Description:

Oliver Ellsworth DS Securing SaltPetre 1776! 

A pay order signed "O. Ellsworth" and addressed to John Lawrence Esq., Treasurer. 1p, measuring 8" x 5.25", Hartford, dated March 23, 1776. Countersigned by Ezekiel Williams as Comptroller. With docketing on verso, recording an audit by E. Pitkin in September 1777. The document has flattened folds, light uneven toning and foxing. Boldly signed.

In full: "Pay to John Jennison of Middleton or order the sum of three pounds three shillings Lawful Money (it being for a Premium)(ownd & be paid by Genl Assembly) on 15 3/4 lbs SaltPetre certified to us by Colo. Jabez Hamlin, to have been recd by him, of the said Jennison, and that the same was good & genuine and charge the same to Colony Acct." 

Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807) was a lawyer, judge, politician, and diplomat, renown for being a framer of the U.S. Constitution and the third Chief Justice of the United States. When mixed with sulfur and charcoal, saltpeter (potassium nitrate) could be used to make gunpowder. During the first two and a half years of the American Revolution, the colonies were having difficulties obtaining a steady enough supply of gunpowder to arm their troops. It wasn't until mid-1776 that the colonies passed legislation to erect private and public saltpetre works in order to address the urgent need.

Jabez Hamlin (1709-1791) was the son of Judge John Hamlin and Mary Hamlin of Middletown, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale in 1728, practiced law, and served as both a commissary with the rank of major and as a lieutenant colonel of militia during the French and Indian War. He also served as a colonel in the Connecticut militia and was appointed a judge of the Hartford County Court (1754-1784), judge of probate (1752-1789) and mayor of the City of Middletown (1784- 1791). During the Revolutionary War he was an active member of the Council of Safety.

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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August 17, 2022 10:30 AM EDT
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University Archives

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