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Revolutionary War Connecticut, 1776 Promissory Note Issued to Ezekiel Williams for Prisoners of War

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:300.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 800.00 USD
Revolutionary War Connecticut, 1776 Promissory Note Issued to Ezekiel Williams for Prisoners of War
SOLD
450.00USD+ buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2021 Dec 07 @ 15:52UTC-5 : EST/CDT
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Connecticut, April 10th, 1776. Fascinating piece of Revolutionary War history, a handwritten promissory note to pay Ezekiel Williams, Esq. for "Supporting & taking care of Prisoners of War" the sum of 72 Pounds, 13 Shillings, 8 Pence, and a Half Penny. Signed by Pay-Table members Thomas Seymour, Oliver Ellsworth, Ezekiel Williams (who this piece is issued to), and by John Lawrence as Connecticut Treasurer. The Pay-Table (also known as the Committee of Four) managed Connecticut's military finances during the ongoing conflict. Ezekiel Williams (1729-1818) was a successful Wethersfield, Connecticut merchant who served throughout the war as Commissary of Prisoners held in Connecticut, and sheriff of Hartford County from 1767 to 1789. Thomas Seymour (1735-1829) was a central figure in Hartford, Connecticut during his lifetime. After graduating from Yale, he served as the KingÕs Attorney in 1767, and after the Revolution, as the StateÕs Attorney. During the Revolution he was commissioned a Captain of Militia in 1773, promoted to Lt. Col. in 1774, and led three regiments to aid the Continental Army in New York during the summer of 1776. Seymour also served as Head of the Committee of Pay Table. He was the first Mayor of Hartford, serving from 1774-1812. Oliver Ellsworth (29 Apr 1745 - 26 Nov 1807) was an American lawyer, judge, politician, and diplomat. He was a framer of the United States Constitution, a United States Senator from Connecticut, and the third chief justice of the United States. 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 before signing 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. He subsequently served on the Connecticut Governor's Council until his death in 1807. John Lawrence (1719-1802) served as treasurer of the Connecticut colony, and later as the Connecticut State Treasurer from 1769 to 1789, spanning the crucial period of colonial rule, through the American revolution, and into the early years of the United States. During the Revolutionary War, Lawrence was commissioner of loans for the new nation. Interesting and rare piece of early Connecticut history which references prisoners of war during the American Revolution period. Fine condition.