this present Voyage Clement Miner now in the harbour of Aquin and bound to New York to say
"Two Hundred & twenty three Bags Coffee
"Forty Six Bbls of Coffee
"five Thousand two Hundred & fivety Bds Loogwood"

- Partially Printed Document Signed, Coastal trade register for sloop Nancy, port of Arquin, Saint-Domingue, ca. March 16, 1797. 2 pp., 8.25" x 13.5". In French.

- Clearance papers for sloop Nancy, commanded by Joseph Clark, from Arquin, Saint-Domingue, to the United States, ca. March 1797. 3 pp., 8.25" x 13.25". In French.

- Autograph Document, Wages Account for sloop Nancy, April 17, 1797. 1 p., 8" x 10"
"Dr. Caesar Brown in a/c with Sloop Nancy
"1796 Decr 30 To 1 mo. adv. wages 10.
"1797 Apr. 17 To cash in full 25.
"dlls 35.
"1797 Apr. 17 By 3 mo 15 dys wages on board said sloop at 10 dlls pr mo. 35."

- Partially Printed Document, Wage contract for Crew of Sloop Nancy on Voyage from New York to Hispaniola and back, August 28, 1797. "An Act for the Government and Regulation of Seamen in the Merchant's Service," July 20, 1790, printed on verso. 2 pp., 15.25" x 19.25"
Entries for Clement Miner, Master, $40 per month; Nathaniel Holdridge, Mate, $26 per month; Nathaniel Hovey, Seaman, $17 per month; Dennison Blanchard, Seaman, $17 per month, and William Canady, Cook, $15 per month.

- Report and Manifest of the Cargo on Sloop Nancy, ca. October 1797, Arquin, Saint-Domingue. 1 p., 7.5" x 12".
Cargo included 242 bags of coffee, 46 barrels of coffee, 5½ barrels of indigo, and logwood

- Clearance papers for sloop Nancy, commanded by Clement Miner, from Arquin, Saint-Domingue, to the United States, ca. October 1797. 3 pp., 8.25" x 13.25". In French.

Historical Background
The sea letter, including a statement of cargo and destination, signed by the President, gained currency after 1789. Through decades of maritime use, such letters became accepted as proof of nationality and provided some protection for the vessel and its owner and crew. Even with the sea letter's plea for safe passage, maritime trade was a hazardous endeavor due to piracy, privateering, impressment, and other dangers.

It was customary for a sitting president and his secretary of state to pre-sign routine papers and uncompleted documents before their being filled out and issued. In this case, the collector of customs in New York completed the document and affixed the date.

On April 11, 1797, the sloop Nancy arrived in New York after a 24-day voyage from Arquin, Saint-Domingue. Immediately after it returned, owner B. M. Mumford offered the Nancy for sale. The sloop again traveled to Saint-Domingue in August, this time commanded by Clement Miner, who had been the First Mate on the former voyage. In October 1797, a New York newspaper reported that "The Sloop Nancy, capt. Miner, from this port bound to Jacquemel, was taken in the Mona passage by a French privateer, and carried into Port au Plat—the Spaniards refusing to have any thing to do with her as she was bound to a French port—the French men undertook to carry her into Cape Francais; they were however interrupted in their passage, by a British ship of war, who retook the Nancy, and ordered her into the Mole [Saint-Nicolas]. Capt. Miner, embracing a favorable opportunity, secured the prize master, and his crew, and in sight of the ship of war, who took him, conducted the vessel safely into Jean Rabel [, Saint-Domingue]."

John Lamb (1735-1800) was born in New York City and trained as an optician and instrument maker. He also became a prosperous wine merchant. He was a leading member of the Sons of Liberty and when the war began, he and his men seized British military stores at Turtle Bay. He received a commission as captain of an artillery company and was wounded and captured at the Battle of Quebec. Paroled a few months later, he became a major of artillery in January 1776. One year later, he was appointed colonel of the 2nd Continental Artillery, and he commanded the artillery at West Point, New York in 1779 and 1780. He continued to command the 2nd Continental Artillery during the Siege of Yorktown, where he and his men served with distinction. He was breveted a brigadier general in 1783. In 1784, the Congress of the Confederation appointed him as Collector of the Port of New York, and he was retained by the Washington administration, serving until 1797, when President John Adams dismissed him. During the debates over the ratification of the Constitution, Lamb was a prominent Anti-Federalist. He died in poverty.

Richard Varick (1753-1831) was born in New Jersey and studied at King's College (later Columbia University) but did not graduate. He gained admission to the New York bar in October 1774. At the onset of the Revolution, Varick became a militia captain. He rose through the ranks to become aide-de-camp to Philip Schuyler, Muster-Master General for the Northern Army, and Inspector General of West Point. Though not in this last position at the time of Benedict Arnold's treason, Varick had at one point been an aide to Arnold, and it took some time for his name to be cleared. Washington then named him a personal secretary at the end of the war, and he copied masses of Washington's wartime letters. He served as Recorder of New York from 1783 to 1789, assemblyman and Speaker of the state assembly in 1788, state Attorney General from 1788 to 1789, and Mayor of New York from 1789 to 1801.

The Nancy was a sloop of over thirty-nine tons that was built in Milford, Connecticut, and owned by Connecticut natives Benjamin M. Mumford (1772-1843) and Zachariah Huntington (1764-1850), merchants of New York. The Nancy completed its first voyage on March 30, 1796, at New York with a cargo of coffee and sugar from Miragoâne, Saint-Domingue.

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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