CHIEF JUSTICE OLIVER ELLSWORTH - MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT SIGNED 03/27/1777 CO-SIGNED BY: JEREMIAH HALSEY, EZEKIEL WILLIAMS - HFSID 156791

OLIVER ELLSWORTH
Oliver Ellsworth signs a manuscript document to pay Captain Jeremiah Halsey for his service to the state that has been bound in a leather and felt portfolio, 10x12¾ when closed.
Manuscript Document Signed: "O Ellsworth", "Ez: Williams" as members of the Committee, 2 pages, 8x4¼, front and verso (made to show both sides). Hartford, 1777 March 27. To "Jno. Laurence Esq. Treasurer". Begins: "Sir". In full: "Pay Capt. Jeremiah Halsey Two pounds six pence, for his Expance of reknelz in the Service of the State - & for appraizing Armi of his Company as of the ". Endorsed on verso: "Recd March 27 1777 of [illegible] Two pounds & six pence the Contents Jeremiah Halsey ". Docketed on verso: "No. 806594 Cont. Southworth Esq Order Capt Tere Halsey Datd 27 March 1777 Audited Sept 1, 1777 F Greadee". Bound in a leather and felt portfolio, 10x12¾ when closed, with two unsigned items: a photo of Ellsworth (b/w, 5¾x8) and a metal plaque (5x7) summarizing Ellsworth's achievements. As a member of the "Pay-Table" Committee, which handled all of the military finances for the colony of Connecticut, OLIVER ELLSWORTH (1745-1807), who was elected State's Attorney for Hartford County, Connecticut in the year he signed this document, began his service with the Continental Congress the following year. During his term (1778-1783), Ellsworth is acknowledged as the co-author (with Roger Sherman) of the Connecticut Compromise that ended the controversy regarding government delegates. The Compromise proposal allowed for the two-house system with equal state delegates in the Senate and population-proportioned representatives in the House. Two years later, Ellsworth, a U.S. Senator from Connecticut (1789-1796), drafted the Judiciary Act of 1789, which is the basis of the federal judicial system. On March 4, 1796, President George Washington appointed Ellsworth as the third Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1796-1800). EZEKIEL WILLIAMS (1729-1818) served throughout the war as Commissary of Prisoners held in Connecticut. Lightly creased with folds, not at signatures. Lightly soiled, stray ink marks. Light show through of writing on verso. Overall, fine condition.