Description:

Matthew Griswold
Lyme, CT, September 18, 1785
Summons Signed Twice by Connecticut Governor in Lawsuit Begun by Declaration-Signer Samuel Huntington
Partially printed DS
MATTHEW GRISWOLD, Partially Printed Document Signed, Summons of Elisha Clark in Huntington v. Clark case, September 18, 1785, Lyme, CT. 1 p., 8.5" x 6.25". Rough edges and small hole, not affecting text; general toning; very good.

This summons, signed twice by Governor Matthew Griswold, ordered the sheriff of New London County to summon Elijah Clark to answer a suit filed against him by Declaration-signer and then-lieutenant-governor Samuel Huntington for a debt of £3..8 plus interest. Huntington sued for £8, and Clark was to appear before Justice of the Peace Benjamin Huntington Jr. According to endorsements on the verso, Clark confessed judgment for £6..2..9 and costs of £0..6..10 in September of 1785.

Matthew Griswold (1714-1799) was born in Lyme, Connecticut, studied law, and gained admission to the bar in 1742. He married Ursula Wolcott in 1743, and they had seven children. He served as king's attorney for New London County (1743-1776), in the Connecticut General Assembly (1748, 1751-1759); Council of Assistants (1759-1769), Deputy Governor of Connecticut (1769-1776), Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (1776-1784), and Governor of Connecticut (1784-1786). He strongly supported the American cause and became a member of the Sons of Liberty. During the war, he focused on troop movements, provisions, and defending American ships and the Connecticut shoreline.

Samuel Huntington (1731-1796) was born in the Connecticut colony, the fourth of ten children of Nathanael and Mehetabel Huntington. He was apprenticed to a cooper but read law and gained admission to the bar in 1754. He married Martha Devotion (1739-1794) in 1761, but they did not have any children. When his brother died, they adopted his two children. In 1765, Huntington was appointed King's attorney for Connecticut. He resigned to join the Revolutionary cause and beginning in 1775 represented the state as a delegate to the Continental Congress. Huntington signed the Declaration of Independence, and in 1779, members elected him as the president of the Continental Congress. During Huntington's presidency (1779-1781), he signed and the states ratified the Articles of Confederation as America's first constitution, and the Congress of the Confederation replaced the Continental Congress. Afterward, Huntington briefly retired from public life, hoping to revive his law practice and fortune. In 1784, voters elected him as Lieutenant Governor, a post that also made him Chief Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court. In 1785, he constructed a mansion off the green in Norwich, Connecticut. Elected Governor in 1786, Huntington served until 1796. Although Huntington favored strengthening the powers of the national government and ratifying the Constitution, he also jealously guarded the rights of Connecticut to its western lands based on its colonial charter. During his administration, Connecticut gave up its claim to the northern third of Pennsylvania and most of the Northwest Territory but achieved recognition of its preemptive land rights in the "Western Reserve" (now northeastern Ohio). Connecticut's ability to sell western lands strengthened its fiscal status, and Huntington, while governor, ensured that his state was well-represented at treaty councils with Native Americans of the Ohio territory.

Elisha Clark (1726-1804) lived in Norwich, Connecticut.

Benjamin Huntington Jr. (1736-1801) was born in Norwich in 1736, the son of Isaac Huntington (1688-1764), though he was referred to as Jr. after his second cousin, once removed Benjamin Huntington (1736-1800), who was a graduate of Yale College and represented Connecticut in the Continental Congress and the First Federal Congress. Benjamin Huntington Jr. succeeded his father and cousin as clerk of the town of Norwich, serving from 1764 to 1801 (with a one-year gap from 1778 to 1779). He was one of the selectmen of Norwich who called together the first revolutionary meeting in June 1774. He married the widow Mary Carew Brown (1734-1777) in 1767, and they had at least four children.

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: 8.5" x 6.25"
  • Medium: Partially printed DS

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