This handwritten Revolutionary War-era document is dated January 14, 1778 and originates from Hartford, Connecticut.
It outlines the payment to Obediah Rhodes for items stolen from his home by "the enemy" (the British).
Signed by Oliver Ellsworth, who was a state attorney at the time. He later went to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where he was responsible for the Connecticut Compromise that led to Connecticut ratifying the Constitution. He also served while Washington was in office as Chief Justice, the third chief justice in US history
It is signed on the back by Major John Stewart, who was recognized as one of the heroes of the Battle of Stony point. For his performance that day he received a medal from Congress. It was specially made for him, one of only 11 Congress had made for individuals during the course of the war. (A medal with notable provenance was sold last year for $900,000. The photos below are courtesy of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, which conducted the sale.)
We will include an image of the back of the note, which is where Stewart's name appears.
(Note: Photos were taken before the acrylic was installed.)
Size of frame: 13.5" x 15.75"
Shipping: $20. Please allow two weeks for shipping.
More on Oliver Ellsworth
From Wikipedia:
"Oliver Ellsworth (April 29, 1745 – November 26, 1807) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat. Ellsworth was a framer of the United States Constitution, United States senator from Connecticut, and the third chief justice of the United States. Additionally, he received 11 electoral votes in the 1796 presidential election.
"Born in Windsor, Connecticut, Ellsworth attended the College of New Jersey where he helped found the American Whig–Cliosophic Society. In 1777, he became the state attorney for Hartford County, Connecticut, and was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress, serving during the remainder of the American Revolutionary War. He served as a state judge during the 1780s and was selected as a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which produced the United States Constitution. While at the convention, Ellsworth played a role in fashioning the Connecticut Compromise between the more populous states and the less populous states. He also served on the Committee of Detail, which prepared the first draft of the Constitution, but he left the convention and did not sign the document.
"His influence helped ensure that Connecticut ratified the Constitution, and he was elected as one of Connecticut's inaugural pair of senators, serving from 1789 to 1796. He was the chief author of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which shaped the federal judiciary of the United States and established the Supreme Court's power to overturn state supreme court decisions that were contrary to the United States Constitution. Ellsworth served as a key Senate ally to Alexander Hamilton and aligned with the Federalist Party. He led the Senate passage of Hamiltonian proposals such as the Funding Act of 1790 and the Bank Bill of 1791. He also advocated in favor of the United States Bill of Rights and the Jay Treaty.
"In 1796, after the Senate rejected the nomination of John Rutledge to serve as Chief Justice, President George Washington nominated Ellsworth to the position. Ellsworth was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, and served until 1800, when he resigned due to poor health. Few cases came before the Ellsworth Court, and he is chiefly remembered for his discouragement of the previous practice of seriatim opinion writing. He simultaneously served as an envoy to France from 1799 to 1800, signing the Convention of 1800 to settle the hostilities of the Quasi-War. He was succeeded as chief justice by John Marshall. He subsequently served on the Connecticut Governor's Council until his death in 1807."
