Description:

Letter of Recommendation Addressed to Gov. John Hancock, 1791

A letter of recommendation addressed to John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts. Plymouth, dated November 21, 1791. Written by Abraham Holmes and delivered to Hancock by Captain Joseph Soper of the Hanover Militia Company. 2pp of a bifolium, measuring 7" x 12" The letter has Hancock's name largely printed on the address page, with a partial red wax seal. Flattened mail folds have caused a few small holes at the cross folds. Uneven toning and dampstaining throughout. There is a small amount of paper loss from where the seal was broken, affecting very little text. Some small tears at edges. Overall very good.

Holmes writes to Hancock to put forward a candidate for Justice of the Peace in Hanover, recommending Mr. Melzar Curtis, who was already serving as a member of the Hanover House of Representatives. 

In part:
"…I am informed that since the indisposition of the Honble Joseph Cushing Esq. there is no Acting Justice of the Peace in the town of Hanover, and as there is small probability of his ever recovering his health again I suppose that some person will soon be appointed as a Justice in that Town. If there is no person which you Excellency has particularly in view for that person I would wish to take the liberty of recommending one to your Excellency's favorable notice, being an old and intimate acquaintance of mine, and who is fully possessed with and actuated by genuine republican principles, and who has ever maintained a uniform character as such. I mean Mr. Melzar Curtis who is the present Representative of that town in the House of Representatives. I have taken this liberty (which illy becomes me) for no other purpose than to be of service to a man who I conceive would render good service to this country in such a post as that to which I have now recommended him and to serve the cause of republicanism by advancing those who are possessed of such political testaments as will induce them to exert their utmost influence for the promotion of the welfare of this county. The conveyance thro' which this is to pass makes it necessary for me to add no more except to ask your Excellency to forgive what may seem arrogant in this address…"

John Hancock (1737-1793) was an American merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He inherited his uncle's estate and shipping business, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, and used his wealth and influence to aid the movement for American independence. He was president of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the United States was born, and later served as president of the Second Continental Congress. After the war, he was elected the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, holding the position from 1780-1785, and again from 1787 to his death in 1793. John Hancock is best remembered for his bold and eye-catching signature on the Declaration of Independence.

Abraham Holmes (1754-1839) was a Massachusetts legislator and attorney. He was an Anti-Federalist delegate to the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention of 1788 and opposed ratifying the Constitution. Holmes also served as Sergeant in Colonel Ebenezer Sproat's regiment during the Revolutionary War. After the war, he was admitted to the Plymouth County Bar in April 1800. He would go on to practice law in Rochester until the early 1830s.

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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