AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED BY FOUNDING FATHER OLIVER ELLSWORTH AUTHORIZING REVOLUTIONARY WAR EXPENSES

ELLSWORTH, Oliver. Autograph document signed. Hartford, Connecticut, January 13, 1778. One leaf, measuring 6 by 8 inches, writing on recto; matted and framed, entire piece measures 9-1/2 by 12 inches. $2200.

Autograph document signed by founding father Oliver Ellsworth authorizing payment for expenses during the American Revolution.

A Connecticut lawyer, Ellsworth was a member of the Continental Congress starting in 1777; during the war he served on Connecticut's Committee of the Pay Table, responsible for paying wartime expenses (as seen in this document). Later, Ellsworth attended the Constitutional Convention, where he was an important force in shaping the document. Nominated by George Washington, he became the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1976. The document reads in the main: "Sir. Pay the Select Men of Tolland five pounds fourteen shillings for Blankets. Charge the State. Hartford Jany 13th 1778. O Ellsworth."

A bit of foxing; text large and clear.