32 206
WASHINGTONWANTS BLANK LETTER BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS
34
●
(WASHINGTON, GEORGE.) LEAR, TOBIAS. Autograph Letter Signed, to
Superintendant of Military Stores Col. Samuel Hodgdon, ordering blank letter books for
GeorgeWashington: 4 quires of good quality paper, 14
1
/
2
inches long and 9 inches broad. 1
page, 4to, with detached address leaf; left edge trimmed with few letters of text truncated,
faint scattered dampstaining, folds. (MRS)
MountVernon, 24 December 1798
[600/900]
“
The Commander in Chief has directed me to apply to you for three or four Blank Books for
recording his Military letters &c. . . . [H]ave them sent on as soon as is convenient.”
The possibility of war with France after the XYZ Affair prompted President Adams to appoint
GeorgeWashington Commander-in-Chief, which he reluctantly accepted in July of 1798.
Lear (1762-1816) was GeorgeWashington’s personal secretary during the last years of his life.
SIGNER
35
●
WILLIAMS,WILLIAM. Partly-printed Document Accomplished and Signed,“Wm
Williams” twice, one within the text in third person, as Justice of the Peace, ordering the
Sheriff of Windham County to seize Silas Sprague and jail him until he pays £18.1.0 to
Jonathan Trumbull Esq of Lebanon. 5
1
/
2
x6
1
/
2
inches; horizontal folds, docketing on verso.
Lebanon, 18 November 1768
[400/600]
Williams (1731-1811) was a signer from Connecticut, who twice paid for expeditions of the
Continental Army out of his own pocket; he was a selectman, and, between 1752 and 1796,
both town clerk and town treasurer of Lebanon.
34