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Lot 276
William Williams Re Letter from Fellow DOI Signer Elbridge Gerry Possibly 1776
Description:

William Williams Re Letter from Fellow DOI Signer Elbridge Gerry Possibly 1776

This letter from William Williams of Connecticut to an unidentified correspondent mentions a letter by Elbridge Gerry to James Warren. It may date from 1776 or 1777, when both Williams and Gerry were serving in the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Gerry was then writing letters to Warren, who was serving as President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in Boston.

Gerry and Warren carried on an extensive correspondence between 1776 and 1792. On March 6, 1776, for example, Gerry wrote to Warren about the necessity of protecting and preserving gunpowder and beginning to manufacture firearms. On May 20, Gerry wrote to Warren complaining about the delay of the Continental Congress in declaring independence. On November 13, 1777, Gerry wrote to Warren about the recent surrender of British General John Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga and informed him that the Congress had finished working on the Articles of Confederation and would soon forward them to the states for consideration.

The recipient of this letter might be Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull, as an express rider traveling from Philadelphia to Boston might pass through Hartford or Trumbull's home in nearby Lebanon. Williams might have wanted Trumbull to see the contents of Gerry's letter and sent this brief letter along with it.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS, Autograph Letter Signed, ca. 1776-1777, [Philadelphia, PA?]. 1 p., 6.5" x 4.375". Expected folds; general toning; 1" x 1" loss to left side affecting two lines, repaired with paper to verso.

Complete Transcript
Sir
I have prevailed with Mr Gerry who had enclosed a copy of ye Letter for Mr Warren to let it be opened & read [by?] you & then copied & then forwarded [on by?] Express.
W Williams

Please to inquire [?] Express if he [? ?] not bring you ye Letter of Mr Gerry

William Williams (1731-1811) was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, and graduated from Harvard College in 1751. He studied theology for a year and then pursued a career as a merchant. He served as the town clerk of Lebanon from 1753 to 1796. He represented Lebanon in the Connecticut House of Representatives (1757-1762, 1763-1776, 1780-1784), and served as speaker in 1775 and 1781-1783. From 1773 to 1776, he was a colonel in the Connecticut militia. Elected to the Continental Congress in July 1776 and 1777, he signed the Declaration of Independence and helped to frame the Articles of Confederation, though he did not sign them. He was a member of the Connecticut Council of Safety during the Revolutionary War and judge of the Windham County Court from 1776 to 1804. As a delegate to the state's Constitutional ratifying convention in January 1788, he ignored instructions from his constituents and voted for ratification.

Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College in 1862 with a bachelor's degree and in 1765 with a master's degree. He became a merchant with his father. He won election to the Massachusetts General Court in 1772 and there opposed British colonial policies. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress from 1774 and helped supply the Continental Army as it besieged Boston. He served in the Continental Congress from February 1776 to 1780, and he signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He resigned over what he considered the excessive power of the national government but returned to the Confederation Congress in 1783, serving until 1785. In 1786, he married Ann Thompson, and they had ten children over the next fourteen years. After the war, he sold his merchant interests and invested in land. As a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he refused to sign the proposed Constitution because of its lack of a bill of rights and what he considered to be the excessive power given to Congress. Gerry opposed the ratification of the Constitution in Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789 to 1793, then as governor of Massachusetts from 1810 to 1812. He served as James Madison's first vice president in his second term, from 1813 until Gerry's death late in 1814.

James Warren (1726-1808) was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard College in 1745. After graduation, he became a merchant and gentleman farmer in Plymouth. In 1754, he married Mercy Otis (1728-1814), who became an outspoken poet, playwright, and pamphleteer for the American cause in the Revolutionary War. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1766 to 1778. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress from 1774 and succeeded his distant cousin Joseph Warren as its president after Joseph was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775. James Warren held the position until 1780 when Massachusetts passed a new constitution. For nine months in 1775 and 1776, James Warren served as paymaster-general of the Continental Army and served as a major-general in the Massachusetts militia until resigning in August 1777. In 1787, he served as the speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In 1788, he opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution without a bill of rights. He later served on the governor's council from 1792 to 1794.

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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