Description:

Ellsworth, Oliver (1745-1807) Only a few days before traitor Benedict Arnold gave the plans of West Point to the British, loyal revolutionary Oliver Ellsworth signs an endorsement of "the sum of Twenty pounds Lawful money in Bills... for Special Services"

Hand written Document Signed "Georg. Pitkin, Clerk" and "Oliver Ellsworth" on verso, 1 p., 8.5" x 6.5" front and verso. Hartford, CT, September 16, 1780. Slight yellowing and foxing. Fine Condition.

The letter, in part, reads, "To John Lawrence... Sir, please to pay Oliver Ellsworth Esq. State attorney for Hartford the Sum of Twenty pounds Lawful money in Bills... for Special Services allowed by the Sup. Court of Hart-ford... By Order of Court."

By 1780 Ellsworth was one of Connecticut's representatives to the Continental Congress, and a member of the state's Council of Safety, which controlled all military measures for Connecticut. In addition, Ellsworth was a member of the Committee of the Pay Table, which supervised Connecticut's wartime spending, as well as the state attorney for Hartford County.

John Lawrence, to whom the letter is addressed, was Connecticut's State Treasurer from 1769 to 1789. The clerk who signed the letter, George Pitkin, served as the Connecticut Superior Court's Clerk from 1756 to 1798, and then became the Clerk for Hartford County in 1798 until his death in 1806. George Pitkin was the son of William Pitkin III. William Pitkin III was initially elected deputy governor in 1754, until Thomas Finch's (the colonial governor at the time) support of the Stamp Act, led to Pitkin's election as the Governor of Connecticut in his own right, in 1766. Pitkin began to light the flame of rebellion that would blaze under his successor, John Trumbull, with his strong opposition to British taxation. He served as Governor until his death in 1769.

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