Description:

George Handley
Augusta, GA, April 17, 1784, December 20, 1786
Georgia Governor John Handley—Four Signatures on Two Documents!
ADS

GEORGE HANDLEY, Two documents:

Autograph Document Signed, Affidavit of John Martin, and Petition for land grant for John Martin, April 17, 1784, Augusta, Georgia. Signed twice by Handley. 2 pp., 6.25" x 8". Expected folds; tiny holes along folds; general toning.

Autograph Document Signed, Duplicate of Certificate for Horse to John Cobb, December 20, 1786, Augusta, [Georgia]. Signed twice by Handley. 1 p., 10" x 12". Small holes on folds; general toning.

George Handley, the inspector general of the Georgia militia and future governor of the state, wrote and signed these two documents to aid fellow Georgians. The first was a request by John Martin for a land grant of 200 acres in Washington County. The second was a certificate for local attorney John Cobb, seeking £20 in compensation for a horse killed in the service.

Excerpt
[Petition and Affidavit:]
"To the Honble the President & members of the Land Court at Augusta. John Martin prays your Honble board to grant him Two Hundred acres of Land on his own head right Pursuant to the within Affidavit in the County of Washington on his complying with the Terms of the late Land Act; and your Petitioner will pray."
"John Martin personally came and appeared before us and made Oath being a Citizen of the State aforesaid, That he hath never on head right or otherwise taken up or had granted him any Land in this State."

[Certificate:] "This is to certify that there is due to John Cobb, esquire, the sum of Twenty Pounds, for a Horse killed in service, the property of the said John Cobb, esquire; and appraised agreeable to Law, by Thomas Carr and Patrick Connelly, and certified by Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Sanders of the first Battalion of Richmond County Militia, which said Appraisement & Certificate are lodged in my office."

George Handley (1752-1793) was born in England and arrived in Savannah in 1775. He joined the 1st Continental Georgia Battalion in January 1776 as a lieutenant and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served with distinction in the border regions of South Carolina and Georgia. He spent most of the last two years as a prisoner of war in Charleston, South Carolina. He left the army in July 1782 and became a founding member of the Georgia Society of the Cincinnati in 1783. He purchased an estate in Augusta, and the Georgia Executive Council appointed him as a justice of the peace. He served as secretary of the Executive Council in 1785 and 1786. He also served as inspector general of the militia. He was a member of the Georgia convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution unanimously in January 1788. That same month, the Georgia House of Assembly appointed Handley as governor of the state. He presided over a convention in November 1788 to revise the state constitution and participated in a second convention in January 1789 to write a new state constitution. A third convention in May 1789 ratified the new constitution that gave more authority to the governor. Handley represented Glynn County in the legislature in 1789, and President George Washington appointed Handley as port collector at Brunswick. In 1790, he became sheriff of Richmond County and held both positions until his death at the age of 41.

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: 6.25" x 8"; 10" x 12"
  • Medium: ADS

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